IT’S BOOMTIME IN THE BIG APPLE.

John McClane (Bruce Willis), who’s been off the wagon for quite some time, is forced back on duty in New York when a mad bomber (Jeremy Irons) demands his presence.

Opus 3 in this popular series broadens its view a bit; the scene this time is not a high-rise nor an airport but an entire city. It’s a bombastic sequel, long, violent, action-packed; it’s as if director John McTiernan refused to make any choices and decided everything had to be included.

There’s no credibility and we need to feel that these characters could actually get killed… but it’s also exciting and whoever came up with the idea of pairing Willis and Samuel L. Jackson deserves praise. 

1995-U.S. 128 min. Color. Widescreen. Directed by John McTiernan. Cast: Bruce Willis (John McClane), Jeremy Irons (Simon Peter Gruber), Samuel L. Jackson (Zeus Carver), Graham Greene, Colleen Camp, Larry Bryggman. 

Trivia: The script was first considered for the third sequel to Lethal Weapon (1987); at one point, the villain was to be a woman, with Angela Bassett in negotiations to play the part. Laurence Fishburne was first offered the part of Zeus. Followed by Live Free or Die Hard (2007).