Die Hard with a Vengeance act. And Jeremy Irons' villain isn't fit to tie Alan Rickman's shoelaces." In the "Crime Time Filmbook", which archives various UK film reviews, the film was given a 5/5 star review citing it as "...simply the best Action film of the decade, leaving imitators like "Bad Boys", "Executive Decision", "The Rock" and "Chain Reaction" in varying depths of shadow. "Die Hard with a Vengeance" was released on Laserdisc on January 17, 1996, on VHS on May 14, 1996, and on DVD on March 9, 1999. A special edition was released on DVD on July 10, 2001 and then re-released in
Die Hard (film series) elements in the story too closely resembled the September 11 attacks. "A Good Day to Die Hard" was the first film in the series to come from an original screenplay, and not be based upon any prior works. The original screenplay was penned by Skip Woods. Although the first "Die Hard" has been credited as one of the greatest action movies of all time, critical reaction to its sequels has varied. The original "Die Hard" received substantial praise. Pete Croatto of FilmCritic.com called the film "a perfect action movie in every detail, the kind of movie that makes your summer