A very fine third

Rating: 8/10 (5 December 2008)

I recently revisited this movie, after watching the fourth installment of the franchise, and I got to say what a great movie. Samuel L Jackson plays Zeus the unfortunate who has to tag along with Bruce Willis's John McClane on his latest adventure. What follows is just over two hours of reasonably high octane adventure. I was enthralled from the opening scene and every little set piece kept me interested or giggling to myself at the few little comedy moments which are thrown in to keep people amused.
With this movie John McClane is firmly established as the ordinary man turned action here. McClane is quite a big guy, but he is no where near the same size as Schwarzenegger or Van Damme. The places he finds himself in this movie would break most people, but he manages to keep away from making the movie feel like a comic movie and keep the audience believing in the character.
All the classic elements of an action movie are well wrapped into this more than worth while sequel. It might not live up to the first movie in the series but it certainly goes a long way towards helping define Bruce Willis as a genuine star. I have never seen the TV show Moonlighting, which I understand propelled him into the public eye, and I think without this movie he would not be held in such high regard.