A review by Brooks Rich
We're kicking off our monthly celebration of John McTiernan with one of the greatest action movies of all time, if not the greatest. You’ve heard me wax on and on about my love for Die Hard. I think it is a perfect film.
We're kicking off our monthly celebration of John McTiernan with one of the greatest action movies of all time, if not the greatest. You’ve heard me wax on and on about my love for Die Hard. I think it is a perfect film.
When it was released, it was so impactful and important a film that it started a whole sub-genre of Die Hard clones. See my review of Sudden Death and Final Score in the following link.(https://cinemabasement.
But let's explore the original…the one that started it all and, really, the daddy of modern action. Why is this film so enduring? Why does it work so well? First, and most importantly, the action is outstanding. But I have some other theories too…
But let's explore the original…the one that started it all and, really, the daddy of modern action. Why is this film so enduring? Why does it work so well? First, and most importantly, the action is outstanding. But I have some other theories too…
Die Hard. I imagine most of you have seen this film. If you have not discovered Die Hard, oh my God, go see that film immediately. Do not pass go, do not wander into the lobby of the Nakatomi Plaza, and do not take the express elevator to the 30th floor. Go watch Die Hard.
Bruce Willis (known to audiences at the time of the film’s release as one of the leads in the tv cine-detecting series Moonlighting) plays John McClane, a New York cop visiting his estranged wife in Los Angeles for Christmas. He meets her at the Nakatomi Plaza, where she works for the Nakatomi Corporation. They have an argument and she goes off to give a speech at the office Christmas party. Then a group of terrorists seize the building and take the employees hostage. Their only hope is John, armed with only a pistol and without shoes, who only has one advantage…the element of surprise.
It's so good. Writing out the plot makes me want to stop writing and go watch the movie again, even though I've easily seen this film about a hundred times. I love watching John figure it out and make tactical decisions. He doesn't always make the right move, like when he drops explosives and uses too much and nearly destroys the building. John McClane is only human and that makes him endearing. Look at his physical state when the movie is over. The man is beat up, shirtless, bloody, barely able to walk Never good when your feet get shredded by broken glass). This is not the archetype action hero of the '80s, where Stallone and Schwarzenegger play guys who mow down armies of people and barely get a scratch. John McClane is the ultimate Everyman…a type of hero that would thrive in the '90s.
Die Hard also gives us one of the greatest cinema villains of all time. Alan Rickman is so fantastic as the charismatic but sinister Hans Gruber, the head of the terrorists. He carries himself with all the gravitas of a Eurotrash villain. Gruber is elegant. With his fine taste in clothes and his desire to discuss industrialism and men’s fashion, Gruber is no regular deadbeat criminal. He and McClane are perfect matches for each other. They banter with each other over the radio McClane has stolen from the first terrorist he kills.
I could discuss this movie all day, but really, it speaks for itself. It's Die Hard. Just sit back and enjoy.
Bruce Willis (known to audiences at the time of the film’s release as one of the leads in the tv cine-detecting series Moonlighting) plays John McClane, a New York cop visiting his estranged wife in Los Angeles for Christmas. He meets her at the Nakatomi Plaza, where she works for the Nakatomi Corporation. They have an argument and she goes off to give a speech at the office Christmas party. Then a group of terrorists seize the building and take the employees hostage. Their only hope is John, armed with only a pistol and without shoes, who only has one advantage…the element of surprise.
It's so good. Writing out the plot makes me want to stop writing and go watch the movie again, even though I've easily seen this film about a hundred times. I love watching John figure it out and make tactical decisions. He doesn't always make the right move, like when he drops explosives and uses too much and nearly destroys the building. John McClane is only human and that makes him endearing. Look at his physical state when the movie is over. The man is beat up, shirtless, bloody, barely able to walk Never good when your feet get shredded by broken glass). This is not the archetype action hero of the '80s, where Stallone and Schwarzenegger play guys who mow down armies of people and barely get a scratch. John McClane is the ultimate Everyman…a type of hero that would thrive in the '90s.
Die Hard also gives us one of the greatest cinema villains of all time. Alan Rickman is so fantastic as the charismatic but sinister Hans Gruber, the head of the terrorists. He carries himself with all the gravitas of a Eurotrash villain. Gruber is elegant. With his fine taste in clothes and his desire to discuss industrialism and men’s fashion, Gruber is no regular deadbeat criminal. He and McClane are perfect matches for each other. They banter with each other over the radio McClane has stolen from the first terrorist he kills.
I could discuss this movie all day, but really, it speaks for itself. It's Die Hard. Just sit back and enjoy.
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