The action movie that set the standard

Rating: Null/10 (9 July 1999)

Action movies don't come much better than this, and Die Hard is one of the elite band of action movies that will stand the test of time, alongside classics like Terminator and Aliens.
The producers may have had some doubt about casting the relatively unknown Willis (only really a TV star at the time), but Willis really shines and has the knack for making even the dumbest lines sound cool - "Welcome to the party pal!". It's a shame that the writer of this film ended up directing such abominations like Streetfighter.
Alan Rickman deserves praise for what was his first major hollywood movie, managing to ham it up for all its worth. Unlike Willis, Rickman never managed to really make a Hollywood career, his efforts really peaking with Robin Hood.
Like all good action movies, the pace is spot-on, and the tension and one-liners never stop coming. Although the premise is extremely simple, it's in the predicament that we find the hero in and his own motivation to get out of the situation that we care about. I still rank this as Willis finest performance, and the movie never becomes boring on repeated viewings.
It definitely ranks in my top 10 list of action movies, and will always be a film that is much imitated, but rarely bettered.
9/10.