from the mind of e.j.

Lover of movies, TV and other stuff. This is my personal blog! Enjoy!
E.J.'s Blog
  E.J. Tangonan - Actor. Graphic Designer. Editor. Movies. Fun.
  • Home
  • From the Mind of E.J.
  • Acting
  • Graphic Design
  • Editing

Die Hard Retrospective: Die Hard with a Vengeance

5/23/2013

0 Comments

 
Picture
Picture
DIE HARD WITH A VENGEANCE

            Welcome, one and all! It’s part 3 of E.J.’s “Die Hard” retrospective and we’ll be taking a look at “Die Hard with a Vengeance.”

              I was 11 years old and my dad was cool enough to take me to see this in theaters and let me tell you, I loved it from the start and it still holds up to this day! Director John McTiernan returns and it’s just so obvious that he understands what makes a good “Die Hard” movie because he succeeds in telling a different kind of story without losing the charm of the original. I get a genuine feeling he purposely doesn’t acknowledge the second movie and considers this a true first sequel to the first one. Why else wouldn’t it be called “Die Hard 3?” Well, I commented on how I thought at the title “Die Harder” was cheesy, but this was just a head scratcher. Never had I heard a sequel put its title in a sentence or phrase before. But to tell you the truth, it grew on me quickly. There’s just something about the phrase “With a vengeance” that screams, “back for a real sequel.”

                       Well, this movie actually started off as another script named “Simon Says” which was intended to be made into the third Lethal Weapon movie. It’s especially evident by the fact that this installment is more of a buddy comedy. Not to be confused for the movie “Simon Sez” starring Dennis Rodman. For some reason, it became some sort of tradition to make a “Die Hard” movie from a different source material. The first two being books and this one, a different script.

Picture
I would rather watch "Kazaam" with Shaquille O'Neal.
                     This film literally starts off with a bang. The only credits presented are the titles, then we have a small montage of New York City set to Lovin’ Spoonful. Then, boom! A department store blows up! It grabs our attention immediately! The police department is scrambling for damage control when Police Chief Walter Cobb gets a call from the mad bomber “Simon.” There’s a beautiful shot where we pan slowly around his head throughout Simon’s call and the suspense already starts to build!

                      John McClane is once again thrust into a situation he doesn’t want to be in. But in a great twist, this time he’s being held hostage as Simon specifically requested John McClane to start participating in a dangerous game of Simon Says and if he fails the tasks, Simon will detonate another bomb. When we first see John, he’s hung over, he’s become an alcoholic and he’s even on suspension. It’s mentioned that he’s once again separated from his wife, although she doesn’t technically appear this time around.
Picture
"I told you I'd get you back for 'Hudson Hawk.'"
Picture
Probably the last person to sport tethered glasses.
                          The first task John must carry out is wearing a sandwich board with a message that could get him killed. A humble electrician, Zeus Carver, played by Samuel L. Jackson confronts him and unwittingly gets himself involved in the game. John convinces Zeus to play along and the rest of the movie, they become joined at the hip. It’s a detour to give McClane a direct partner. In the first two movies, he’s usually working alone, but has help from at least one more person. Here, he relies on Zeus on multiple occasions and couldn’t possibly complete all of the tasks without him. What follows is a series of sequences where John and Zeus have to travel around New York City solving riddles and disarming bombs. It’s incredibly fun to watch. It’s just like a video game. It’s not unlike missions in open world games like “Grand Theft Auto” or  “Saints Row” where you travel around the city completing tasks or else something bad happens. The riddles were shown in a way to challenge the audience too. I remember rumbling amongst the people in the audience, trying to figure out the answers.    
Picture
This is the worst phone sex we've ever heard.
               The entire New York police force gets involved in containing the terrorist plot since there’s more than just McClane’s end. It’s great to see him not butting heads with authority as much this time around and you really get a sense of unity between the police officers. What’s funny is you get to see John interact with his old cop buddies and being in New York, everybody is a smart ass and bust each other’s balls all the time. It happens a lot without being overkill and you can really see how McClane developed such a sarcastic personality at his home base.

