Line #5 YMMV/DieHardWithAVengeance


1	* CriticalDissonance: ''Vengeance'' received a mixed critical response, but was very-well liked by audiences and fans alike, and is often considered to be the best of the ''Film/DieHard'' sequels.
2	* EndingFatigue: The film starts running out of steam once [=McClane=] and Simon come face to face. This is largely because no one knew how to end the story -- the original scripted ending was never filmed, the first was considered too dark by test audiences, and the finished product was tacked on at the last minute.
3	* EvilIsCool: Simon is often considered to be one of the best villains in the series, second only to Hans.
4	* FranchiseOriginalSin: The first ''Die Hard'' film whose plot wasn't DieHardOnAnX. It worked here because Creator/JohnMcTiernan shot great action scenes and Creator/BruceWillis and Creator/SamuelLJackson had great buddy chemistry, even as the story and action felt less intimate and more spectacle-driven. The sequels after tried to replicate its {{buddy cop\|Show}} formula to swiftly diminishing returns.
5	* HarsherInHindsight:
6	** One of the cops makes an offhand reference to the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, saying how inconvenient it was. Ouch. The entire plot can be harder to watch after 9/11: a beautiful late summer day, terrorists making an attack on New York City, schoolchildren possibly being in danger...
7	** The sudden bombing of a crowded city block in New York City that kicks off the film is also harsher in light of the 2013 bombing of the Boston Marathon.
8	* HesJustHiding: [[spoiler:It's possible to harbor a little doubt about whether Simon and Katya die in the helicopter crash, given that they might have had time to jump out as it began its downward spiral during a few seconds where the chopper is out of the camera's sight.]]
9	* MagnificentBastard: [[NobleDemon Simon Gruber]] is a [[FromCamouflageToCriminal former soldier]], Hans's older brother, and master thief just like his sibling. Distracting the New York City police department with bomb threats, Simon strings along John [=McClane=] and Zeus Carver to play games following his instructions lest he detonate his bombs. [[KansasCityShuffle Pretending to be masterminding revenge]] for his brother, Simon mobilizes on his real goal: robbing the Federal Reserve for over one hundred billion dollars in gold bars, while the preoccupied police force leaves it nearly completely unguarded for Simon and his men to plunder. When [=McClane=] attempts to follow his men, Simon improvises with a discarded bomb to flood the tunnel [=McClane=] is in, nearly drowning him. Alleging to destroy the gold to disrupt the American power grip on the world, Simon really means to make off with it himself. Every bit as adaptive and [[AffablyEvil charming]] as Hans, Simon is yet another Gruber who is shown to be a brilliant criminal.
10	* OneSceneWonder: The Federal Reserve guard who tries to hold off Simon's gang with a shotgun, and Jerry, the surprisingly well-educated truck driver, who solves the "what is 21 out of 42" riddle for [=McClane=] almost offhandedly.
11	* OnlyTheCreatorDoesItRight: Among the sequels, ''Vengeance'' is the least-criticized by fans, largely due to being directed by Creator/JohnMcTiernan, and it directly followed up on events and characters from the first film.
12	* RetroactiveRecognition: A young Creator/AldisHodge made his debut here, playing Zeus Carver's nephew Raymond.
13	* SignatureScene: John [=McClane=] walking around Harlem wearing the sign "I Hate Niggers".
14	* TearJerker:
15	** Ricky's murder. The last thing anyone (who isn't a villain) said to him before he died was that he was "full of shit!" ...Ouch.
16	** Equally upsetting is later when John finds his corpse below the Federal Reserve.
17	** The fact that after reconciling in the first film, John and Holly's marriage is once again on the rocks.

Context YMMV / DieHardWithAVengeance