Die Hard: With a Vengeance

Name: Die Hard: With a Vengeance
Genre: Action, Thriller, Crime
Released: May 19, 1995
Duration: 131 min
Rating: 58
Cast: Bruce Willis, Jeremy Irons, Samuel L. Jackson

1995

METASCORE

Mixed or average reviews based on 19 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Universal acclaim based on 457 Ratings

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8.5	User Score Universal acclaim based on 457 Ratings

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Die Hard 3: With A Vengeance

Now Playing: Die Hard 3: With A Vengeance

Movie Details & Credits

Fox Video | Release Date: May 19, 1995 | R

Starring: Bruce Willis, Jeremy Irons, Samuel L. Jackson

Summary: In this third installment of the Die Hard series, hard-luck New York cop John McClane realizes once again that trouble always has a way of finding him. This time it comes in the form of Simon, whose brother Hans Gruber was the villainous mastermind killed by McClane in the first “Die Hard.” (Fox)

Director: John McTiernan

Genre(s): Action, Thriller, Crime

Rating: R

Runtime: 131 min

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Metascore

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Critic Reviews

100

Empire Andrew Collins

Despite a final, tacked-on helicopter denouement, it remains a gripping, relentless, supercharged slab of fun that knows no bounds - New York is its playground and the sky's the limit. Read full review

Barbara Shulgasser

Director John McTiernan outdoes the previous "Die Hards" (McTiernan directed the first, Renny Harlin the second) with machinery, stunts, noise, bullets and guts. Hand-held camerawork tweaks the audience's sense of anxiety further, and for the most part it works well. Read full review

Peter Travers

It's a tense, terrifically funny action dazzler with a wow level in special effects that will be hard to top. Read full review

Richard Corliss

So little wit is expended on the dialogue and so much on the imagination of disaster that you may as well sit back and enjoy the jolting ride. Read full review

Caryn James

The movie turns two hours of bombings, subway crashes, car chases and helicopter pursuits into the ultimate roller-coaster ride. Read full review

Peter Rainer

The "Die Hard" series was never exactly big on nuance, but this new installment relentlessly zeros in on sensation. It's almost sadistically single-minded. [19May1995 Pg.F.01]

Jack Kroll

But Die Hard WAV lacks the freshness of its two predecessors: we've had it with gassy police psychiatrists and supersmart terrorists. Read full review

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User Reviews

johnmcclane

Jan 26, 2013

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. From the star of Blind Date, the first two Die Hard flicks, and Pulp Fiction comes this masterpiece that will blow your mind. Detective McClane and an shopowner named Zeus Carver track down the mysterious Simon, who is Hans Gruber's brother (if you didn't understand that part you need to see the first one as well) and an soldier. Simon's plan is to destroy McClane, but he should have known he's an lethal weapon with an side of amazing skills and dangerous power. Can McClane catch Simon before he bombs an school hidden somewhere in New York?… Expand

6 of 10 users found this helpful64

LoRevisor

Feb 25, 2015

Nitidamente superior ao segundo,John McTiernan volta com tudo trazendo um excelente Ás na manga Samuel L. Jackson que brilha e diverte com sua excelente atuação como o samaritano Zeus,Bruce Willis mais uma vez está excelente como John McClane. Jeremy Irons também é show de bola como oNitidamente superior ao segundo,John McTiernan volta com tudo trazendo um excelente Ás na manga Samuel L. Jackson que brilha e diverte com sua excelente atuação como o samaritano Zeus,Bruce Willis mais uma vez está excelente como John McClane. Jeremy Irons também é show de bola como o antagonista Simon. Larry Bryggman e Graham Greene também são destaques. Genial na ação,comédia e na história.… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

eva3si0n

Aug 16, 2021

Die Hard with a Vengeance is unique in franchise. This is not Die Hard, but the film is shot at a high level. It is clear that the script was difficult to redo. But is Samuel Jackson an extra in the film? An excellent action movie from the beautiful era of the 90s. A clearly expressedDie Hard with a Vengeance is unique in franchise. This is not Die Hard, but the film is shot at a high level. It is clear that the script was difficult to redo. But is Samuel Jackson an extra in the film? An excellent action movie from the beautiful era of the 90s. A clearly expressed antagonist with his goal, perfectly and realistically set scenes of pursuit. Yes, sometimes in the film there is "Hollywood nonsense," but without it you can not shoot an interesting action movie)… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

CassianJ.

Jan 4, 2008

So once again we are in the company of John McLean, and what a ride we are in for! You all know the premise by now it is John against the odds. This movie is both a return to the spirit of the original movie in that it

0 of 0 users found this helpful

FilipeNeto

Feb 25, 2018

This is the third film in the series "Die Hard", which runs around the character of John McClane. In this film, he will face a terrorist group seeking revenge on him, specifically, by placing bombs in several places of New York. Directed by John McTiernan, the film has a screenplay byThis is the third film in the series "Die Hard", which runs around the character of John McClane. In this film, he will face a terrorist group seeking revenge on him, specifically, by placing bombs in several places of New York. Directed by John McTiernan, the film has a screenplay by Jonathan Hensleigh. Bruce Willis takes the lead role.

This film marks the return of McTiernan to the director's chair and managed to be different from the previous films. Addressing racial issues with humor, the film has good comic moments between McClane and Zeus, a seller from Harlem that takes racism too seriously and, eventually, become the main sidekick of McClane.

