Sudden Death is a hidden gem and I actually like JCVD in it. If there's an Expendable 4, they should bring him back, as a twin to the villain in 2 which would play to the fact that JC played a pair of twins in the movie Double Impact, much in the same way the Expendable movies reference other action titles the actors have done.
I was going to School in Pittsburgh when they filmed this and lived right next to the Civic Arena Dome, I got to play an extra as a Swat Team member for a few nights! I remember Van Dam being very 'short aware' and always met people while sitting down or standing on a level above.
I love Sudden Death. The way the plot ties into the gane and the location is ingenious. Van Damme gives us a really likeable, human hero, Boothe is charmingly evil and Hyams visual direction and editing are top notch.
You're right, I remember seeing The Quest in the theater. I'm also a Roger Moore (Bond) fan to the hilt, which was a treat to have him in the movie. Too bad it was such a bore. When looking back Sudden Death WAS his last good film of the 80's-90's era.
@@robertbeckman2054 Agreed The Quest was good in theory, but boring in reality. Then begun his straight to dvd film career. JVCD was good though especially the monologue scene & I enjoyed him in The Expendables 2 but apart from those it’s best to watch classic Van Damme
You have no idea how happy I am to see this video, and to see that you really like it. There are many, many reasons as to why I love this film so much, it is one of my favorites of all time, easily in the top three. The thing is, it makes me sad as it is an underrated classic, and usually ignored by those who don't like it or refuse to give it a chance, that being for having Van Damme in it, being a Die Hard clone, or the kitchen fight scene... First off, Sudden Death is something of a dream movie to me, the way it's set up is perfect. I am a huge hockey fan, for one. But it doesn't stop there. It is filmed in Pittsburgh, my favorite city that I don't live in, at the beautiful Civic Arena. The arena is my favorite sports venue of all time. It had such a unique way of being incorporated into a hockey arena (it orignally held events for the Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera, but eventually became home of the Penguins when they were inagurated into the NHL in 1967, so it being orignally intended for something else than what it was mainly used for all the way until its demolishing in 2012, that just goes to show how a good it was able to hold up.) I visited the Civic Arena quite a few times in my life. I went to the league's draft event in 1997 when it was held there, and I went to quite a few games. It was a very loud and atmospheric place, but it was unforuntately only last year when I truly realized it, and which made me depressed that I hadn't seen it more. (Moral of the story is, appreciate the things you love now, before they are gone forever. You will regret it!) In any case, they could have picked any hockey arena, but they chose the Civic Arena, which was the best choice possible, I think. It was essential helpful that it was a dome that opened up, a great use of the roof in this movie at the near-end scenes, that is one of the primary reasons why I love this movie so much. And watching it for the first time, (which was earlier this year, after not having seen the arena for a few years, after having mourned over the loss of it), it gave me feelings I have yet to understand existed. A unique experience of actually feeling like I was there, watching a hockey game, at the good ol' Civic Arena again. And a great matchup, too. The Pittsburgh Penguins, my favorite team, against the Chicago Blackhawks, coincidentially, the team that I hate the most. It was the same two teams that met in the 1991 Stanley Cup Finals, when the Pens beat the Hawks in their first of two consecutive championship victories. The reason why these two teams were chosen for this movie was because they were going to play each other in the first game of the 1994-95 season, but the first half of it was not played due to a players strike, during which Sudden Death was filmed. Now, to the teams. One of my favorite aspects of sports is the aesthetics of it, which include the identities of the teams, namely, their uniforms and logos. Another coincidence is that the ones that the two teams wore were among my favorites, with the Pens' being my absolute favorite. Unforutnately, a lot of fans have disliked the logo for it being associated with bad luck (of which they had from 1992-2002, the years it was used.), so it makes me happy to be featured in this film. Seriously, it's everywhere. It's plastered all over the movie, on fan merchandise, jerseys, walls, the ice, everywhere. Seeing the logo alone puts me in a good mood, for some reason. I remember it from my childhood, for one. It's also a very iconic and regal design, and a bit creepy as well, in which case for the