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Die Hard with a Vengeance poster

Die Hard with a Vengeance

year 1995decade 90sdirector John McTiernan

128 minutes

Cast

Selected cast credits · Film reference

Die Hard with a Vengeance | The Rewatchables

host Bill Simmonshost Chris Ryanhost Van Lathanproducer Jack Sanders theme New York Month
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Most Rewatchable Scene

Phone riddle, Central Park cab chase and subway explosion (consensus)

In the discussion (22)
Approx. transcript time · 00:32:30Read transcript
  • The opening city montage abruptly gives way to the department-store explosion and Simon’s call.
  • McClane’s racist sign and meeting Zeus remain startling to first-time viewers; the sequence is nevertheless praised for its comic exchanges.
  • The men on the stoop are criticized as a more racist depiction than the sign: shirtless, armed, drinking and tossing a basketball without a hoop.
  • Zeus recognizes that a police officer being killed in his neighborhood would bring serious consequences, helping explain his intervention.
  • Simon’s negotiation and McClane getting his badge back introduce the supporting police; his boss’s brutally candid description of his failings is especially funny.
  • Charlie’s small office explosion and the officers’ contempt for the therapist add comic energy to the negotiation scene.
  • The phone riddle, Central Park cab ride, subway boarding and train explosion form the main scene choice, about fifteen electrifying minutes.
  • Zeus voices the audience’s disbelief at the wild driving while retaining his own perspective and comic anger.
  • Diving from the supposed phone-booth bomb is especially funny.
  • The route arguments, Gray’s Papaya backdrop, ambulance trick and subway access make the chase distinctly New York.
  • The practical-looking destruction provokes amazement, and the pursuing officer losing them amid exploding café furniture supplies another visual gag.
  • Catching the opening or cab chase on television would pull viewers into the film despite other plans or sports.
  • Zeus’s confrontation with the impatient caller and nervous officer as the payphone rings is another highlight.
  • The speeding practical train wreck is admired as dangerous filmmaking that would now likely be replaced with CGI.
  • The gold-vault break-in, entrance of Simon’s accomplice and enormous drill are praised; the vault is corrected from Fort Knox.
  • The elevator ambush is compared with The Winter Soldier; fast editing disguises how McClane fires through his coat at the men behind him.
  • McClane’s elevator survival is implausibly difficult, but the not-my-blood line and clues exposing the impostors are admired.
  • More New York sports questions could have extended the impostor-detection scene.
  • A child’s observation that the absent police make it Christmas for thieves gives McClane a satisfying realization.
  • Simon effortlessly taking Zeus’s gun and shooting his leg establishes a cool, fearless villain against an inexperienced opponent.
  • The ending is ridiculous, but the greeting to Simon’s brother is enjoyed.
  • The cab ride downtown is the explicit final choice of both invited respondents, agreeing with the earlier phone-game-through-train-explosion sequence.

The most "year the movie came out" thing

Payphones; taxis; Rodney King; pre-cleanup New York; Twin Towers; Bonwit Teller

In the discussion (3)
Approx. transcript time · 00:56:02Read transcript
  • Payphones, crucial taxi rides, Rodney King references and only forty-two presidents date the film.
  • The less corporate, pre-cleanup New York atmosphere contrasts with today’s city of branded events, electric bikes and conspicuous cannabis smoke.
  • Trump and Hillary Clinton references, Willis and Jackson still having hair, the Twin Towers and Bonwit Teller are period markers.

Is There a Better Title for This Movie?

Die Hard 3: Simon Says; Die Hard 3; Die Hard in New York

In the discussion (1)
Approx. transcript time · 00:58:41Read transcript
  • Die Hard in New York, Die Hard 3: Simon Says and simply Die Hard 3 are preferred possibilities; The Other Gruber or Second Gruber are joking alternatives.

What’s Aged the Best?