                 Samuel L. Jackson and Bruce Willis’ chemistry is perhaps one of the best buddy-cop relationships ever. They play off of each other so well! Zeus is an “angry black man” character and is overly sensitive to everything McClane says like he’s implying something. Their bickering elevates this entry to be funniest of the series. It was just a blast to watch them argue. I remember the theater crowd going nuts. I don’t know how McTiernan does it, but in his “Die Hard” movies, the dialogue delivery seldom sound like actors giving performances. They’re always incredibly natural. It’s like a Howard Hawkes movie!
                     The “Vengeance” part of the title comes from when McClane finds out that Simon is actually Simon Gruber, Hans Gruber’s brother. It was such a fun twist to find out because it I already loved the movie and it actually had the balls to connect itself with the first one without being cheesy. Simon is played by Jeremy Irons and let me tell you, he gives Alan Rickman a run for his money. He’s just as good and what makes him so charismatic is his confidence. He walks everywhere like he owns the world and makes great quips himself. He’s like an evil James Bond! The great thing is he actually has a personality similar to Hans but has his own personal flare so you believe they WERE brothers instead of being a rehash. The motif of the bad guys in this movie is the song “When Johnny Comes Marching Home Again” just like “Ode to Joy” was in the first one. Whenever I watch this movie, I can’t help but whistle along to this song.  Their plot is similar to the first where they pose as terrorists to deviate from their real heist plot, but here, it feels fresh and exciting. Never did it feel forced nor copied.
Picture
The first two lines of his freestyle rap.
                     McClane and Zeus run all over New York playing Simon’s game until John finally gets a lead. Then, it becomes a detective story, which is McClane’s thing. The beauty of the first and third movie is he relies on his wits. It shows he’s really got street smarts. When it becomes a detective movie, it finally unleashes McClane on everyone. There are few gunfights in this movie, but when they take place, they really get brutal. There is one particularly over the top scene where John is stuck in a flooding tunnel and he surfs on the truck he was driving, but it doesn’t hurt the movie and I can forgive its silliness.
Picture
"I'm John McClane,bitch!"
                        The last third of the movie sees McClane and Zeus climbing aboard a tanker that the terrorists have loaded with their loot. Here, we’re brought into familiar territory as it separates the two protagonists and we have McClane sneaking around another enclosed location trying to find Simon. It’s brief, but a great throwback to the first movie. Bruce Willis can just sell sneaking around and being alert. The ending of the movie is what kind of hurts it. It’s a sequence that seems to pop up out of nowhere and feels a bit tacked on. But this is for good reason, because this was a reshot ending. The original ending, which can be viewed on the DVD set and youtube shows McClane catching up to Simon months later in a German bar. McClane was fired from the NYPD and he’s been driven angry and bitter by Simon’s whole ordeal. There’s practically no action in it. It’s just John and Simon talking. With that and its darker tone, it kind of resembles a Tarantino movie. What happens is John gets out a rocket launcher and institutes his own riddle game, “McClane Says.” This is an interesting ending. I probably prefer the theatrical one more even though it’s a by the numbers action scene. The alternate ending shows McClane being a bit too dark. He’s crazier because he looks so obsessed with killing Simon. In the theatrical ending, it may be a typical action scene, but at least he still has his sanity and John feels more like a cop than a killer here. Overall, this is without a doubt a close second in the whole franchise.

Alternate ending

THREE AND HALF STARS OUT OF FOUR.

One more review to go, then it’s “A Good Day to Die Hard.”
Picture
I'm still John McClane, bitch!
0 Comments
    View my profile on LinkedIn

    Author

    E.J. is just a simple man who loves movies. Don't judge.

    Archives

    September 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    October 2017
    August 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    January 2016
    November 2015
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013

