McClain is back again, this time nearly matching the adventure that took place in the original Die Hard. The change of environment and characters shows that the Die Hard series still has a lot of life in it (although no more sequels have poked their heads out yet), and that Bruce Willis is still able to take on the role of everyone's favorite cop.

This time, he is in his home city New York, where some crazy guy is making him do random tasks; otherwise, another bomb will go off in a highly populated area. What follows is actually a pretty good twist in the storyline, and a lot of action.

The theme song is even cut short to make way for a giant explosion, and the action does not stop until the very end of the movie. From the get go, Willis is on the run, going from one place to another trying to keep a bomb from going off. This time, he is joined by Samuel L. Jackson, who plays a smart talking guy from the inner city. Jackson brings new life to the franchise, more as comical relief than anything else. Either way, he works.

Die Hard with a Vengeance has a much larger scope than the previous two Die Hard's, but unlike the previous film, Vengeance manages to keep it completely under control, and not lose sight of the most important aspect of the film: action.

The only flaws in the film are a few questionable moments, such as when Willis narrowly escapes a giant wave of water running through a tunnel, and another when he and Jackson climb off a bridge onto a ship via a wire. Other than that, Die Hard with a Vengeance takes itself quite seriously, and it pays off.

Is Die Hard with a Vengeance as good as the original? It's hard to say. The two are very different in nature, which is a good thing, but it also makes them hard to compare. However, why compare when you can just watch both of them and be entertained?

Review by Erik Samdahl unless otherwise indicated.