Why This Jean-Claude Van Damme Classic Is the Best of the 'Die Hard' Knock-Offs

The 'Die Hard' Formula

So, for some dates up front, Die Hard was released in 1988 and was a huge hit. It launched Bruce Willis as an action star;; it gave us arguably the best action movie villain of all time, if not the most iconic; and it also gave us a new format for many blockbusters and countless direct-to-video ripoffs to copy.

And these copycat films do range in scope and quality, with some said to be bigger and more audacious than the originals, as we can see with examples like Speed, Air Force One, and Olympus Has Fallen. We also have the cheaper and sillier ones like Executive Decision, Snakes on a Plane, and Skyscraper.

Still, while many might be tempted to put Van Damme’s Sudden Death in the camp of the silly knock-offs, I’m here to argue that, while a bit goofy and over the top at times, it does the format so well that it deserves a new level of recognition.

Van Damme’s 'Sudden Death'

Die Hard is the story of a police detective thrust into a terrorist takeover of a Los Angeles skyscraper. Sudden Death is the story of a fire marshal thrust into an extortionist takeover of an NHL playoff game. You can see the subtle difference here, yes?

For all its obvious similarities and many beat-for-beat homages, Sudden Death is a movie that knows how to give the people what they want. Die Hard is fun, but Sudden Death is funner, as there really isn’t a silly idea that crosses the film’s mind that it doesn’t explore.

What if Van Damme has to fight a bad guy who’s wearing the Pittsburgh Penguins mascot costume? What if Van Damme has to step in to play goalie to send the game into sudden death overtime? What if Van Damme has to create a makeshift flamethrower from his kid’s toy water gun?

Ultimate Action Movie Lessons

All of these decisions create a film that doesn’t bother with the pretense of not being a self-aware, fun action ride. Not that Die Hard was boring or preachy, but it needed to stand on its own. Sudden Death knows it is a film that lives in Die Hard’s shadow, so it becomes simply a more fun version of the same product.

And that’s the lesson here for filmmakers and those looking to homage the classics which feel like they’re somehow written in untouchable stone. Just because Die Hard worked as it is, if you were to make your own project that’s similar, you’d actually be more free to really have fun with it and explore the genre than the original filmmakers likely were.