Die Hard with a Vengeance

(viewed August 23, 1999 on Fox)

I’m pleased to say that this is the first movie that my mom, brother and I have watched together in years.  It came at the end of a day when mom was in remarkably high spirits, and when she saw this movie on TV she became inexplicably excited.  The experience, the three of us squeezed together on our couch, my mom following the movie intently.  We haven’t seen a movie together since my junior high days, back when Century Plaza had opened and we’d catch the $3 matinee.  I also remember watching Die Hard with Mom on video back in ’89 and her liking that one too. 

According to my brother: this movie started out great, but lost steam and got confusing.  I agree that it had a few too many things going towards the end than it needed, but then again the idea of the plot is to throw out one red herring after another.  Willis and Sam L. Jackson are fun together ­ Willis seems to get more comfortable with his character with each installment of the series, and Jackson holds his own.  Jeremy Irons is fine as a villain, though surprisingly not as fun as Alan Rickman in the first movie, and his demise not as spectacular.  The supporting characters just create a lot of chaos, and are difficult to sort through.  The German heavies have a bit more personality than we usually see; some get to talk, and express their concern over killing children.  After a few days, the movie leaves very few images in my mind; I guess it’s just useful as one of those lively diversions that can bring a family together for an evening.

Home