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Scott Ventura >> Movie Commentary >> October 1999 >> Die Hard: With a Vengeance

Die Hard: With a Vengeance

Movie Commentary by Scott Ventura

Details

Scott's Rating:
4 / 5
Times Seen:
1
Viewing Date:
October 1999
IMDB Name:
Die Hard: With a Vengeance (1995)
Director:
John McTiernan
Keywords:
action, suspense
Made:
1995
MPAA Rating:
R for strong violence and pervasive strong language.

Buddy Formula

Die Hard and Die Hard 2 had a few things in common: Bruce Willis, bad guys with insanely elaborate plans, a few mind games, and big explosions. The third entry in the franchise, Die Hard: With a Vengeance, contains all of these. As an added bonus, they threw in a buddy in the form of Samuel L. Jackson. Willis and Jackson, reunited in a sense from Pulp Fiction, work flawlessly together. They're both playing nicely conflicted characters who suffer a bit in the line of duty.

Director Returns

John McTiernan has made quite a name for himself with action movies. Die Hard was only his second movie, but it made him famous. Renny Harlin did a nice job with Die Hard 2, but it's nice to have McTiernan in the chair again. The action sequences are very well executed.

Batteries

Does anyone else find it funny that Energizer got the product placement in this one? Granted, it's just a joke about the commercials since no batteries are themselves shown, but the Die Hard name represents another line of batteries altogether. Maybe Sears wasn't feeling generous.

Nitpicking Spoilers!

DVD Comments

The menus for the DVD have the annoying habit of featuring loud explosions. Don't press the menu button for a quiet break! The scene selection menus are full-motion, but the disc is divided into surprisingly few chapter stops given the length of the movie. There are a few things in the special features menu. A trailer for each of the Die Hard movies is present, but not all of them are in widescreen form. There's also a featurette consisting largely of the actors praising the director. It's a little short, but it's obviously geared towards enticing an audience rather than informing them. I was surprised to see a "slide show" in the menus. It's a handful of still frames with bizarre broken glass matting. There are also cast bios for four of the actors and the director.

See the IMDB information on Die Hard: With a Vengeance's DVD or compare prices at DVD Price Search.

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Copyright 1999-2000 by Scott Ventura. All rights reserved.