Bruce Willis managed to shine again in a role that he knows well, but the spotlight was also turned on Samuel L. Jackson (who played Zeus) and Jeremy Irons, who gave life to the main villain. The eloquent and precise combination of the three actors was very important to the success of the film. The script also deserves congratulations: besides introducing humorous moments with great intelligence, also fled the pattern marked by two films, where Willis worked alone and out of his jurisdiction, to save his wife and the other people who were with her in danger. The time element is crucial to the film: with McClane working against the clock, the adrenaline flows freely and quickly infects the audience, which is attached to what is happening on the screen. The special, visual and sound effects are good, the picture is also positive.… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

BigZ

Nov 5, 2014

Call me crazy, but I think this movie marked a big step forward for the John McClane Die Hard series and a story that hits just as hard as the others before it. John McClane is a mess and has lost his wife and family. All he has is his job. So why would a German terrorist want him to sufferCall me crazy, but I think this movie marked a big step forward for the John McClane Die Hard series and a story that hits just as hard as the others before it. John McClane is a mess and has lost his wife and family. All he has is his job. So why would a German terrorist want him to suffer and or die, especially at the expense of others? For whatever the reason, some crazy terrorist is making John play a game while he works his own schemes on New York City. McClane must use his brain to see through the wiles and still come out as the hero. He will need help though, and he gets it. Some people like to rag on this one because it is about terrorists/thieves again. I mean yes, it is, but if it is just as clever as the prequels while bringing new dynamics in as far as scale, and characters, why mess with the formula? It works. I think the biggest gamble was Samuel L. Jackson being the partner/side-kick to Willis. Based on the ability Bruce has to be the lone wolf, adding someone next to him could ruin the vibe but it worked. Sam did it well delivering a memorable performance and making sure the human reasoning isn't lost among the explosions and shooting. They just got this down, if John McClane can stay this good and entertaining as a character and somehow keep making it through these crazy situations without getting ridiculous and unreal, why stop? Good job, worth a watch.… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

MeritCoba

Feb 27, 2016

I have, as far as I can recall, never seen a die hard movie before so this is my first one. In Die hard: With a Vengeance the suspended cop McClane(Bruce Willis) gets neighborhood shop owner Carver (Samuel Jackson) to tag along as reluctant side kick, which guarantees some witty bouts ofI have, as far as I can recall, never seen a die hard movie before so this is my first one. In Die hard: With a Vengeance the suspended cop McClane(Bruce Willis) gets neighborhood shop owner Carver (Samuel Jackson) to tag along as reluctant side kick, which guarantees some witty bouts of snarky exchanges and it gets delivered as can be expected.Just like 48 hours the movie turns around the combination of these two men, reluctant uncomfortable bed fellows who are forced to cooperate because a megalomaniac psychopath, played by the aptly haughty Jeremy Irons, has them run around New York against the clock solving riddles to forestall bombs going off. Soon it is revealed that Irons is the brother of one of the earlier bad guys Willis has dropped from a building in one of the previous movies. Killing a bad guy doesn't always end the evil: it might create a new one.

There is a nice twist in the plot as it becomes apparent that there is more to it than mere vengeance. In fact you might say you get to watch two movies for the price of one as the first half is different from the second half.

Unfortunately the movie is so bend on throwing you from one action sequence into the next, without spending much time on connecting these that the plot starts to unravel and the plots holes need to be patched up with all kinds of allowances. Irons, for instance, suffers from that omnipresence and omnipotence that is so typical for these movies otherwise the story would not stick. The CIA and FBA make a short appearance, but Irons calls the men out by name and after that, having been found out apparently, we never hear from these agencies again for it is Willis who needs to save the day and nobody else. Their only purpose seems to be to inform us who the bad guy is. Bad storytelling, if you ask me.. for they could have tricked Irons into revealing himself after Willis got him worked up. For a while it looks like that was they way they were heading, but that is dropped.

At various moments the movie relies on sheer luck or coincidence to keep on going. For instance one of Irons' games with Willis and Jackson involves a bomb in a briefcase in a park that is lying there for them to be picked up, yet nobody sees or steels the briefcase while it lies there, unattended in full view of a lot of people. At another moment Willis gets ejected from an underground tunnel and drops down to the ground at the same time as Jackson, making his was via another route, drives past him so he can pick Willis up and they can continue the pursuit together. After a while it seems that the writers just gave up making sense and went with the whatever goes is okay ploy.. At some point for instance Willis stops a truck thinking it is driven by terrorists without shooting the drivers first and it turns out just to be an innocent guy, yet some time later he just shoots the drivers, and it turns out they are terrorists.

After a while you get the feeling that movie is overburdened with twists, explosions and people. For instance Irons has a female sidekick who seems totally superfluous and could have been left out as her presence doesn't add anything to the story, just like the guy who is the go between between Irons and his employers from the Middle East. Also, after the first twist in the plot there is a next one and a next one after that one, until it starts to become tedious. In addition one wonders why Jackson is still tagging along. The choice of making him a shop owner who gets to be involved by accident loses all logic when it becomes clear Irons has lost his omnipotence and omnipresence and Jackson's presence is no longer required or demanded by Irons.

The major point is that the first movie, as I read, plays in one building with one man taking on the terrorists in that building. The scene, the time and the actors are limited which makes the story self contained. In this movie the scene is the whole of New York where the one guy vs a bunch of terrorists becomes untenable as too many things could and would interfere. This is why many movies corner of the set. Isolating the scene is done to cut off people from outside help and has an additional purpose of limiting the playing field and of keeping people in. This movie fails in this and thus it needs to patch up a lot of the plot holes and that shows..

All in all not a bad film, but not a good one either. So a five… Expand

0 of 2 users found this helpful02

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63	#63 Best Movie of 1995
13	#13 Most Discussed Movie of 1995
32	#32 Most Shared Movie of 1995