latter, added a sense of necessary unnerving to the audience for the film, for those that see it the way that I do. The casting was outstanding. Van Damme kills it (in a really good way) in this flick, and Powers Boothe is a perfect antagonist. Everyone else is really good in their respective way, as well, but I really love the people that reprised their respective real-life roles for this movie. Mike Lange and Paul Steigerwald served as the TV broadcasters, as they did for real Pens games at the time. Jeff Jimmerson sings the national anthem like a champ, as was his job then and currently. All of that made this movie authentic, but it didn't stop there. ESPN apparently was ok with using their TV opening theme in this movie, which also happens to be something I really love. One of the few things I didn't really like about this movie was the players. Yeah, most of the time they were featured in action shots (of which were backed by the audio you'd hear in a TV broadcast, Lange speaking, the players hustling up and down on the ice, the crowd cheering, etc.; these were some of my favorite parts of the movie because you saw the game in action, and had a nice balance between the game and the other scenes) and you couldn't make out the faces. But for the most part, since it was a players' lockout, a lot of the real Pens and Hawks players did not cast for this movie. Instead, their real names and numbers were on the backs of their jerseys, which was at least good. What makes up for it though, is that Luc Robitaille, played by himself, and was playing for the Pens then, got the wicked last-second goal that sent the game into "sudden death", as it were. Knowing that that was a real player is awesome. As a note, the replacement players were mostly hockey players, and the whole Blackhawks roster is made up of some minor league hockey team. The movie is an unexpected emotional roller coaster, and things are always better when they're a surprise. The relationship between Darren and his two kids (the 'I love you' scene after Darren stops the shot gets me every time) is obviously close, and was shown greatly in this film. It is very suspenseful, and the close calls, as well as the climax, are very thrilling and heart stopping. Particularly, while Jimmerson sings the anthem, the juxtaposition of something nice, as well as something horrible going on at the time (Foss and his crew taking the VIP box hostage, and one of his men killing the chef's wife out of nowhere) is a nice experience. The music...damn...the music is really good. Dabney's score for this movie is legendary, and I'm glad I own a CD copy. It's all very fitting for its respective situation. And while I'm a bit sad that some of the scores were used twice in the film (though, does that happen often in movies? I'm not sure), each piece is musical genius. In addition, the certain song that was played at the arena when the Pens scored a goal is heard a few times in the film, which adds something nice for me. The cinematography, the action, the fighting scenes, all of that are amazing, and not too often or frequent for a film of this pace. The killing scenes are unnerving, but fitting for this film. Seeing a hockey game going on, with the fans, players and staff unknown of all of this gruesome stuff going on inside the arena adds a bizarre tone to the film that I appreciate. The climax is great, the fact that some bombs did actually detonate surprised me. The spectators' first sign of panic is when Darren knocks one of Foss' baddies down and gets electrocuted on top of the Civic Arena scoreboard, which leads to Mike Lange's interrupting "Holy shit!" and begins the state of panic and epicness in the movie. I love movies like this, with this sense of suspense and intimidation. My only other gripe, is how it ended. It felt kind of early the first time, but after I knew how it goes, I loved it all the way through the end. This was an astounding movie that was set up perfectly for someone like me, only for the specifics. Really, anyone who loves action movies, JCVD and/or sports will like, if not love it. .....damn...sorry about all of that, I really like to ramble on things that I love a lot... ^^' Hope you understand I'm glad to see it being praised, though.
Oliver Harper Thanks. :) I'm glad to hear that it's appreciated out there. As a hockey, and Pittsburgh Penguins fan, this movie has a very special place in my heart. I instantly signed up to get it when it came out on Blu-Ray. I got it a few days ago, but it was unfortunately a UK copy, and with region locking and all that I'm not able to watch it, so I'll just wait to get it some time later to see this movie in glorious HD. Speaking of which, what version did you use to get your footage in this? I don't recall the Blu-Ray being released anywhere at the time you posted this, and the DVD I have is 4:3 fullscreen, whereas this appears to be 16:9 widescreen, with a little better quality.
