Director: John McTiernan
Writer: Jeb Stuart, Steven E de Souza (Screenplay) Roderick Thorp (Novel)
Starring: Bruce Willis, Bonnie Bedelia, Alan Rickman, Reginald VelJohnson, Paul Gleason, De’voreaux White, William Atherton, Alexander Godunov
Plot: An NYPD officer tries to save his wife and several others taken hostage by German terrorists during a Christmas party at the Nakatomi Plaza in Los Angeles.
Tagline – He’s the only chance anyone has got.
Runtime: 2 Hour 12 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Verdict: Absolute Classic
Story: Die Hard starts when John McClane (Willis) heads to LA to spend Christmas with his wife Holly (Bedelia) during a work party at the Nakatomi Plaza, this is one last chance to hopeful rekindle their marriage.
The party takes a turn for the worst when Hans Gruber (Rickman) and his highly trained team crash the party, holding the guests hostage, only John gets away unseen, John hides in the building trying to lower the odds to save the guests including Holly from the terrorist that simply won’t stop.
Thoughts on Die Hard
Characters – John McClane is a New York police officer that is spending Christmas in LA with his wife, trying to save his marriage, he isn’t the guy that goes to business parties, but he gets his chance to shine when the terrorists take over the building, he shows his ability to evolve to the situation to stay ahead of the terrorists. Hans Gruber is the leader of the terrorists who have taken of Nakatomi Plaza, they are in control of the hostages, with their plan in motion, he sees McClane as a pain, rather than a problem expecting his men to be able to solve the situation, he always has a plan for the different situations he could be expecting. Holly is John’s wife who works in the building, she becomes the leader of the hostages not revealing her identity to the terrorists.
Performances – Bruce Willis is fantastic in the leading role, it was the role which made him a superstar as he gives us one of the most iconic figures in cinema history. Alan Rickman on his debut in film is truly brilliant too, bringing one of the most iconic villains in film history too. The rest of the cast do bring us characters we will remember through the film, which is something most action films struggle with.
Story – The story here follows a cop that finds himself needing to overcome the odds to rescue a large group of hostages from a group of terrorists. This story keeps everything simple with the terrorists having their plan, the cop having to think on his feet and the supporting characters given enough development to make us care about what is happening. This story is great to watch because of the fact it doesn’t make anything more complicated than it needs to be and become one that nearly everybody knows.
Action – The action is filled with shoot outs, explosions and fights, everything you would to see in this style of film.
Settings – The film keeps all the action in the tower, it keeps everything feeling contained which only adds to the hunt for McClane by the terrorists.
Scene of the Movie – Welcome to the party Pal.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – Nothing.
Final Thoughts – This is easily one of the greatest action films of all time, it brings us two of the biggest icons in film history and will leave forever in the memories of the audience.
Overall: Classic.
