An unlucky day

Rating: 9/10 (11 April 2018)

In 1988, a little film with a little known actor burst onto the screens of America. Its high powered action and wise cracking unsuspecting hero found their way into the hearts of action movie fans and, to this day, it remains a testament to the great and glorious eighties. The decade of great action, unforgettable comedy, and undying horror.
Following a short stint on TV's Moonlighting, Bruce Willis teamed up with director John McTiernan to bring to life the character of Detective John McClaine. A New York City police officer who flies out to Los Angeles to see his estranged wife and kids. What follows is the most unlucky day a man can have.
People do not remember that before this film came out nobody knew who Bruce Willis was, but after, you could not find someone who did not know his name or his face. His popularity is still high to this day, and it is all owed to one man. Detective John McClaine. Bruce Willis' portrayal of the character is one of the main reasons this movie is considered a modern classic. His quick wit and gun-tastic prescene make him the ultimate action hero. He is not the indestructible terminator or the special forces trained Rambo. He is just a regular guy who has been unwittingly sucked into the most unfortunate of circumstances and Bruce Willis plays the character like no one else could, with great humor and a sense of foolhardy abandon.
Bruce Willis is not the only great performance in this one. Alan Rickman as the German terrorist, Hans Gruber is amazing. He always seems to impress and that is no different in this classic. Hans Gruber is backed up by two great performances by his second in command Karl, played by Alexander Godonov, and Clarence Gilyard Jr who plays Hans' tech guy, Theo. Sgt. Al Powell, played by Reginald VelJohnson, lends a simpathetic ear to our hero and he performs amazingly. A semi-static performance by Bonnie Bedelia as John's wife does little to bring the overall performances in this one down one bit.
Die Hard accomplished many things in its theatrical run and subsequent release on video. It started the career of one of personal favorite actors, Bruce Willis. It gave us the unkillable and highly lovable character of John McClaine who still seems to impress after all these years, and it laid the groundwork for everything that came after it. Die Hard raised the bar for action movies, and to this day it remains one of the few high water marks for the action genre. This one is a great addition to any movie library and makes for an entertaining view every few months. While many movies seem to lose their luster after several viewings, this one seems to find its way onto my screen, thirty years after its release, more often than movies of only a couple of years old. Watch it now.