Fox Home Entertainment / 2007 / 495 Minutes / Rated R
Street Date: November 20, 2007
List Price: $129.95 [Buy now and save at Amazon or DVD Empire ]
Overall Grade

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Bottom Line Worth a Look
Reviewed by Peter M. Bracke
Wednesday, November 21, 2007

The Movie Itself: Our Reviewer's Take

Over the last twenty years, John McClane has become such an iconic part of the action-film landscape that it's hard to remember a time when he wasn't etched in our pop culture consciousness. Starting with 'Die Hard' and continuing through three sequels, the character has proven to be one of the most durable in a very fickle genre. Aside from James Bond and Indiana Jones, there may be no other action movie hero who has lasted as long or remained as beloved by audiences. McClane redefined the boundaries of the action archetype, bringing a warmth, humor, unpredictability and an almost fanciful sense of masculine derring do to the genre.

Next we have 1995's 'Die Hard with a Vengeance.' This time, a crazed mad bomber named Simon Gruber (Jeremy Irons) has an axe to grind against McClane, and is planting explosives all over New York City. With the help of a local shop owner (Samuel L. Jackson), McClane must complete a series of tasks laid out by Gruber, or innocent civilians will die. Eventually, the madman's true motivations will be revealed, but they aren't as exciting as the build-up would leave you to believe.

'Vengeance' sees the return of director McTiernan to the franchise, and also opens up the milieu considerably, with McClane hitting so many scenic stops in the Big Apple that he might as well be a tour guide. Unfortunately, what worked so well in the first 'Die Hard' was its sense of confinement and claustrophobia, and 'Vengeance' just isn't asfun or suspenseful. The script is also ham-fisted in its attempt to weave in social commentary (the Jackson character seems to face bigotry at every turn, all in wholly contrived ways). And with Bedelia bowing out of this third outing, there is little personal drama for McClane, so we barely feel invested in the eventual outcome of all the carnage. 'Die Hard with a Vengeance' is certainly my least favorite of the series.

As a franchise, the Die Hard series stands tall. In the character of John McClane, Willis found his best-ever role, and with a combination of brawn, brains and snarky wit, created a whole new icon of the action movie. Add to that some of the most top-notch stunt sequences and effects the genre has ever seen, and you have a series of four films that truly do rival such legendary franchises as James Bond, the Terminator and Mad Max. I can't claim that the 'Die Hard' series hasn't had its ups and downs, but even in its weakest moments, the Die Hard series has never been less than a total blast.

The Video: Sizing Up the Picture

All four John McClane films are making their high-def debut this week -- both here, as part of 'The Die Hard Collection,' and as standalone Blu-ray releases. Each of the films are presented in 1080p/AVC MPEG-4 encodes, framed at an aspect ratio of 2.40:1. However, that's about the only consistency you're going to get with this set, which each transfer varying considerably from the others in terms of quality. (Note that I've included individual ratings for each of the video transfers below. The overall Video rating is a composite score for all four presentations.)

Die Hard with a Vengeance

This is where things happily start picking up. Finally, with 'Die Hard with a Vengeance' we have a noticeable upgrade over the standard DVD release. That old transfer was laced with awful edge enhancement, which I'm happy to say Fox has largely rectified here. The image is sharp, but no longer overrun with edge halos (I did still notice some slight ringing, usually on wide shots with lots of highly-contrasted areas). Contrast is also much better than on the first two 'Die Hard' flicks, and 'Vengeance' has a much brighter, more detailed style. Depth finally pops, and colors are more robust yet also more natural. Fleshtones, too, are finally accurate.

The source print is still not pristine, however, with a pretty consistent level of fine grain and some dirt. I also was disappointed to see some noise and compression artifacts -- for example, right during the opening bomb explosion, some slight pixel break-up is noticeable in a far shot of a cloud of smoke. There is also a slight print wavering from time to time, though it's generally not intrusive.

All in all, 'Die Hard with a Vengeance' is a clear improvement over its predecessors, earning it a solid 4 star video rating.

The Audio: Rating the Sound

Fox offers up matching DTS-HD Lossless Master Audio 5.1 Surround tracks for all four flicks in 'The Die Hard Collection' (all encoded at 48kHz/24-bit), but not unlike the video transfers, this one's another mixed bag. (Again I will offer up an individual Audio rating for each flick below, with this review's overall Audio score an average of all four.)

Die Hard with a Vengeance

Things get fun again with the third film in the series. As was the case with the video, this is just a newer, brighter, punchier soundtrack than the first two flicks. Thanks in part to the greater use of outdoor locations, ambiance is far livelier. The rears are much more engaged, with a greater sense of depth and impact. Subtle discrete effects are effective, and at last the soundfield came alive in a way I had been hoping for on 'Die Hard' and 'Die Hard 2.' Dynamics are also improved, with high-end free of tinniness and much deeper .1 LFE (at last, the subwoofer cranked). Dialogue is also much better balanced, and I was not left straining for dialogue intelligibility.

