Journeyman Peter Hyams claims in all apparent sincerity that Sudden Death is an action picture in the tradition of Die Hard - when any sneaking-in-underage 12-year-old can tell you that it's actually a blatant imitation of Die Hard. Nearly ten years after Bruce Willis first ripped his vest, his plot has been used by every action man in the business: from Steven Seagal (Under Siege), Wesley Snipes (Passenger 57) and Sylvester Stallone (Cliffhanger) to direct-to- video hopefuls such as Thomas Ian Griffith (Crackerjack).
Here it's Jean-Claude Van Damme's turn to play loose cannon, careering around offing baddies and thwarting criminal mastermind Powers Boothe's extortion scheme while the authorities are powerless. He also gets to show off his sensitive side by doing all his daring to prove to his kids that he's a hero.
The high concept has Boothe threaten not only to murder the US vice-president but an entire stadium-full of hockey fans during a championship play-off unless the government gives him lots of money.
Van Damme is a traumatised ex-fireman working as a safety marshal at Pittsburgh's picturesque Civic Arena (with a dome which opens up like the Tracey Island swimming pool), and Boothe, doing some English villain actor out of a job, is a sneery CIA agent who injects the requisite jokey nastiness. Hyams, whose CV might stand as a working definition of competence (Capricorn One, 2010, Outland, Timecop), injects not a lot of originality into a flat script from Gene Quintano (of Police Academy sequels fame), but things simmer early when JC has a punch-up in the kitchen with a killer babe dressed as a penguin.
There's a wonderfully ridiculous contrivance whereby our hero not only saves the spectators but gets on the ice and plays in goal for the home team, making a crucial save. But this only edges out of two-star status in its vertiginous last 20 minutes, which feature an infallibly rousing succession of dangling from high-places fights. Tripe, but hard not to enjoy.
