Die Hard With A Vengeance, the third movie in the Die Hard franchise, is my second favorite of the series. This is for 3 main reasons.
First off it marks the return of director John McTiernan to the helm, following Renny Harlin who made 1990's number 2. McTiernan is a stylish film-maker whose fingerprint you can spot a mile off. Even with a movie that's both, much talkier and bigger scale, he gives the flick a realistic Euro feel...not quite documentary but not quite conventional film-making either. With cinematographer Jan De Bont off doing his own thing, Die Hard 3 has a much dirtier, earthier look than the first movie...that helps give this movie its own identity.
Secondly is the casting of the unique power-house that is Samuel L Jackson. With John McClane no longer as 'out of his depth' as he has been (it is part 3, after all), giving McClane non-cop Zeus as a partner ensures the original movie concept is maintained while giving Willis a firey foil for the duration.
Finally it's a relief that the script is a departure from the 'terrorist in a building/train/boat' sennario of the past. Thankfully they realised it's not the location (although New York State is the battleground this time) that makes the concept...it's the desperate, lonely cop against the terrorist/thieves caper plot that defines 'Die Hard'. Also, by making this a direct sequel to the first Die Hard, it takes away the credibilty stretching convenience that McClane just happens to be 'in the right place at the right time'.
Michael Kamen supplies the excellent score for the third time, once again incorporating a classical piece of music (this time the song "When Johnny Comes Marching Home").
The first half is flawless as McClane and Zeus are forced to play Simon Says against the charismatic and commanding Simon Gruber (a brillant Jeramy Irons). Once the villain's true goal is revealed, and McClane gets proactive, the set pieces get increasingly more unbelievable... although the story is still very, very strong. I can take McClane surfing a dump truck in a tunnel. What takes me out of the viewing experience is that he's blown out of that tunnel in a jet of water EXACTLY THE MOMENT as Zeus goes driving past. Falling 100 feet to the deck of a ship and surviving also grinds my gears. The climax of the movie doesn't have the action chops it should (the boat explosion seems rushed and anti-climatic and the Canadian chopper shootout seems tacked on...which it was).
Still this is a great action thriller, with huge style, huge characters and a great story.
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