This one earns a solid 4.

The Supplements: Digging Into the Good Stuff

Die Hard with a Vengeance

The third film in the franchise doesn't divert from the commentary/EPK approach of the supplements on its two predecessors. Though there's lots here, it's honestly hard to imagine even the most dedicated fans not getting bored with most of this fluff:

Audio Commentary - John McTiernan is back in the director's chair for 'Die Hard with a Vengeance,' and is edited together on this track with screenwriter Jonathan Hensleigh and former Fox head of distribution Tom Sherak. What's fascinating here is that Hensleigh's original script was called "Simon Says," and was not intended to be a 'Die Hard' flick until the studio expressed interest in crafting a third entry and retooled it for Willis. Given such an intriguing backstory, it's a shame Sherak doesn't add much at all, save for a few comments about the film's release near the end.

TV Special: "HBO First Look" (SD, 22 minutes) - This one's your basic extended commercial, with lots of film clips and backpatting, although Willis does have a funny montage in the middle where he jokes around on the set. Hosted by co-star Reginald Vel Johnson.

TV Special: "A Night to Die For" (SD, 23 minutes) - Originally produced for CBS and hosted by Samuel L. Jackson, this is another extended trailer, but at least it's better than the "HBO First Look." The behind-the-scenes footage is improved, and there are more substantial interviews with Willis, Jackson, McTiernan and uber-villain Jeremy Irons.

Featurette: "Villains with a Vengeance" (SD, 4 minutes) - A profile piece on the Irons character. Too bad just about every single comment here was already heard in the above TV specials. Talk about redundant.

Bruce Willis Interview (SD, 6 minutes) - Exactly what the title says, but this is just more EPK filler, and there's nothing here we haven't already heard the actor say about the character.

Featurette (SD, 5 minutes) - Seriously? Another EPK? This is like a digest version of the TV specials, but even more promotional in nature.

Side-by-Side Comparisons (SD, 3 minutes) - Split-screen comparisons are offered for six scenes, each a very quick montage of green screen and final film composites. The six sequences are: "The Great Jump," "Shimmying Down Cable," "Jackson Plummets," "Grabbing Onto Crane," "Fall In Front Of Taxi," "Water Gushing Through Tunnel" and "Willis Shot Out Of Tunnel."

Storyboard Sequence (SD, 2 minutes) - A short montage of a scene where Willis is investigating a subway tunnel. The footage mixes finished film clips with various storyboard plates, all set to final production sound.

Alternate Ending (SD, 6 minutes) - A very rough version of the original climax, which is a bit more "European." Worth watching, and screenwriter Hensleigh also provides optional commentary.

Theatrical Trailers (HD) - There are two full trailers and five TV spots (presented in SD only) for 'Die Hard with a Vengeance.' And once again, trailers for 'Die Hard,' 'Die Hard 2: Die Harder,' 'Live Free or Die Hard' and 'Alien vs. Predator.'

Supplement rating for 'Die Hard with a Vengeance': 2.5.

HD Bonus Content: Any Exclusive Goodies in There?

Fox hasn't provided much in the way of exclusive features for 'The Die Hard Collection' on Blu-ray. The only genuine new extra can be found on 'Live Free or Die Hard,' and it's only a marginal interactive game. The rest of the exclusives are all interactive functions rather than true bonus content:

Personal Scene Selections - The first three flicks all feature the ability to bookmark your favorite scenes for easy access even after you eject the disc from the player. Oddly, I couldn't find the same function on 'Live Free or Die Hard.'

D-Box Enhancement - If you're one of the half-dozen people out there who actually owns one of those D-Box home theater rump-shakers, just pop in any of the four 'Die Hard' discs and get ready for some serious, earth-shattering vibrations.

Interactive Game: "Black Hat Intercept!" - Exclusive to the 'Live Free or Die Hard' disc, this BD-Java enhanced multi-level strategy game was co-created by Kevin Smith. Basically, you step into the shoes of Smith's character in the movie, and must deduce your way through various brain teasers and obstacles before the ticking clock expires. Although I found this one more challenging than other BD-J games of its type, it should go without saying that it pales in comparison to anything you're going to find on the PS3 or Xbox.

Easter Eggs

No easter eggs reported for 'The Die Hard Collection' yet. Found an egg? Please use our tips form to let us know, and we'll credit you with the find.

Final Thoughts

John McClane has been in the pop culture consciousness for twenty years now, and it's great to finally have all of his adventures contained in one high-def box set. As is to be expected wih a series that spans two decades, the quality of this Blu-ray collection varies from film to film. The video and audio improve as the sequel number increases, and ditto the supplements. All things considered, this is fairly good set, especially given the fact you get four films for about $90. It's just a shame the first two flicks don't look better, and that Fox didn't produce much in the way of new extras for this first-ever Blu-ray release.