Curator Watchlist
A sharp, crowd-pleasing action thriller with great chemistry, inventive set pieces, and a strong New York sense of place. It runs a bit long and some of the puzzle-box plotting is messy, but the energy, humor, and star pairing carry it hard.
Where to watch: Buy
Fri · 2h 8m
Director: John McTiernan
Starring: Bruce Willis, Jeremy Irons, Samuel L. Jackson
New York detective John McClane is back and kicking bad-guy butt in the third installment of this action-packed series, which finds him teaming with civilian Zeus Carver to prevent the loss of innocent lives. McClane thought he'd seen it all, until a genius named Simon engages McClane, his new "partner" -- and his beloved city -- in a deadly game that demands their concentration.
John McTiernan
Bruce Willis, Jeremy Irons, Samuel L. Jackson
A sharp, crowd-pleasing action thriller with great chemistry, inventive set pieces, and a strong New York sense of place. It runs a bit long and some of the puzzle-box plotting is messy, but the energy, humor, and star pairing carry it hard.
Die Hard With a Vengeance is the rare sequel that feels bigger without losing the snap of the original formula. McTiernan turns Manhattan into a live-action puzzle box, and the movie keeps finding fresh ways to move: foot chases, subway chaos, traffic mayhem, and a constant sense that the city itself is part of the game. The action is staged with real clarity, which makes the mayhem feel physical instead of merely loud.
The biggest upgrade is the pairing of Bruce Willis and Samuel L. Jackson, whose bickering, distrust, and eventual rhythm give the movie its personality. Jeremy Irons makes for a polished, amused villain, and the film’s riddles give it a slightly off-kilter, almost arcade-like structure. It can be overextended, and a few of the twists and social dynamics haven’t aged gracefully, but the momentum is strong enough to carry the rough edges.
What lingers most is how vividly it captures New York in the mid-90s: grimy, busy, funny, and always in motion. It’s a mainstream action movie with a real sense of place and a surprising amount of wit, which is why it still plays like more than just a sequel.
matt lynch (4★) · 3750 likes
Fill the 3 gallon jug. Pour those 3 gallons into the 5 gallon jug. Fill up the 3 gallon jug again. Fill the 5 gallon to the top from the 3 gallon, leaving one gallon of water in the 3 gallon jug. Empty the 5 gallon jug. Pour the remaining 1 gallon (from the 3 gallon jug) into it. Fill the 3 gallon again, add that to the 5 gallon jug. Bingo, 4 gallons of water in the 5 gallon jug. Thing is, that's not how they do it in the movie, so it's confusing.
Jamelle Bouie (3.5★) · 1812 likes
i love this movie (although it is 20 minutes too long) but also fuck this movie for trying to slam a working-class black new yorker as the real racist because he doesn’t trust white cops.
Matt Singer (4★) · 1410 likes
I still have trouble with the 5-gallon jug and the 3-gallon jug.
Sean Fennessey (5★) · 1207 likes
As stylish, funny, outlandish, and engaging as mainstream ‘90s action gets. An all-time personal favorite, with McTiernan playing every shot in his bag—kinetic cross-cutting action sequences, handheld footchase scenes, bonkers car chases, flooding tunnels, subway station explosions, flying crane shots, helicopter shootouts, Jeremy Irons wearing a sleeveless skintight tee like an All That Jazz extra for some reason, all shot on location across NYC, and leavened with Bruce Willis and Sam Jackson at their very best with dueling Areyoufuckinkiddinme? energies. This is
KYK (3.5★) · 895 likes
a trump AND hillary joke? what is this, a 2016 flick?
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buddy partnership, urban action, cat-and-mouse thriller, bomb threat, riddle-based plotting, New York City as setting, police procedural elements, race and mistrust
90s action, buddy cop, thriller, cat-and-mouse, New York City, high-stakes, set pieces, blockbuster, urban chaos, crime