A return to form

Rating: Null/10 (19 July 2015)

After a bomb explodes in New York a phone call from a man calling himself Simon has some rather unusual demands involving Lt. John MacClane. MacClane, who is currently suspended and working hard to become an alcoholic, must first walk through Harlem wearing only his underwear and a sandwich-board stating that he hates black people. This would probably have got him killed if he wasn't saved by local electrician Zeus Carver. Thanks to his intervention Zeus finds himself drawn into Simon's twisted game as he bounces MacClane and Zeus around the city with a string of riddles if they aren't fast enough a bomb will detonate. One bomb does go off in the subway outside the Federal Reserve. The FBI inform the MacClane that they believe that Simon is the brother of Hans Gruber; the man he killed in the original film. The police have little time to deal with the situation there as Simon's next calls states that there is a bomb in one of New York's schools. It is shortly after this that MacClane realises that, just like Hans, Simon is planning a massive robbery; everything else is a distraction. Unfortunately he realises too late and Simon is driving away with several truckloads of gold bars taken from the Reserve MacClane and Zeus will have to think fast if they are to stop him.
While not as good as the original 'Die Hard' this is a step up from the second film in the series. Bruce Willis continues to impress as MacClane and Samuel L. Jackson is a welcome addition as Zeus; a character who seems convinced that anything a white person says must be racist but can't see the bigotry of that belief. Jeremy Irons is a fine villain even if Simon isn't as interesting a villain as his brother was of course that is because anybody who saw the first film is likely to realise the terrorism is just a cover for his real motive. All the racing around New York was rather exciting. Once MacClane has figured out what Simon has done he becomes the hunter and the excitement increases as he confronts various underlings before finally facing Simon. Some of the special effects show their age and some of the humour is a little weak at times but neither spoil this enjoyable thrill-ride. Overall a really good film which fans of the first two are sure to enjoy.