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source: Die Hard

Die Hard

Die Hard, one of the greatest action movies of all time, still to this day, it's more impressive than ever. If you were to look in the dictionary and look up the word action, this movie would probably be shown, lol. My mom was just absolutely in love with this film and told me how much I should see it if I love action movies, also I had become a Bruce Willis fan, so when she mentioned that, I decided to sit down and watch it. It's not just Bruce Willis that makes this movie, although he does a fantastic job as the ultimate hero, his line delivery is always perfectly on cue and he's just such a cool guy that anyone could love. But for me it was Alan Rickman who truly steals the film, he is the ultimate bad guy and his voice was just so creepy, I love him. But all together the cast and special effects truly make this a memorable film for generations to come. John McClane is a police officer who has taken his career very seriously, a little too seriously since his wife is about to divorce him and he's about to loose his children. When John comes to see his wife, Holly, at her office building during the company Christmas party, he asks if he can be given a second chance, but that gets slightly interrupted when terrorists enter the building. Hans Gruber, the leader of the terrorists, wants 600 million dollars of bonds from the company's owner. But with John in the building, he's gonna have a hard time because John is on his case will make sure to give him a roller coaster of a crime bust. This is without a doubt the most exciting action movie since The Terminator. I love the whole idea of this taking place around Christmas, it just adds a little more dark humor. Especially the way that Alan Rickman says "Now I have a machine gun. Ho...Ho...Ho", it was just so perfect! I really love Die Hard, I am officially a fan, this is just the most awesome movie to watch. Believe me, it's that good, I highly recommend this movie for anyone, it's a lot of fun, I guarantee you that you will not be disappointed. 10/10

1988 and the undisputed number one action star was that Austrian body builder with the funny name with that monosylabic guy from ROCKY in second place . The thing I hated about Arnie and Sly is that their action movies were uninvolving with over blown battle scenes where the good guys never seemed to be in danger of dying . I was also going to bring the James Bond franchise into the conversation but the series became a parody when Bond stopped speaking with a Scottish accent sometime in the early 70s DIE HARD is different to the other 80s action fests with John McLane being a fairly believable genre character . Okay he`s two dimensional but that`s got to be one dimension more than John Rambo who only exists to kill a lot of nasty commies so Americans can flock to the cinema . It`s also interesting to note that McLane`s wife is used in the plot which is slightly different from how most action films work out where the hero is normally single , but that`s probably because DIE HARD as more depth to it than many contemparies. Perhaps the biggest difference is that McLane is slightly flawed as we`re shown one scene where the hero gives the bad guys something they want , not something you`d see in a Arnie or Sly movie . I won`t mention the stunts or the tightly written set pieces or how compelling they are because everyone else has beat me to it , except to say that big explosions and gun fights often overwhelm an action movie ( Bond movies are a good example ) but here they occur from the narrative instead of someone cramming them into the script in a vain attempt to thrill the audience . Normally I`d have a fit that an action blockbuster is well inside the IMDB top 250 but DIE HARD does deserve to be there since it`s the best movie of its type of its era .

