Sudden Death

R

1995

1h 50m

Action

List

50%

36 Reviews

Tomatometer

39%

25,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

Ex-fireman Darren McCord (Jean-Claude Van Damme) has a new job working security at the Pittsburgh Civic Arena. Hoping to impress his kids, he's scored tickets to the Stanley Cup Finals, unaware that the place has been taken over by a group of terrorists. Ex-CIA agent Joshua Foss (Powers Boothe) is holding the vice president hostage in a press box and plans to blow up the building if he doesn't pay the ransom. But, when Darren learns of his scheme, he jumps into action to save the day.

Read More

Read Less

Watch on Fandango at Home

Premiered Dec 14

Buy Now

Fandango at Home

Prime Video

Rent Sudden Death on Fandango at Home, Prime Video, or buy it on Fandango at Home, Prime Video.

Critics Consensus

Sudden Death may not be a classic, but exciting set pieces and strong work from Jean-Claude Van Damme help this action thriller pay off part of its Die Hard debt.

Read Critics Reviews

Topi L

Good action movie, but the length should have been shorter.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

08/14/23

Full Review

Audience Member

"Die Hard" at the Pittsburgh Civic Arena during Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals. Has some truly ridiculous moments. JCVD fighting a villain in a mascot costume in the arena's kitchen. JCVD playing goalie for the Penguins DURING THE GAME. It's trash, but watchable trash.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

01/27/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Jean-Claude Van Damme doing what he does best in the action movie department. Darren McCord used to be a fire fighter 2 years ago. But after feeling like he failed saving a child he has now has a new job working security at the Pittsburgh Civic Arena. He's also divorced from his wife. Hoping to impress his kids, Emily and Tyler he's scored tickets to the Stanley Cup Finals. The bad news is that the place has been taken over by a group of terrorists. An ex-CIA agent Joshua Foss is holding the vice president hostage in a press box and plans to blow up the building if he doesn't pay the ransom. But Darren figures out the plan much better than the authorities. So it's up to him to thwart their nefarious operation. Think of this like Die Hard but on ice. Great action, impressive explosions, not much originality in terms of plot and execution but there's a big twist in the middle I didn't expect. Fun stuff I admit. Van Damme doing his best action schlock and Booth chews up the delicious scenery as the big villain. Manages to accomplish a lot in a tight premise.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

01/22/23

Full Review

Audience Member

JCVD, baby! It's been too long since I've watched one of his movies. I've seen this one before, but too long ago to worry about remembering much Typical of its era, this is an action thriller built on drama, but its attempts at suspense seem to fall short. Harewood is awful, and makes the first half of the movie feel more hammy than it otherwise would have been Unusually, the child-actors aren't too bad, and seem to do alright, which makes it a lot easier to watch. I like Boothe, and he delivers his performance brilliantly All-in-all, a good action flick of its day... just ignore the ending! Lol

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

01/25/23

Full Review

Audience Member

I feel like I just witnessed some truly amazing feats and am happy to have seen this but kinda upset this was somehow kept from me until now. The writers must have had a blast coming up with these action sequences and then had to be shocked when the cast and crew were willing and able to pull them off.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

01/20/23

Full Review

Audience Member

A fun die hard ripoff.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

11/13/20

Full Review

Read all reviews

Post a rating

Peter Hyams

Director

Jean-Claude Van Damme

Darren McCord

Powers Boothe

Joshua Foss

Raymond J. Barry

Vice President

Whittni Wright

Emily McCord

Ross Malinger

Tyler McCord

Show Less Cast & Crew

Show More Cast & Crew

Sudden Death: Official Clip - Bye Bye, Terrorist

2:58

Sudden Death: Official Clip - Bad Guy On Ice

2:38

Sudden Death: Official Clip - Last Minute Save

3:06

Sudden Death: Official Clip - The Penguin Mascot Fight

2:57

Sudden Death: Official Clip - Hero From Above

3:44

Sudden Death: Official Clip - A Toy Flamethrower

2:01

Sudden Death: Official Clip - Death by Chicken Bone

1:59

Sudden Death: Official Clip - A Good Goalie

3:19

Sudden Death: Official Clip - I'll Find the Bombs Myself

2:29

Sudden Death: Official Clip - The Best Kind of Lunatic

1:45

View more videos

70%

48%

Trespass

60%

49%

Hard Target

8%

54%

The Hunted

8%

44%

Bulletproof

33%

28%

The Getaway

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

Rank Jean-Claude Van Damme’s 10 Best Movies

View more photos

William Thomas

Empire Magazine

Tripe, but hard not to enjoy.

Rated: 3/5

Nov 13, 2017

Full Review

Entertainment Weekly

Rated: D-

Dec 27, 2010

Full Review

Geoff Andrew

Time Out

Reuniting Hyams and Van Damme, director and star of Timecop, this spectacular nail-biter exploits their combined, if limited, abilities to the full.

Feb 9, 2006

Full Review

Brian Orndorf

Blu-ray.com

Instead of scoring with a surefire premise, "Sudden Death" follows the title's direction, keeling over before game even begins.

Rated: C

Sep 21, 2020

Full Review

David Nusair

Reel Film Reviews

An especially blatant Die Hard knockoff...

Rated: 2.5/4

Jan 5, 2017

Full Review

TV Guide

Good clean fun, with just the right ratio of explosions to dialogue.

Rated: 2.5/4

Nov 2, 2008

Full Review

Read all reviews

Synopsis

Ex-fireman Darren McCord (Jean-Claude Van Damme) has a new job working security at the Pittsburgh Civic Arena. Hoping to impress his kids, he's scored tickets to the Stanley Cup Finals, unaware that the place has been taken over by a group of terrorists. Ex-CIA agent Joshua Foss (Powers Boothe) is holding the vice president hostage in a press box and plans to blow up the building if he doesn't pay the ransom. But, when Darren learns of his scheme, he jumps into action to save the day.

Director: Peter Hyams
Screenwriter: Karen Elise Baldwin, Gene Quintano
Production Co: Signature Films, Imperial Entertainment, Universal Pictures
Rating: R
Genre: Action
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): Apr 19, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA): $20.2M
Runtime: 1h 50m
Sound Mix: Surround, Stereo

Most Popular at Home Now