The best sequel to Bruce Willis’ often copied action mega-hit “Die Hard” can be seen on free TV. However, you’d better not switch on “Die Hard with a Vengeance”: ProSieben is only showing the blockbuster in an abridged version today!
Action legend Bruce Willis in a dirty undershirt, Samuel L. Jackson as his bespectacled reluctant partner and a wonderfully nasty Jeremy Irons, who chases them across New York with tricky tasks: “Die Hard with a Vengeance” is, in the eyes of many fans, the best sequel to the action classic “Die Hard” – I agree.
And yet I have to issue a warning at this point. Because Tonight, September 13, 2024, ProSieben will show “Die Hard 3” in an abridged version from 8:15 p.m.The explosive 90s blockbuster is rated 16+ in its entirety and can therefore only be shown on free TV from 10 p.m. At least the blockbuster is included uncut in the Disney+ subscription:
“Die Hard 3”: John McClane and the bombastic puzzles
John McClane (Bruce Willis) is in a bad mood, hungover and suspended from work. He can’t afford to have a big-talking villain who calls himself Simon (Jeremy Irons) playing an explosive game of hide-and-seek with him right now: All of New York is the playground, Simon is the bomb-hiding puzzle master and only John McClane gets the twisted clues. Against his will, however, electrician and shop owner Zeus Carver (Samuel L. Jackson) is also drawn into this murderous hunt, which may be hiding more than Simon lets on…
With part three, the “Die Hard” series has hit the turbo: After the original was set in a skyscraper and the second part was set in an airport, this time the action takes place in an entire city. The budget soared to the then extremely respectable sum of 90 million dollars. And For the first and last time in the history of the franchise, the material battle won the title of the most successful film of the year!
Willis and Jackson’s rush through a New York City loaded with explosives generated an impressive $366 million – almost 30 years of inflation later, this is no longer a record result for the year, but one for which superhero films are declared a financial disappointment. Crazy, this financial world…
An unmatched success that was not planned at all
But back to “Die Hard 3”: The action hit is also John McTiernan’s biggest hit! The director, who previously directed the first “Die Hard” and the submarine thriller “The Hunt for Red October”, helped shape the popcorn cinema of the late 80s and 90s, but never came close to McClane’s third mission at the box office.
This story almost didn’t become “Die Hard” material at all: The basic framework of the film was developed as an original material before Warner Bros. acquired the script and wanted to have it rewritten into a “Lethal Weapon” sequelWhen the process dragged on too long, the script was sold to 20th Century Fox, who were desperately looking for a script for the next Die Hard installment.
This story of how it came about certainly explains why the narrative flow of “Die Hard 3” feels a bit bumpy at times, as the original idea of a bomb-maker who poses a riddle with a crowbar is transformed into a “Die Hard” sequel. But these dramatic stumbling blocks are extremely easy to forgive given the chemistry between Willis and Jackson, Irons wallowing in his evilness, and the powerful, fun action. There are completely different calibers in Willis’ CV…
“Really bad, really pathetic”: Bruce Willis has publicly apologized for this action thriller
This is a revised re-publication of an article that previously appeared on FILMSTARTS.
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