90s Action Blockbuster Took Major Marvel Star To The Next Level
It seems strange today, but there was a time when Samuel L. Jackson was not a major Hollywood star. His rising career in the late 70s and early 80s was derailed by a drug addiction, which he managed to overcome, but he needed to start over from the bottom. Pulp Fiction proved he was supremely talented, but it was one year later that Die Hard with a Vengeance turned him into a million-dollar star.
Simon Says With A Vengeance
The first film co-starring Samuel L. Jackson and Bruce Willis, Die Hard with a Vengeance, came out in 1995, five years after Die Hard 2, and it was everything fans wanted from the disappointing airport sequel.
This time, John McClain (Willis) is joined by Zeus Carver (Jackson) as the pair have to take part in a deadly game of “Simon Says” while a criminal mastermind is slowly unfolding his grand plan. Turning Die Hard into a buddy-cop action comedy was a recipe for success, but no one benefited more than Jackson.
One Of Jackson’s Best Roles
Zeus Carver, a native New Yorker, is a surprisingly multi-faceted role for a mid-90 action blockbuster; as you can tell from his very first scene confronting McClain over a racist sandwich board, Jackson is playing a very smart man struggling to cover a layer of simmering rage. Like Pulp Fiction’s Julius but more realistic, Carver keeps up with McClain and helps Die Hard with a Vengeance’s audience appreciate Willis’ everyman hero all over again by giving him someone to bounce off of.
This formula would fail in the next two Die Hard films, as Justin Long is no Samuel L. Jackson.
The Scene-Stealing Villain
Die Hard with a Vengeance works so well because it mixes up the formula of the first two and is well aware that this is supposed to be a fun and ridiculous world. I won’t say it’s a laugh-out-loud comedy, but there are some good one-liners, and the criminal’s master plan, involving copious amounts of garbage trucks, is unveiled with “The Ants Go Marching” blaring in the background.
The villain, played by Jeremy Irons, doesn’t hit the level of Alan Rickman’s Hans Gruber, but rest assured, the Oscar-winner makes a meal out of every scene he’s in.
Rock Solid Action Thrills
John McTiernan, director of the original Die Hard and Predator, nails the right mix of character moments, absurdity, and brilliant action setpieces. Modern action films, and I’m looking at you, Jason Statham, tend to fall apart when it comes to pacing, but Die Hard with a Vengeance is a wild thrill ride from the word “Go.”
That said, there’s no iconic action scene like the roof explosion of the original, but from the subway to the boat and the electrifying climax, there’s also no duds.
One Of The Best Action Movies Of All Time On Paramount+
REVIEW SCORE
Though not as good as the genre-defining original, Die Hard with a Vengeance deserves to be mentioned alongside other 90s action classics, like Speed, The Rock, and Con Air. Take a break from the never-ending fire hose of subpar action content from this decade, and go stream this classic that turned Samuel L. Jackson into a household name on Paramount+.
Also, let’s be honest: the title is one of the coolest in movie history, and there’s no colon required.