    Categories

    All
    20 Years
    42
    48 Hour Film Contest
    7 Voyages Of Sinbad
    Action
    Alan Matthews
    Alan Rickman
    Alien
    Aliens
    Al Pacino
    Alumninati
    American History X
    Armageddon
    Arnold Schwarzenegger
    Arrested Development
    Asian
    Asians In Movies
    Aspect Ratio
    Aspen Extreme
    At The Movies
    Bad Singing
    Batman
    Beast From 20
    Ben Kingsley
    Benny The Jet Urquidez
    Ben Savage
    Better Luck Tomorrow
    Blair Underwood
    Bobby Lee
    Boston
    Boy Meets World
    Bradley James Allen
    Branch Rickey
    Brandon Lee
    Brooklyn Dodgers
    Bruce Lee
    Bruce Willis
    Burger Studio
    Camera Rig
    Canadian Walk Of Fame
    Caravan Melodies
    Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa
    Chadwick Boseman
    Charleton Heston
    Chicago Sun Times
    Chipotle Mayo
    Cinemascope
    Cinerama
    Cityonfire.com
    Clash Of The Titans
    Cold Dead Hand
    Cracked
    Creed
    Crime
    Daniel Wu
    Dantes Peak
    Darren Aronofsky
    Deckard Shaw
    Deep Impact
    Deja Vu
    Delroy Lindo
    Demo
    Depression
    Dick Wei
    Die Hard
    Die Hard 2
    Die Hard 6
    Die Hard With A Vengeance
    Directing Debut
    Diversity
    Donation
    Don Cheadle
    Dr. Steven Greer
    Drunken Master
    Dwayne Johnson
    East West Players
    Ebert
    E.J. Tangonan
    Ej Tangonan
    Eric Lim
    Escape Plan
    Ethan Hawke
    Fake Poster
    Fantasy Football
    Fast And Furious
    Fast And Furious 6
    Fast Five
    Fight
    Filmmaker Iq
    Final Destination
    First Person Shooter
    Forbidden Kingdom
    Franchise
    Funnyordie
    Gaming
    Gene
    George Bluth
    George Michael Bluth
    Gina Carano
    Girl Meets World
    Gob
    Grayson
    Guns
    Haiyan
    Hans Zimmer
    Harrison Ford
    Heart Of A Champion
    Hee Haw
    Henry Cavill
    History Of Movies
    Hong Kong
    Hugh Jackman
    Humor
    Ign.com
    Iko Uwais
    Illumiroom
    Illusions
    Impawards
    Independent
    Inspiring
    Iron Man 3
    Jackie Chan
    Jackie Robinson
    James Mangold
    Jamie Dancer
    Japan
    Jason Bateman
    Jason Scott Lee
    Jason Statham
    Jeff Adachi
    Jeremy Edwards
    Jeremy Irons
    Jet Li
    Jim Carrey
    Joe Taslim
    John Fiorella
    John Mctiernan
    John Wick
    Joker
    Jonathan Liebesman
    Josh Gibson
    Justin Lin
    Kc Monarchs
    Keanu Reeves
    Ken Lo
    Kevin Eastman
    Lena Headly
    Little Big League
    Low Budget Films
    Luke Hobbs
    Mako
    Man Of Steel
    Man Of Tai Chi
    Marketing
    Martial Arts
    Marvel
    Matt Wright
    Megan Fox
    Michael Bay
    Michael B Jordan
    Michael Bluth
    Michael Cera
    Michael J. Fox
    Michelle Rodriguez
    Microsoft
    Mighty Peking Man
    Missouri Western
    Movie Poster
    Movies
    Mr. Falcon
    Music Video
    Mwsu
    Mykelti Williamson
    Nakatomi
    Nbc News
    Negro League Baseball
    Nelly
    Nerissa Lee
    Netflix
    Newsradio
    Nightwing
    Ninja Turtles
    Nra
    Old Habits Die Hard
    Olympus Has Fallen
    Originals
    Outsiders Podcast
    Pain
    Parkinsons
    Patton Oswalt
    Paul Walker
    Peter Laird
    Phil Hartman
    Philippines
    Philippines Relief
    Platinum Dunes
    Police Story
    Poll
    Portfolio
    Posters
    Projection
    Punches
    Radio Commercials
    Rambo
    Rapid Fire
    Ray Harryhausen
    Red Cross
    Remakes
    Renny Harlin
    Retrospective
    Robert Downey Jr
    Robin
    Rocky
    Roger
    Roger Fan
    Rookie Of The Year
    Rumble In The Bronx
    Ryan Coogler
    Sam Elliot
    Sammo Hung
    Samuel L. Jackson
    Satchel Paige
    Satire
    Saul Bass
    Sequel Titles
    Shane Black
    Short
    Showdown
    Showdown In Little Tokyo
    Simpsons
    Sincere
    Sirius
    Siskel
    Slanted Screen
    Snl
    Soul Of The Game
    Special Effects
    Spin-off
    Stephen Reedy
    Stop Motion Animation
    Struggle
    Subrogation
    Suicide
    Sung Kang
    Superman
    Sussue Hiakowa
    Sylvester Stallone
    Tai Chi
    Taika Waititi
    Technology
    The Beast From 20000 Fathoms
    The Crow
    The Daddyman
    The Fast And The Furious
    The Forge
    The Matrix
    The Purge
    The Raid
    The Tomb
    Thor Ragnarok
    Tom Brady
    Top 10
    Tournament
    Trailer
    Trailers
    Travel
    Tribute
    Tv Trailer
    Twerk Attack
    Two Thumbs Up
    Typhoon
    Tyrese
    Tzi Ma
    Ufo
    Unicef
    Variety
    Video Gaming
    Vin Diesel
    Voice Over
    Volcano
    White House Down
    Widescreen
    Will Arnett
    William Russ
    William Sadler
    Wolverine
    Wonder Woman
    Xbox
    X-Men
    Youoffendedmeyouoffendmyfamily
    Yuen Biao
    Yuen Woo Ping

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
  • Home
  • From the Mind of E.J.
  • Acting
  • Graphic Design
  • Editing