Die Hard With A Vengeance Critic Reviews

Die Hard With a Vengeance is basically a wind-up action toy, cleverly made, and delivered with high energy. It delivers just what it advertises, with a vengeance.Read the full review

It should come as no surprise that Jonathan Hensleigh's script was not originally written as a "Die Hard" film. The blend of "Die Hard" and "With a Vengeance" is sometimes smooth but never complete. It's as if "Die Hard" were wearing a rented tux.Read the full review

It's a tense, terrifically funny action dazzler with a wow level in special effects that will be hard to top.Read the full review

Cutting to the chase: In terms of summer movie thrills, director John McTiernan's return to the "Die Hard" genre (he made the first one) is a triumph.Read the full review

All the explosions and fights are filmed with consummate skill, and are thrilling in their own right. But that's where it stops. The pacing is erratic and the level of tension ebbs and flows.Read the full review

The movie turns two hours of bombings, subway crashes, car chases and helicopter pursuits into the ultimate roller-coaster ride.Read the full review

Director John McTiernan, who redefined the action genre in the original "Die Hard," does devise some smashing explosions, crashes and so on, but nothing really new.Read the full review

In Die Hard With a Vengeance, McTiernan stages individual sequences with great finesse (there's a terrific bit with Willis and five thugs in an elevator), yet they don't add up to a taut, dread-ridden whole.Read the full review

Put to the sequel litmus test, queasily spectacular Vengeance would only rate a footnote without a strong original to exploit - or a protracted telephone-terrorist subplot to steal from Dirty Harry 1. [19May1995 Pg.01.D]Read the full review