NASCARFAN160 The footage was taken from an HDTV broadcast but its now available on Blu ray and its region free. www.amazon.co.uk/Sudden-Death-Blu-ray-Region-Free/dp/B00CU9QHXS/ref=sr_1_cc_1?s=aps&ie=UTF8&qid=1390043864&sr=1-1-catcorr&keywords=sudden+death+blu+ray
Oliver Harper Ah? I bought a Blu-Ray a couple months ago, and it turned it said a region that wasn't NTSC (my region) on the box, so I assumed it wouldn't work, so we returned it. I'm not exactly sure this is the same one, though. Also, what channel did you see this on?
I know you compare it to Die Hard, and I think this is one of those 90's movies that was legitimately made from a rejected Die Hard sequel script. One of the best imo
Oliver, your reviews made me a JCVD fan! Looking forward to Death Warrant (1990), Nowhere to Run (1993) and Legionnaire (1998) if you choose to review them.
Being a Pittsburgher and a Penguins fan I love this movie. It came out when I was five years old and the fact that someone disconnected from the team and city it’s placed in gives it a positive review makes me happy. #LetsGoPens
You do the best movies reviews on youtube, you basically cover anything that anyone could care about, the only thing that could make your reviews any better would be to add a "Where are they now?" segment.
I only Saw Sudden Death Recently and i loved it, yes it's got the DIE HARD formula, but It's not a total Rip-off and has Director Peter Hyams distinctive style, which i always loved. Would you consider Reviewing HARD TARGET which in my opinion is Basically JCVD's COMMANDO, it's self-depricating packed with OTT action and Humor, but i gotta be honest the villains are truly Great in that film.
Double Impact, Hard Target, Timecop, Sudden Death, Bloodsport, Kickboxer, Lionheart, Universal Soldier and Universal Soldier The Return were my favorites of JCVD.
I remember seeing this when it came out on VHS, I was a ripe old age of 11, and way too young to see it. I thought it was a blast! Haven't seen it since, but I'm glad at least one person thinks it still holds up!
No lie, I was in this movie! I live in Pittsburgh and at the time of filming they were looking for extras to fill the seats at the Civic Arena. My dad and I would go to Pens games all the time so I was super excited for the opportunity. Me, my dad and my sister went and were able to sit in on a scene!
This was my first exposure to Powers Booth, and man he is a badass, especially when he plays a villain. For a Die Hard clone, this is very entertaining. Excellent review as always, olly! On a side note, have you ever seen "Nick of Time" with Johnny Depp and Christopher Walken? I feel as though that was a Die Hard clone matched with a Hitchockian thriller.
You know what? I have only watched this once and it was in 1996 when it was on VHS. Looks quite good for a popcorn muncher! Will be watching this tonight.
I don't understand the point of going through all those plot details chronologically as if going though a shopping list. But it's cool to see youtubers talk about JCVD films none the less, and glad you liked it.
That impostor security guard, wasn't he one of McComb's thugs in Timecop? I think Van Damme administered a fatal neck injury to him in that movie, as well. :P
8:35 "...gets knocked out by a punching bag, which wouldn't hurt you anyway..." *Clarification:* punching bags come in different hardnesses. Personally speaking I use one that's pretty damn heavy and hard, you can give it a good hard punch and barely put a dent in it. As a matter of fact one time I was pissed and hit it with all my might and I ended up fracturing my wrist bone. And again, it barely had a dent in it. So, yeah. If one hit you hard enough, yes, it could actually knock a person out.
Oliver may not have known but this movie came out during the Hockey Craze of the mid 90s in North America. The NY Rangers won the Cup in 94 and revived the sport in America with huge ratings... sadly it was followed by a long NHL strike and I think that hurt. Plus it opened at the same time as Heat which was a much better (and longer) action movie.
Goddamn, I hate the locker room fight with the big like, Hawaiian guy, or whatever he was. It's like he just stands there and waits for van damme to hit him, every single time. Hockey stick, whap! Face kick, hey, he's still just standing there with his eyes closed, whap!
It's a great fun Van Damme film and he's last decent one of the 1990s. But the fight with the female in the Penguin suit was simply ludicrous that she could match a well built man strength for strength.
I always thought the kitchen fight was intense as fuck, considering the violence and the fact that it's supposed to be a woman he's slowly killing to death. And I like that idea for the scene - how to make things interesting? Rather than have a cop fight a terrorist, make it a fireman...fighting a psycho female assassin.
