Die Hard [M]

John McLane is a New York cop that has come to LA to spend Christmas with his children and his estranged wife, Holly. But, while he waits for Holly’s office Christmas party to break up, terrorists, headed by the merciless and cunning Hans Gruber, seize control of the building and take the partygoers as hostages while they steal the millions in riches from the building’s vaults. John manages to slip away unnoticed and then wages a one-man war against the terrorists, armed only with a service revolver and his own cunning. 

For a number of years, the Die Hard movies held no interest for me whatsoever, but when I learned that Alan Rickman plays the villain in the first one, well I simply had to watch it. Because Alan Rickman is a sexy, sexy man and I am so in love with him! I was actually really surprised by this movie: the stable story, the hot-blooded action, the occasional comic banter, and the really lovely relationship that develops between McLane and a local cop on the outside. To be honest, Die Hard is a pretty fucking good movie and one that I would gladly watch again. 

John McLane is a New York cop that has come to LA to spend Christmas with his children and his estranged wife, Holly. But, while he waits for Holly’s office Christmas party to break up, terrorists, headed by the merciless and cunning Hans Gruber, seize control of the building and take the partygoers as hostages while they steal the millions in riches from the building’s vaults. John manages to slip away unnoticed and then wages a one-man war against the terrorists, armed only with a service revolver and his own cunning. 

At first, I was struggling to not let my focus wander from the movie because, when the terrorists first seize the building, it really sounded like it was going to be one of those immensely confusing plots filled with codes and keys and clues that needed to be memorized. But then the first real kick of comedy comes into play when the first henchman is killed and McLane writes Hans a message on his shirt. From there, the seemingly complex plot thinned out into the simple and thrilling one-man war that put Bruce Willis’ name up there with the action greats. 

By nature, this move is primarily an action movie packed with heaps of gunplay, punch-ups, fistfights, explosions, and bloodshed. But what was really nice about it was the relationship that developed between McLane and a cop on the outside who did a little drive-by. Throughout the duration of the movie, the two talk on and off through frequencies on walkie-talkies and there is a really beautiful scene at the end where they set eyes on each other for the first time and they don’t say anything; they just hug one another, tightly and congratulatory. That whole emotional story was a really lovely touch and because everyone involved did it so well, it didn’t have that feeling of being tacked on or out of place. 

I want to also draw quick attention to the soundtrack, which I found quite entertaining as it not only provided the movie with an atmosphere, but brought a funny sense of humour and irony to the film. Practically all tracks are based loosely on Christmas carols and songs, aside from the obvious reference to Beethoven’s immortal Ode to Joy. I was really interested by the soundtrack. 

And then we have the memorable performances from Bruce Willis and Alan Rickman. I don’t really think I’ve ever seen Bruce Willis play anything other than a hot-headed action hero, but he does the part so bloody well! He gave a performance that was aggressive, dutiful, and cunning, and his comic timing for those cool one-line punch lines was just brilliant! Lording it over Bruce though, was the performance of the divine Alan Rickman. I think this is the first film I’ve ever seen in which Alan puts on an accent, he actually puts on a number of them here, and his performance was cunning, fearsome, and darkly funny. I ABSOLUTELY LOVED HIM! He could take me hostage any day. 

Starring Bonnie Bedelia, Reginald VelJohnson, William Atheron, Hart Bochner, James Shigeta, and Paul Gleason (who always seems to play a dick in any movie he does), Die Hard was an awesome film that’s packed with action, violence, explosions, gunplay, bloodshed, terrorism, suspense, and comedy. This being the first time that I’ve ever seen it, I have to say that it really is an action classic!