Sudden Death gave Jean-Claude Van Damme his very own take on Die Hard, and it’s an underrated 1990s gem. The Die Hard movies set a powerful template for future action films to follow, resulting in the likes of “Die Hard on a Ship” (Under Siege), “Die Hard on a Plane” (Pᴀssenger 57) and, eventually, “Die Hard in the White House” (Olympus Has Fallen). During the 1990s, pretty much every major action star fronted their own version of Die Hard, and in 1995, Jean-Claude Van Damme got his turn with Sudden Death.

This Van Damme action movie cast him as McCord, a former firefighter who has to save the day when terrorists take the Vice President hostage during the Stanley Cup Finals. The film was originally written as an action parody, which may explain why it’s a little funnier and goofier than the typical Die Hard scenario movie from this era. While it was a solid hit, grossing over $64 million worldwide (via Box Office Mojo), it received largely mixed reviews.

How Jean-Claude Van Damme’s Sudden Death Compares To Die Hard

Sudden Death is one of JCVD’s best action films of the 1990s

Sudden Death saw JCVD at the peak of his powers as a movie star. He was also coming off the back of career-defining hits like Timecop and Street Fighter, but sadly, Sudden Death was also one of his last real hits as a star. When it comes to Die Hard imitators, the likes of The Rock or Speed tend to get ranked as the best, while Sudden Death’s reputation is more middling. While it’s not on par with the above movies, Van Damme’s 1995 blockbuster is a very entertaining riff on the Die Hard formula.

For starters, Van Damme’s McCord is one of his most grounded heroes from this period. He’s an everyman working through trauma from his time as a firefighter, and all he wants to do is bring his children to a hockey game when it’s left to him to save lives once more. Like Die Hard’s John McClane (Bruce Willis), McCord has to use his smarts and improvise his way through trouble. The film has its own version of Alan Rickman’s Hans Gruber with Foss (Powers Boothe), a Secret Service agent gone rogue.

Foss is a delightfully sarcastic, catty villain, and like Gruber, has his own team of distinctive mercenaries. Borrowing another note from Die Hard, the terrorists eventually have to negotiate with the authorities waiting outside the arena; to the film’s credit, the fact one of these authority figures is in league with the terrorists is a nice twist. The finale also sees Foss and his men trying to escape during the chaos, only for McCord to foil their plan; the film even adds an exploding helicopter into the mix to solidify its Die Hard connections.

Sudden Death May Not Be As Good As Die Hard, But The Action Is Great

Sudden Death is a Van Damme good time

There are plenty of flaws holding Sudden Death back from greatness. The mix of grounded action and tongue-in-cheek humor never fully gels, while the violence (especially the scenes where hostages are executed in cold blood) can be needlessly mean-spirited. Still, Sudden Death is a solidly entertaining example of the genre, and the action itself is top-notch. The fight between McCord and a terrorist dressed as a mascot penguin is both bizarre and intense, and director Peter Hyams keeps the tension high inbetween fights.

McCord himself largely eschews guns in favor of improvised devices or good old-fashioned punching, which makes the fights more visceral. Sudden Death was also produced before CGI became the norm, so the effects and explosions are largely practical and look glorious. In truth, Sudden Death can feel a little too much like Die Hard in terms of plotting or characters, but copying the homework of one of the best action movies ever isn’t a huge problem either.

Sudden Death is somewhat forgotten among fans of 1990s action, but it’s ripe for rediscovery. The plot is ludicrous and riddled with holes, but it moves too fast for that to be a problem, and it’s a reminder of why Jean-Claude Van Damme was such a major deal during this time.

Source: Box Office Mojo