Racial partnership; hangover; New York; Gruber reveal; deadlines; Zeus’s brains; Katia’s entrance

In the discussion (15)
Approx. transcript time · 01:01:31Read transcript
  • The black-white partnership directly confronts racial suspicion and unequal power while requiring cooperation against the European villains.
  • McClane’s desperate need for aspirin makes this a great hangover movie.
  • Location filming and the police-station line urging a reluctant officer to take a call remain pleasures.
  • The revenge-minded brother works better than a similar Another 48 Hrs. device; hiding Simon until around minute fifty increases the impact of his appearance.
  • Simon’s impersonation and visibly wounded response to McClane insulting Hans add enjoyment and depth.
  • Targo’s elaborate background as a Hungarian explosives expert working for Iran is relished.
  • The Gruber-name reveal and flashback to Hans falling are enjoyed.
  • A passenger unknowingly entering an action-scene cab and commandeering a civilian Mercedes are reliable comic pleasures.
  • The battered, hungover everyman who can still rise to the occasion defines Willis’s distinctive action persona.
  • Repeated deadlines, sometimes running in real time, and loss of radio communication sustain urgency.
  • The dummy mission, school-bomb search and heist create a multifront narrative anticipating later action movies.
  • This performance may exaggerate the familiar Jackson persona, but Pulp Fiction is agreed to be its main source for impersonations.
  • Zeus solving St. Ives establishes him as the puzzle-solving brains; the initial attribution to McClane is corrected.
  • An action villain using Simon Says is an appealing device.
  • Katia’s sunglasses, slicked-back hair, cigarette and bloody knife attack make an exceptional entrance, compared favorably with Edie Falco in Cop Land.

The Great Shot Gordo Award for Most Cinematic Shot

Department-store explosion; sunrise; cable bisecting a man

In the discussion (3)
Approx. transcript time · 01:13:06Read transcript
  • The department-store explosion is one cinematic-shot choice.
  • The opening sunrise shots make New York’s heat palpable and are another choice.
  • The cable bisecting a man is the third choice, with the dragging of separated body parts admired for its graphic excess.

The Butch’s Girlfriend Award for the Weakest Link in the Film

Finale; Zeus staying involved; repeated Holly references

In the discussion (3)
Approx. transcript time · 01:15:39Read transcript
  • The early action is so strong that the finale cannot top it, likened to Apocalypse Now’s helicopter sequence overwhelming later scenes.
  • Zeus has no credible reason to remain involved once Simon no longer needs him, particularly after being shot; ordinary civilians becoming commandos is compared with Under Siege and 48 Hrs.
  • Repeated pressure to call Holly distracts from the mission and an apparently finished marriage.

What’s Aged the Worst?

Headaches; bombing context; killing suspects; truck and gold logistics; ending

In the discussion (8)
Approx. transcript time · 01:19:10Read transcript
  • The repeated headache references become stale.
  • New York financial-district explosions are now sensitive imagery; release near the Oklahoma City bombing reportedly required careful publicity.
  • McClane kills suspected enemies without normal arrest procedure, though the combat circumstances offer a partial defense.
  • Police accepting a line of dump trucks at the damaged vault strains plausibility.
  • The film’s trusting, heroic picture of municipal workers searching dangerous schools contrasts with diminished contemporary regard for public services.
  • The stolen gold is far too heavy for the available trucks; the discussion cites 480 trucks and twenty-five-pound bars while questioning the film’s value figures.
  • The theatrical ending is judged poor and its aspirin-bottle location clue implausible.
  • Zeus joining the Quebec pursuit despite his injured leg is absurd; arresting Simon or sending a tactical team would be more sensible.

The Stephen A. Smith Hottest Take Award

Favorite Die Hard, with best-film dissent; Simon Says deserved its own franchise

In the discussion (3)
Approx. transcript time · 01:26:00Read transcript
  • Calling this the best Die Hard is proposed, aided by not imperiling Holly, then challenged because the original is groundbreaking with a stronger ending.
  • This is accepted as a personal favorite or the most entertaining installment without necessarily being the best.
  • Using Simon Says here squandered a possible standalone action or horror franchise; Saw is offered as a comparable concept.

