Die Hard: With a Pungence

Rating: 6/10 (10 January 2011)

I was pretty disappointed when I first saw 'Die Hard: With a Vengeance'. From the opening frame, warning bells sounded: no '20th Century Fox' logo. Not a good sign considering that said studio was behind the film. As I watched the film, I was unmoved by some pretty dodgy special visual effects (the huge torrent of water which sweeps up reluctant - and hungover! - hero Detective John McClane (Bruce Willis), and the rather underwhelming explosion which destroys the cargo ship near the film's end). On the whole, I felt that the whole affair was a letdown, especially considering the raised expectations cued by the fact that this installment marked 'Die Hard' director John McTiernan's most welcome return to the franchise.
Now it seems that every time I see the movie I enjoy it more and more. It is the final splatter film in the series; 'Die Hard 4.0' was the first flick in the series to be awarded a PG-13 rating. 'Vengeance' is, like its two predecessors, R-rated, and contains some pretty shocking violence: a close-quarters shootout in an elevator yields a great deal of bloodshed, and later a henchman is cut in half by a cable.
Once again we have a memorable and charismatic villain in Simon Gruber (British actor Jeremy Irons). While Irons - an extremely talented actor - can not better fellow Brit Alan Rickman's bad guy, Hans Gruber, from the first 'Die Hard', he still delivers a solid and engaging performance, always keeping his cool despite being constantly thwarted by McClane. His sultry and silent partner, Katya, is played by former Contemporary Christian Music singer Sam Phillips. The fact that she does not speak throughout the entire film is a very clever conceit, and she is able to say a great deal with just a glance. But Katya is not just along for the ride, something she demonstrates by dispatching - in a very bloody and graphic display - several security guards.
'Die Hard: With a Vengeance' is lean and mean and very entertaining. The film opens explosively... quite literally! We see various shots of New York as The Lovin' Spoonful's 'Summer in the City' pounds on the soundtrack. Suddenly, a bomb explodes at the Bonwit Teller department store, shattering the hustle and bustle of a typical morning in the Big Apple.
Responsibility for the bombing is taken by a man who calls the New York Police Department and identifies himself only as 'Simon'. He wishes to play a game with McClane whom, we discover, is on suspension. 'Simon' is insistent: if McClane does not participate in this 'game', then 'Simon' will detonate another bomb in another part of the city. Our first sight of McClane is very telling: he is hungover and half-asleep, and dosing himself up on coffee and aspirin. This is no muscle-bound Schwarzenegger-type hero out to save the day and kill the bad guys: McClane would clearly rather be in bed, catching up on much-needed sleep. This makes him all the more human, and his particularly nasty hangover becomes something of a comic motif as the action-packed events of the day unfold. He is the ultimate reluctant hero: jaded, cynical, and very profane. He would much rather someone else save the world on this occasion. The problem is, 'Simon' is calling for him, and no one else.
McClane's first task is as bizarre as it is dangerous: he has to strip down to his boxer shorts ('You're the first person since Holly to see me do this,' he tells cop Connie Kowalski (Colleen Camp). 'I'm honoured,' she replies with a distinct lack of enthusiasm) and walk through Harlem, wearing a sandwich board bearing a racially inflammatory declaration. An electronic goods store proprietor, Zeus Carver (Samuel L. Jackson) happens to notice McClane and, fearing an imminent homicide, takes pity upon him and rescues him from certain death when McClane is set upon by a group of young men who have taken the greatest possible exception to the sign he is wearing.
What follows is more of these deadly 'games' and riddles which McClane and Carver must solve in order to prevent further bombs being detonated in their city. Like McClane, Carver is a reluctant hero who is caught up in the mayhem. He would much rather leave McClane to his own devices but he feels an obligation to help if he can.
Three very strong action set pieces spring to mind: in the first, McClane commandeers one of those ubiquitous yellow cabs and tears through Central Park while joggers, picnickers, and mime artists(!) leap for desperately for cover. The second serves up a spectacular subway crash which recalls those in 'Speed' and 'Money Train'. The third involves two helicopters and closes the film with a very satisfying amount of pyro.
Speaking of the film's ending... The Definitive Edition DVD release offers a very classy alternative ending in which McClane tracks Simon down to a swank gentlemen's club. Seating himself opposite Simon, McClane places a specially designed rocket launcher upon the table and begins to spin it slowly around and around as Simon tries to figure out which end of the weapon is the dangerous one. McClane then gives Simon a taste of his own medicine, reeling off riddle after riddle before solving the rocket launcher puzzle in a very clever way. Not as spectacular as the theatrical ending but interesting nonetheless.
McTiernan has not built a better 'Die Hard' the second time around. But 'Vengeance' is full of action and some great lines and certainly earns its rightful place in the series. It is refreshing that the script does something a little different and takes risks. They pay off.