Sudden Death is a 1995 American action-thriller film directed by Peter Hyams and starring Jean-Claude Van Damme, Powers Boothe, Raymond J. Barry, and Dorian Harewood.

[5] Sudden Death was released in the United States by Universal Pictures on December 22, 1995 to mixed reviews, albeit better than most of Van Damme's earlier efforts.

A spat between brother and sister causes Emily to run off before getting kidnapped by Carla, the sole female member of the terrorists (who is disguised as the local mascot Iceburgh after killing the original performer).

As the third period runs down, Luc Robitaille scores the game-tying goal for Pittsburgh in the last second, prompting sudden death overtime and prolonging the game.

As the arena erupts into chaos, Darren advances upon the owner's box from above and forces his way in, rescuing Emily, the Vice President and the remaining hostages.

[3] Arena personnel include Bill Dalzell as head of security George Spota, Steve Aranson as scoreboard operator Dooley and Jennifer D. Bowser as mascot entertainer Joan Cometti.

[3] Additional law enforcement personnel include Brian Delate as Secret Service agent Thomas Blair, and Milton E. Thompson as Pittsburgh Police Dispatch Sergeant Kurtz.

It was inspired by the unique architecture of Pittsburgh's Civic Arena and its retractable roof, which she thought would make a spectacular setting for an action film.

One plot point—the goalie disguise—was taken from an earlier, unproduced story by the Baldwins, where the hero used such a ruse to defect from the U.S.S.R.[8] Writer Gene Quintano was commissioned to turn the pair's ideas into a full fledged screenplay, initially under the title Arena.

[10] Further elements, such as McCord's fight with the Penguins' mascot and the use of sign language, were absent from early drafts and added at the suggestion of director Peter Hyams after he joined the project.

[8] Luc Robitaille had attended acting classes with Karen Baldwin while playing for the Los Angeles Kings, and he was chosen as Tyler's favorite player based on that experience.

[8][13] To populate the arena, production used a combination of invited Penguins fans and paid extras, typically 2,000 to 3,000 but up to 10,000 in some scenes, and complemented them with cardboard cutouts (a common technique before CGI enhancing became the norm).

As such, each ambulance and many of the fire units were officially licensed through the Pennsylvania Department of Health, and each was fully staffed with a complete crew of both emergency medical technicians as well as paramedics, respectively.

The website's consensus states "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.

[18] Kevin Thomas of the Los Angeles Times called it as "A treat for Jean-Claude Van Damme fans, a superior action thriller loaded with jaw-dropping stunts and special effects, and strong in production values.

Chris Hicks of the Deseret News conceded that "Hyams [...] knows how to keep the action popping and there are some dramatically intense scenes", but complained that the picture was "far too sadistic" and that the finale "must be seen to be believed".

[20] Bruce Fretts of Entertainment Weekly thought the film wanted to be a "comical Die Hard knockoff" but criticized the director for "inept editing and a plodding pace", as well as "mindnumbing violence".

"[22] Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film two and half stars out of four and stated that "Sudden Death isn't about common sense.

[29] Sudden Death was the first in an informal series of hockey-themed theatrical and television films produced by the Baldwins, which includes Mystery, Alaska, Mr. Hockey: The Gordie Howe Story, Odd Man Rush (and its less hockey-centric sequel Discussion Materials) , as well as the proposed Harlem Saints.

[30][31] Peter Hyams has maintained an association with producer Moshe Diamant over the years, but did not collaborate with Van Damme again until serving as cinematographer on two Universal Soldier sequels, Regeneration (2009) and Day of Reckoning (2012), which were directed by his son John.

While these movies did not enjoy the wide releases given to Timecop and Sudden Death, they were well received among a circle of critics, their sparse and downbeat atmosphere prompting discussions about auteurism in the largely commercial medium of direct-to-video action films.