Anyone else notice the similarities in this and the metal gear series? (gas/fire spray, deactivating bombs)... Idk maybe they're just action movie tropes
Hello again! I've wondered about the movie footage you got, the quality is pretty impressive...is it perhaps from the Blu-Ray version of the movie? In the NTSC region, it just got released in that format, but I've yet to buy that. Once again, I really really appreciate your review. It pays a great homage to such an awesome and underrated film. :)
Yeah i may consider Hard Target at one point. Now i'v reviewed Timecop, street fighter and Sudden Death i've done a bit too much Van Damme for now. lol
Great review of a film that I liked a LOT more back in 1995. I watched it again just recently and... well, some of the scenes kind of rubed me the wrong way I guess. The film is entertaining though, no doubts there. Van Damme is extremely likeable in this role. Even though I don't like the film as much as I did before I still really looked forward to your review. You did not disappoint! I do have a few requests too, one is Split Second with Rutger Hauer (1992) the other is The Hidden (1987)
The thing I didn't like about this movie, was Van Damme is a martial arts action star. In this movie he plays an ordinary Fireman, taking out professional killers. Also he is working with the secret service and playing cat-and mouse games with professional killers. That is something ordinary Firemen don't do. If JCVD's character were an Ex-Marine, law enforcement, assassin type character then his actions would have made more sense.
Seen this once. The trouble is Boothe is amazing in 'Extreme Prejudice' . Here he is running in neutral 90% of the time and a wonderful villain makes a movie worth watching (see 'Con Air' 'Under Seige').
under siege is my favourite die hard clone but sudden death comes close, i recently watched this film after you posted the preview & it aged pretty well and is still a very entertaining flick but it's the last classic van damme movie
I've held off on watching this retrospective until I re-watched the film itself. And man this has to be one of the most criminally underrated action films in cinema history and Van Damme's best. I might actually like it more than Die Hard and don't care what anyone thinks. Powers Boothe was a phenomenal villain. Very annoyed to see it's got such a low score on IMDB and Rotten Tomatoes - If you like Van Damme and great old school action than this film is essential.
I rushed to see this because it was rumoured that Van Damme was supposed to do his famous roundhouse split kick with his ice skates on, cutting the throat of one of the bad guys.....I was disappointed that it didn't appear but appreciated the selling tactic. This and Nowhere to run are his best acted imo.
Sudden Death is enjoyable and exciting despite it's flaws, unlike Van Damme's other big(?) films. Powers Boothe is awesome, I don't care how laughable and impossible the helicopter crash is.
As the years went by JCs acting naturally became better and better. I really enjoy and adore his older stuff like Cyborg. There he is just meat and kicks and bad assery but No depth. Later on when he started to act you actually got to see a guy that was so much more than just flawless skin and a great body. This movie was a "on a dare rental for VHS back in the day" Me and my dad were looking around our local small video store. Dad "oh Jean Claude he is always cool and karate is cool " Yup all those karate movies basically were awesome hahah So we rented it and it wasnt just some low budget "karate" movie. It was a cool, nice 90z movie !! Thats a HUGE difference. This is probably one of Van Dammes better movies even though the "karate" is kept at a minimum.
Also, which track on the music CD is 10:06? Or is it not part of it? It's one of my favorite tracks of the score, it'd be a shame if they didn't include it.
then the Hawks got revenge, MrsPaul. Oh yeah, and in the All-Star Game, Fleury allowed 7 goals. So you can say that Fleury allowed a Fleury of goals. LET'S GO HAWKS!
Strange, it was a big flop in USA, though it did make some money on video. JCVD said, he did not include his normal style as they wanted to make hero look vulnerable and in danger and not indestructible
Gosh I remember when this came out as a kid thinking this is awfully big budget for Van Damme, I remember it being good and having some really great comedic moments. Time Cop was good but not as good as Sudden Death.
Easily one of the best Die Hard clones. This really captured the essence of Die Hard whereas most of the other clones I felt lacked that certain spark. The only thing I didn't really like was the ending. Not the climax with the helicopter, just the final moments where everything supposedly gets wrapped up. It felt rushed. You'd think they could have made it more triumphant by having the mother thank Van Damme for saving the kids or the son apologising for being a dick. Still it's a great film.
