सडन डेथ

A former fireman goes head to head with a gang of terrorists holding the Vice President and his daughter hostage during the NHL Cup finals.

While John McClane is certainly not the first action hero, had Die Hard not happened and Sudden Death had been made in 1988 Karen Elise Baldwin story may have faired well, however, by 1995 the theme had been done to death with endless amounts of Hard-a-likes including Passenger 57 (1992), Under Siege (1992) Speed (1994) to name a few. 

Jean-Claude Van Damme looks unhappy, yet actually does an okay job as Darren McCord but feels miscast, even with the screenplay catering for his trademark kicks for fans he looks uncomfortable with a slightly thriller oriented script by Gene Quintano and comes across less effective than in Maximum Risk. 

Like Bruce Payne and Alan Rickman before him Powers Boothe is first rate as ruthless ransomer Foss. Raymond J. Barry is notable as the Vice President, the rest of the cast of expendable agents and terrorist are adequate but forgettable. No doubt hockey fans will have fun spotting real life personalities and players.

The stadium location is visually interesting and the music score adds to the action and more tension filled scenes. Director Peter Hyams keeps the screen busy but like Van Damme just goes through the motions, still Sudden Death is only really let down by bad timing, pacing and annoying child actors. 

With unexpected executions, fights, explosions, one-liners and an obligatory twist Sudden Death is an entertaining larger than life hostage flick - just leave your cranium at the door.

Jean-Claude Van Damme does "Die Hard" at a Pittsburgh Penguins hockey game. Interestingly, co-writer Randy Feldman said he wrote the first draft of the screenplay as a comedy/action movie parody. The only scene that remained in the finished film was the scene where Van Damme fights the penguin mascot. The now serious version of the screenplay co-written by Gene Quintano (writer of Police Academy 3, 4 & 5) is a highly derivative action film about a group of terrorists holding the Vice President and Stanley Cup fans hostage. Despite a weak script, the film does deliver some solid fight scenes from JCVD, features a good villain with Powers Boothe as the lead terrorist, and well directed action from Peter Hyams ("Capricorn One" "Outland" "Timecop"), who is also the cinematographer on most of his films and was doing it long before it was the cool thing to do, as is done by Robert Rodriguez, Doug Liman, Gaspar Noé, and Steven Soderbergh. So overall, this is a dull script that's executed by it's actors and director much better than it deserves. Worth watching for JCVD fan only.

OK, let's be straight forward. This is not Oscar material. It's a typical hostage movie similar to the Die Hard series. There are some pretty decent action sequences and some that just don't plain make any sense and, after you see them, you will be left kinda confused. Having said that, this is a good movie. The best part about this movie is, surprisingly, the bad guy. Powers Boothe plays the lead terrorist and he plays it well. At times you root for him because he plays the part so well. Unfortunately, it's hard to root against this guy because of his wise-ass attitude, but some of his quotes are memorable and quite amusing. (Example: To the vice president "I voted for you. I really did. It's your sincerity and compassion. However there may be a need to kill someone else. Now we're gonna make this work or we're gonna die trying!") This is a typical Van Damme film except in this one he plays a little hockey. This movie, albeit a bit done-before, is surrounded by an entertaining cast that propels this from a 5 to a 7.

Darren McCord, a fire safety officer at a hockey stadium, takes his two kids to a major Pittsburgh Penguins game. It just so happens to be the day that extortionist/thieves kidnap the vice president and hold him hostage at the stadium, thus putting himself and his children in mortal danger.

Lets cut to the chase here, Sudden Death is a clone rip off of Die Hard, the action template movie that shines as bright as a newly formed bruise, but as copycats go {and there have been reams}, Peter Hyams' beefcake blunderbuss movie is an action junkie's delight. Jean Claude Van Damme {McCord obviously} flexes his muscles and not only beats seven bells of tar out of Powers Booth's criminal minions, he also proves to be a hero and loving father to his oblivious children. It's contrived for sure, I mean we get Jean sneaking on to the ice and taking up net minding duties, and it's certainly a script devoid of imagination. But it's got Van Damme fighting a hot kick ass babe in a penguin suit and a last fifteen minutes of high roof/dangling/swinging/exploding mayhem that does the action genre proud.

It's no Die Hard, but what genre films are? Sudden Death in spite of its contrivances, is a film that is impossible not to enjoy if you are a like minded adult. 7/10

It seems that every Hollywood action heavyweight has to have their "Die Hard" moment, and 1995's "Sudden Death" was Belgian martial arts sensation Jean-Claude Van Damme's contribution. Basically "Die Hard on Ice," "Sudden Death" is slickly polished and photographed nicely & directed by Van Damme's "Timecop" (1994) director Peter Hyams, but that's about it - despite a few well-executed action sequences and special effects.

During Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals, fire marshal Darren McCord (Van Damme), a former Pittsburgh firefighter traumatized by his inability to save a young girl from a deadly house fire two years earlier, takes his two children to watch the hockey game. Also in attendance, is the vice president of the United States (Raymond J. Barry); and a crack team of terrorists led by Joshua Foss (the late Powers Boothe), a disgruntled former Secret Service operative who has taken the VP and 10 others hostage in the owner's box and wants two billion dollars in frozen funds from enemy nations to be wired to 13 bank accounts of his choice.

The gist of it is, is that the government has until the end of each inning to transfer one-third of the money, or else Foss will execute a hostage. If at the end of the game his demands still are not met, he will blow up the Civic Arena with strategically placed explosives and kill everyone inside it. Only a one-man army, Darren McCord, can stop them.

"Sudden Death" has the usual shoot-outs, explosions, martial arts showdowns (including Van Damme's hilarious fight with Foss's henchwoman, disguised as the Pittsburgh Penguins' mascot, in the Arena's kitchen) and thrilling foot-chases, but that's about it. It's pretty typical and by-the-numbers stuff that doesn't offer anything new to a tired and worn-out premise.

On the plus side, Powers Boothe makes for a truly memorable bad guy with a cold and efficient manner and a no-nonsense approach, as well as a black-hearted sense of humor. Boothe provides some of the film's best lines and gets some of the most memorable moments, too. He is really what keeps the movie going.

All in all, "Sudden Death" is a good way to kill 111 minutes of your Saturday afternoon.

6/10