Let´s go back in time, 25 years ago to be exact. We are talking about the year of 1995, when i was 18 years old. There are several things i remember about this year, and especially in the music industry as well as film releases. We might as well begin with one music album released this year, and in 1995 English heavy metal band Iron Maiden released their album The X Factor. Since their former frontman Bruce Dickinson was no longer in the band, new singer Blaze Bayley took over the microphone. I know that a lot of Iron Maiden fans feel very divided about this album, and i would not call this album one of the better releases of the band. But i will say that Blaze gave the band a darker approach. In some ways, i can see why The X Factor was the right time for Iron Maiden to make a musical change in 1995, and the album does go in a different direction than their previous album releases ( while you recognize their music style from the past ). If you have not heard the album, it is worth checking out to see how Iron Maiden developed in the 90´s. The year of 1995 had some really good films released this year. There are several titles in my mind, but i decided to pick out one title that a lot of you have probably seen. And that is of course the post-apocalyptic action film Waterworld. Directed by Kevin Reynolds, this film tells the story of The Mariner ( played by legendary actor Kevin Costner ) a lone drifter who tries to trade dirt, a rare commodity, for other supplies. The Mariner helps protect the young girl Enola ( played by actress Tina Majorino ) from the pirates known as Smokers, led by their leader Deacon ( played by legendary actor Dennis Hopper ).Waterworld is a really entertaining 90´s action film, that is not supposed to be taken seriously. This is an action film that really is the ocean version of Australian classic Mad Max. Since we are talking about 1995, i felt that we needed to celebrate 25 years of Die Hard With A Vengeance. The third film in the Die Hard franchise was released this spring 25 years ago, so i decided to review this film and take a look at it again to see if i still enjoyed it. Is it possible Die Hard 3 is still a good time, or has this film aged more than i thought ?
In New York City, the Bonwitt Teller department store is destroyed by a bomb during the morning commute. The New York City Police Department gets a call from a man who calls himself " Simon " claiming responsibility. Simon threatens to detonate another bomb unless suspended police officer Lieutenant John McClane is dropped in Harlem, wearing only his underwear and a sandwich board that says " I Hate Niggers " written on it. McClane does what Saimon says and is in big trouble, but shop owner Zeus Carver ( Samuel L. Jackson ) saves him from a group of black men. Simon ( Jeremy Irons ) threaten to blow up more buildings, and demand that both McClane and Carver do what he says or more innocent people will be killed. McClane and Zeus are about to have a very bad day in New York City.
If you are expecting this film to be as good as the first Die Hard film, then you might be disappointed. But if you are a fan of Bruce Willis and enjoy the previous Die Hard films, then you have to see Die Hard With A Vengeance. This is the sequel that took a different turn than the previous films, and used the whole city of New York as a playground. This is actually a very good idea, since this brings a fresh wind into the Die Hard franshise. In some ways, this film is like a cat and mouse game, where you see Detective John McClaine forced to play along or innocent people will die. Bruce Willis delivers his drunk character John once again, in the way that only he can do. He does not like following rules, or listen to other people´s opinions, and this is exactly the way we want John McClaine to be. The biggest surprise of this film is to see actor Samuel L. Jackson as the character Zeus become the helping hand for John. And the chemistry between Samuel and Bruce is actually one of the reasons why this film is so entertaining. They are completely different people, stuck in very complicated situations. The comedy timing between these two characters also feels successfull, since we do get some good laughs along the way. The main bad guy Simon Gruber ( played by legendary actor Jeremy Irons ) is actually a great choice for this sequel. Knowing that he is the brother of Hans Gruber ( the terrorist leader of the first Die Hard film ), you can understand why Simon does not like John at all. Jeremy Irons give a performance that fits well with an insane criminal, even if his accent is a bit funny at times. The action scenes are impressive, and you get a lot of gun battles as well as violence at times. Director John McTiernan ( who directed the original Die Hard film ) bring us a sequel that actually works as popcorn entertainment. And he clearly knew that the audience wanted to see John being forced into a extremely big challenge. Die Hard With A Vengeance is 90´s nostalgia, that especially fans of this genre will enjoy watching. You get a bit of everything here with great characters, plenty of fun action scenes and funny dialogue as well. 25 years may have passed, but Die Hard 3 will continue to entertain many generations ahead. After all, John McClance is the president we should have had in America.
Rating: DDD
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