'Die Hard 3' makes your heart beat a little harder

By Meidyatama Suryodiningrat

JAKARTA (JP): "How could the same thing happen to the same person three times?"

Bruce Willis does not say that line in the third installment of the Die Hard movie series, but he should. This latest sequel captures much of the seat gripping drama, which caused the first movie to become an action-film prodigy, and regains the intensity lost in the second.

From the very first minute to the dying seconds, audiences are taken on a thrilling roller coaster ride with a rather simple yet ingenious plot.

Overland, underground, in the sky, on the water, this movie is packed with two hours of action adventure.

In Die Hard with a Vengeance Bruce Willis resumes his role as detective John McClane, the easygoing, fast talking, one-man army police officer, who seems to have more lives than a cat.

He is on home turf this time, New York city, and as usual gets into trouble he never asked for.

The suspended McClane, who is suffering an awful hangover, is called in to help catch a riddle posing terrorist bomber calling himself Simon, played with masterful wickedness by British actor Jeremy Irons.

Although McClane's superior, Inspector Cobb, pleads that he act differently, Simon demands that McClane go galloping around the city in a game of Simon Says, or face the consequences of "another big bang in a public place", including a school full of children.

McClane is told to go the black dominated neighborhood of Harlem dressed in boxer shorts and wearing a sign reading "I hate Niggers". However McClane's humiliation and near death at the hands of a gang of ruffians who obviously take exception to the sign is accidentally interrupted by Zeus Carver.

Zeus, played by Samuel L. Jackson, is then forced by Simon to pair up with McClane in a rhyme seeking chase across New York city, from Central Park through the Wall Street subway station to Yankee stadium.

Basically that is the plot. The race is with time as our two- heroes try to get from one location to another in one of the world's most crowded cities.

However, as you would expect nothing is as simple as it looks and as the film develops a more elaborate plot unfolds.

Standard

Die Hard 3 marks the return of director John McTiernan who directed the first movie. Thus it is not surprising that this film evokes the same claustrophobic ferocity as its predecessors.

Despite being constantly on the move in a city as big as New York, McTiernan maintains a tight frenzied pace with only a few moments of respite.

Adapted from a script by Jonathan Hensleigh, Die Hard with a Vengeance comes up with the tense pace often lacking in the second Die Hard film, directed by Renny Harlin.

Whether it was intended or not, when McTiernan finished completed the first movie he set a standard for nail-biting drama which has become a yardstick for action movies made in the following decade.

It spawned several "exploitation" movies, such as the Hong Kong made Die Hard at Sea which recently played in theaters here.

Even such a thrilling movie as Speed starring Keanu Reeves, which reached the action movie pinnacle as well, was dubbed in its promotional ads as "Die Hard on a Bus."

Though the car chase scenes cannot be compared to the vehicular action in Speed, McClane's pursuit in a Yellow Taxi Cab down jammed Manhattan streets is certainly comparable to the memorable police chase in Striking Distance which also starred Bruce Willis.

A new nuance that director McTiernan has added in Die Hard 3 is the chemistry between McClane and Zeus. The interplay between them adds a humorous human touch which further accentuates the action scenes.

McClane's madcap attitude is finely balanced against Zeus' rather stoic demeanor, creating a deep sense of friendship, which audiences cannot help but love.

It reminds us of the "buddy-buddy" relationship which was so successful between Mel Gibson and Danny Glover that it spawned three Lethal Weapon films.

Adventure

Although the added dimension of camaraderie certainly helps to invigorate the movie, McTiernan doesn't forget the bottom line of thrilling adventure combined with heart throbbing special effects.

From a wild subway scene to a mad run from a giant ball of water in an underground tunnel, McTiernan has pulled out all the stops on this stunt and special effects extravaganza.

It may be true that the validity of some of the events in the film may be a bit hard to swallow, even for those who have an active imagination.

One scene when McClane in spurted by a geyser out of an underground duct, who should coincidentally be passing by to lend a hand ... no other than his buddy Zeus.

Another scene finds our heroes falling from a lofty height and landing flat on their faces atop a steel deck of a ship. After a few minutes of groans, these two unsinkable fellows stand up, ready to take on a ship of former East German commandos.

Now McClane and Zeus may be two real tough guys, but most people would either have had a few broken bones, or at least a dislocated joint.

But then again maybe this one of those movies in which we are not supposed to wonder how many bullets our hero's gun has to be able to kill so many bad guys without reloading.

This is a summer movie for the United States and Europe, which is supposed to be easy, fun and enjoyable, without abhorring or contemplating on the effects of screen violence on adolescents.

You don't need to be a diehard action movie buff to enjoy this flick which is sure to make your heart beat harder.