Endlessly entertaining Die Hard style action film with a simple yet extremely effective idea

Die Hard is like Ritter Sport: square, practical, good. The concept does not need any extensions, it thrives on its main character, the action scenes and a dramaturgy that relies on time pressure. Today the copy Sudden Death is on TV, which copies this concept extremely effectively. And includes one of action star Jean-Claude Van Damme’s best performances.

On TV: Action star Jean Claude Van-Damme saves a baseball game in Die Hard mode

In Sudden Death, Van Damme plays Darren McCord, a former fire investigator who left his job following a tragedy. In order to mend their broken relationship, he takes his children to a baseball final game, which also happens to be attended by the US Vice President (Raymond J. Barry). But the corrupt agent Foss (Powers Boothe) has his own plans, takes all viewers hostage and blackmails the US government by hundreds of millions of dollars. With every third of the game, hostages are supposed to die. McCord must act.

Sudden Death is obviously reinventing the wheel with so many Die Hard parallels not new, but is a perfectly working copy. Warm and punchy, Van-Damme plays a more complex role than often before. The action under time pressure is captivatingly staged. And the baseball stadium doesn’t have to hide from Nakatomi Plaza.

When is Sudden Death on TV?

Sudden Death is coming this Tuesday, April 25, 2023 at 10:40 p.m. on Nitro. The action cracker was directed by Peter Hyams, who was also responsible for the Van Damme cracker Timecop.

The 10 biggest streaming films of 2023 on Netflix, Amazon & Co.

In this installment of our Moviepilot podcast, Stream Browsing, we take a look at the big movies coming exclusively to Netflix, Amazon, Disney+ and Apple TV+ this year. The result is a list of ten special recommendations.

From the sci-fi epic to the potential Oscar nominee, everything is included. The talents gathered are particularly impressive. In 2023 we can expect new movies from Martin Scorsese, David Fincher and Zack Snyder in the streaming space, while Gal Gadot, Leonardo DiCaprio, Henry Cavill and Chris Hemsworth will be in front of the camera.

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