The Joey Pants “That Guy” Award

In the discussion (3)
Approx. transcript time · 01:30:56Read transcript

Apex Mountain

Bruce Willis; Colleen Camp; Sam Phillips; summer action setting; Wall Street school system; gold reserves; Bonwit Teller; Die Hard sequels; McClane’s sidekicks

In the discussion (7)
Approx. transcript time · 01:40:07Read transcript
  • Willis receives support for this comeback period: Pulp Fiction and this hit lead into a run of major films and first-call status.
  • Willis and Demi Moore’s combined stardom adds to the case; Moore’s reported Striptease salary is corrected from twenty to twelve million.
  • Jackson’s peak is unresolved among the Pulp Fiction era, Jackie Brown, later-1990s permanence and Star Wars.
  • Irons’s Oscar win or Margin Call are alternatives; Harlem is rejected as only a brief setting here, with Harlem Knights, The Cotton Club and Hoodlum discussed.
  • Summer as an integral action-movie setting receives qualified support, as do the Wall Street school system, gold reserves and Bonwit Teller.
  • Colleen Camp and Sam Phillips receive affirmative support.
  • Die Hard sequels and McClane’s sidekicks receive clear affirmative answers, with Zeus preferred over the other companions.

Cruise or Hanks?

Cruise as McClane or Simon; Cruise–Hanks pairing proposed

In the discussion (2)
Approx. transcript time · 01:44:11Read transcript
  • Cruise is the easy choice as McClane; a blond Cruise as Simon with a German accent is another enthusiastic possibility.
  • A Cruise–Hanks pairing with Cruise as Zeus prompts a joke about a white Harlem electronics-shop owner and gentrification.

Sequel, Prequel, Limited Series, or All-Black Remake

Existing sequels discussed; no new proposal settled

In the discussion (1)
Approx. transcript time · 01:52:33Read transcript
  • Later sequels already exist; Live Free or Die Hard divides opinion, with Olyphant and hacking defended but other responses disappointed or only willing to watch on a flight.

Is This Movie Better With…?

Doris Burke

In the discussion (1)
Approx. transcript time · 01:53:12Read transcript
  • Doris Burke narrating Simon’s schemes and McClane playing through headaches is the choice, with a German farewell riff.

Just One Oscar

John McTiernan for directing

In the discussion (1)
Approx. transcript time · 01:54:00Read transcript
  • McTiernan’s direction is the choice; Irons is considered but rejected as not doing enough, against a strong Oscar year.

What Piece of Memorabilia Would You Want From This Movie?

Katia’s knife; prop gold brick; replacement shirt; sandwich board rejected

In the discussion (3)
Approx. transcript time · 01:57:11Read transcript
  • Katia’s knife and a movie-used gold brick are desired, with recognition that the prop brick would be fake.
  • McClane’s packaged replacement shirt is another desired item.
  • The racist sandwich board is rejected, including a blank version; imagined reactions are jokes.

The Coach Finstock Award for Best Life Lesson

Cooperate across racial differences; never underestimate divorced alcoholics

In the discussion (1)
Approx. transcript time · 01:58:12Read transcript
  • Cooperation can overcome racism and the European villains; never underestimate divorced alcoholics is another joking lesson.

Who Won the Movie?

Samuel L. Jackson (two choices); Bruce Willis (one choice)

In the discussion (2)
Approx. transcript time · 02:00:28Read transcript
  • Jackson receives two explicit winner choices for refreshing the franchise and bringing out Willis’s willingness to share the screen.
  • Willis receives a competing choice because John McClane is hard to beat; the Jackson case emphasizes proving Pulp Fiction was no fluke and carrying a major hit.
Podcast choices
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Samuel L. Jackson
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Samuel L. Jackson
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Bruce Willis