Originally intended to be a Brandon Lee vehicle and then the fourth film in the Lethal Weapon franchise, the script titled “Simon Says” was adapted to the Die Hard series in order to give Officer John McClane one last go at thumping an army of terrorists. John McTiernan, who directed the first film, returned for this installment scripted by Jonathan Hensleigh, whose story of a Federal Gold Reserve heist put him briefly in FBI custody. This time, Samuel L. Jackson was brought on as an unwilling partner (more than a support or sidekick like Reginald Veljohnson’s Al or Tom Bower’s Marvin in the previous two films) to help Bruce Willis save New York and the world economy. Instigating the diabolical machinations is villain Jeremy Irons, who took over after the role had unsuccessfully been offered to Sean Connery and David Thewlis. Gone were the supporting characters from the first two films in favor or a whole new slew of buddies and baddies: Graham Greene, Colleen Camp, Larry Bryggman, and Kevin Chamberlain all came on board as New York’s finest trying to help Officer McClane through his “very bad day.”

When a New York department store blows up, a mysterious caller identifying himself as ‘Simon’ claims responsibility. Simon requests officer John McClane to dance to his tune or another blast will result. The first step sees McClane in Harlem with a profane sandwich board around his neck. In order to prevent the possibility of police retaliation, a local electrician named Zeus (Jackson) saves him from a neighborhood gang. Due to his interference, Simon requires Zeus to accompany McClane on a wild goose chase through New York that results in the explosion of a subway train beneath Wall Street. With Simon’s threat to detonate a bomb in a city school, New York’s finest disperse to investigate, leaving the country’s economic center virtually defenseless. It turns out, ‘Simon’ is none other than Simon Gruber, the brother of McClane’s nemesis in the first film. Knowing the family as he does, McClane begins to doubt that this whole affair is a simple act of revenge. True enough, McClane unearths a plot to pilfer the Federal Gold Reserve. The chase to bring down Gruber and his cronies begins with a vengeance.

While Die Hard: With A Vengeance just barely crested the nine figure range at the domestic box office, the international numbers were astounding. Almost three quarters of the film’s take came from overseas as foreign film goers came in droves to the tune of over $260 million, making it the second highest worldwide grossing film of 1995 (Behind Disney’s Toy Story). A fourth film, Live Free or Die Trying featured Bruce Willis reprising his role as Officer John McClane.