Die Hard with a Vengeance is the franchise's second finest entry and the only sequel that genuinely approaches the quality of the original, a kinetic and inventive New York thriller that returns John McTiernan to the director's chair and gives him a canvas of extraordinary scale and dramatic possibility. McTiernan's 1995 film is not the original. It lacks the spatial precision of the Nakatomi Plaza and the incomparable presence of Alan Rickman's Hans Gruber, and its more globally ambitious action sequences occasionally sacrifice the dramatic consequence that made the original's set-pieces so exciting. But it is a film of craft and entertainment, elevated by Jeremy Irons's magnificent villain, by the extraordinary chemistry between Bruce Willis and Samuel L. Jackson, and by McTiernan's complete command of the New York setting and the film's kinetic register. Die Hard with a Vengeance is the franchise at its second best, and its second best is considerably better than most action films' finest.
At a Glance
Director: John McTiernan
Runtime: 128 minutes
Starring: Bruce Willis, Samuel L. Jackson, Jeremy Irons, Graham Greene, Colleen Camp
Release: 1995
Critics Rating: ★★★★ (4/5 stars, the franchise's second finest)
Audience Rating: ★★★★ (4/5 stars, a beloved sequel)
Review Breakdown
Plot
A bomber calling himself Simon forces McClane, suspended from the NYPD and nursing a considerable hangover, to play a series of increasingly dangerous games across New York City, partnered with a Harlem shopkeeper named Zeus Carver. Simon is eventually revealed to be Simon Gruber, the brother of Hans, seeking revenge for his brother's death while simultaneously executing an elaborate gold heist. The plot is the franchise's most kinetically constructed, a series of puzzle-solving challenges that use New York City as a dramatic canvas of extraordinary scale and variety. The Simon Says game mechanic is the film's most inspired structural device, a series of escalating challenges that give the picture a momentum and wit that the more straightforwardly action-focused Die Hard 2 entirely lacked.
Characters
McClane is given the franchise's most psychologically complex starting point since the original, a man whose personal and professional life has deteriorated significantly and who is drawn back into action by circumstances entirely beyond his control. Willis plays the character's exhaustion and gradual recovery with a conviction and depth that makes this the finest franchise performance of his career since the original. Samuel L. Jackson's Zeus Carver is the franchise's finest new character, a man of considerable intelligence and moral conviction whose partnership with McClane is the film's greatest creative achievement. Jackson plays Zeus with a physical energy and comic precision that makes him the film's most purely enjoyable presence. Jeremy Irons's Simon Gruber is the franchise's finest villain after Hans, a man of extraordinary intelligence and theatrical authority whose pursuit of McClane gives the film its most credible antagonist since the original.
Tone
McTiernan returns to the tonal intelligence of the original, pitching the film at a register of real tension and real wit that the more generically action-focused Die Hard 2 entirely lacked. Die Hard with a Vengeance has the energy and momentum of the finest action films, with set-pieces staged with visual clarity and a sense of consequence that makes them feel exciting rather than merely spectacular.
Meaning / Themes
At its core, the film is about prejudice and partnership, about Zeus's initial hostility toward McClane and the mutual respect that develops through their shared experience of danger. This is handled with enough intelligence and specificity to give the picture a human dimension the more purely spectacular action sequences depend on. The revenge premise, and the suggestion that Simon's elaborate plan is motivated by grief for his brother, gives the film a personal dimension that connects it to the original's more emotionally complex register.
Direction
McTiernan's direction is the franchise's second finest after the original, with a command of the New York setting and a feel for the film's kinetic register that makes Die Hard with a Vengeance the most consistently satisfying sequel in the series. The subway sequence is the film's directorial highlight, a set-piece of considerable visual invention and real tension. Michael Kamen's score builds on the established themes with a richness and propulsive energy that gives the film a sonic identity as distinctive as its visual one.
Cultural Reception
Die Hard with a Vengeance was a major critical and commercial success on its release, widely regarded as the finest Die Hard sequel and as a return to form after the more generic Die Hard 2. Its reputation has remained strong in the decades since, and it is now consistently ranked among the finest action films of the 1990s and as the franchise's second finest entry after the original.
Who Should Watch
Essential viewing for Die Hard fans and a rewarding film for general audiences. Die Hard with a Vengeance works as a standalone film and as a franchise entry, and the Willis-Jackson partnership is compelling enough to reward viewers with limited prior knowledge of the series.
Final Verdict: The franchise's second finest entry and the only sequel that genuinely approaches the quality of the original. Irons's Simon Gruber is the franchise's finest villain after Rickman's Hans, Jackson's Zeus is the franchise's finest new character, and McTiernan's direction gives the material a tonal intelligence and kinetic energy that Die Hard 2 entirely lacked. Die Hard with a Vengeance is the franchise at its second best. Its second best is considerably better than most action films' finest.
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