I was not a Bruce Willis fan per say. As a matter of fact, I thought what is this guy from Moonlighting gonna do? Is he gonna make them laugh to death with stupid comments and jokes? I was not a fan of "Moonlighting" then either, that would come later. In addition I was not thinking, 'John McClain' "Hans Gruber' or 'John McTiernan' that was my first error. As I took in the very first minute of the film, I knew, this was going to be radically different than I had imagined. This movie and John McTiernan's directing (Also 'Preditor'-1987 'The Thomas Crown Affair'-1999) (The Hunt for red October) (Medicine Man) The way I felt from his genius directing style, that gets you fully involved, stomach wrapped in knots, pulse pounding. He brings out the whole story, not just a 'clot' of mindless action and or violence. He actually led up to the stories climax and didn't blow it when he got there. I was shocked at this movie, which gets 'compared to' all the time with other action and drama movies! Still, after two decades. Needless to say, it changed the way I felt about movies and film making. From Willis's flawless performance to master terrorist Hans Gruber, (Rickman) what a truly superb 'Villain' & (James Shigeta, Holly's Boss) the emotion and heart-thumping fear that lead up to the demise of James's character. The scenery of the towering building and the city itself after dark, under the threat of terrorist activity. Don't forget L.A. P.D.-in charge 'DeWayne T. Robinson', (Paul Gleason - God rest his soul -Died May 26, 2006) I truly looked at film with a whole different view point. I got a copy of the original script, well the 18th re-write or something like that and went, line by line, through the story. It was unbelievable how this movie changed my mind on Movies...as well as Bruce Willis. I just can't say enough about Die-hard, but I will come to a soft close...but before I do, here is a 'spanner' of a thought, originally Willis was not first choice, it was Stallone that they wanted and he turned it down, think on that one! This would not be what it is this way, it would be wholly different with 'Sly' at the helm. I will even venture further out, do you know who this was originally written for? -Answer: Burt Reynolds. No kidding. This is on my all-time list of the best of the best films, bar-none.

Of course the Action Genre existed before Die Hard. After all you had The Terminator, Commando, Top Gun, Roadhouse...but didn't Die Hard absolutely revolutionize the eighties action Genre. It came like a savior and encompassed everything that would blow you right out the back of the theater and made Bruce Willis an absolute idol in the Action world and for good reason. Die Hard had pointless nudity, scores of bad language, bloody death, guns, explosions, a gritty, tough as nails, sweating, dirty hero that takes on everyone with nothing more than a hand gun and his brains. If you watch Willis in Die Hard it's a thing of beauty. His shirt torn off, bare foot, wounds all over him...he looks like he just crawled from a war rather than stalking terrorists through an enormous high rise office building in L.A. The script was so dead on...it was basic, it was to the point, it has great sarcastic humor and one liners that could never be forgotten. And Willis was the man to pull it all together. Add a decent supporting cast, a guy on the ground who is like his partner and a MacGyver style of killing bad guys that will go down in history...THIS IS DIE HARD. Bruce Willis was brought up right in the Prime of his TV Series Moonlighting where his irresistible charm and personality made him a hit. John McLean was David Addison but with a lot more guts and a lot more ammo. That only made the film more exciting to fans of Willis already. Willis has a way of just making everything edge of your seat and everything believable. Who else could make you smile in fear when he's diving out of a 30 story window attached to a fire hose while the roof of the building is exploding. He really doesn't single handedly make the film...the supporting cast is terrific. Bonnie Bedelia is great as McLean's straight laced, professional and estranged wife. They make an odd yet touching couple. They have some electricity and it's ironic and yet sensible that they don't end up together throughout the series. Still Bedelia is a great female lead and her character is strong and not at all misused in the role. Alan Rickman is just one kick ass bad guy. Can you say anything else?? As terrorist Hans Gruber he is terrifying, evil, brilliant, and you just despise him and you can't wait to see him go up against Willis and he does. He doesn't stand a chance but Rickman is still brilliant as the bad guy. Reginald VelJohnson plays a small yet very important role as Willis' guy on the ground on the other end of a walkie talkie. They don't know each other, and barely know each other's name but yet they become as close as partners and they too are odd together and yet fit. William Atherton has to be mentioned even though it's a very small role, it's Die Hard history that he plays slimy, tabloid reporter Richard Thornburg who gets his just end by Holly McLean's fist which becomes a running joke in the series. Die Hard is everything that people would look at in disgust now in the new millennium and yet it was everything the eighties stood for when it came to action and heroes. McLean has a cigarette dangling from his mouth, blood pouring everywhere, and a happy ending despite all the destruction around them. If you haven't seen Die Hard you can't ever proclaim yourself an action fan because Die Hard IS action. It's the film every action film strives to live to and will never meet...whether it was before 1988 or after. We won't ever get something like this again. It's an absolute 100% classic!! for all the wrong reasons!! 10/10