One Tower, One Terrorist Plot, One Man. The bar by which other action films are judged.

Rating: 8/10 (19 October 2018)

An outstanding action/thriller film from 1988, whose power still serves as a bench mark for which other action films are judged. John McClane (Bruce Willis) is New York cop who's visiting his estranged wife, Holly (Bonnie Bedelia) for Christmas in Los Angeles. While working for the Nakatomi Corporation in one of the landmark skyscrapers, Holly, is going by her maiden name of Holly Gennaro - however, this is least of McClane's problems. A European terrorist cell, headed up by Hans Gruber (Alan Rickman) infiltrates the tower and puts it on lock down - nobody comes in, and nobody goes out. The intention of the well-orchestrated cell; is to rob them of millions of dollars' worth of bonds, but camouflage the theft by appearing to be an out and out terrorist threat. As John wasn't expected at the party and isn't on the staff list he's able to go missing, but with no help due and no way of gaining entry to the building he is alone to face off against Hans and his men.
The film is tight, electrifying and tense at different times, while still having a heart and a sense of humour along the way. There isn't much wasted screen time at all and it's a testament to the director and writers that the pace and feel of the film is top notch. There may be plot holes and mistakes occasionally, but these can quite easily be ignored or forgotten due to the sheer magnitude of what is unfolding on screen, either on an epic scale, or in tight and claustrophobic situations. While other action films relying on action, strength or bullets to find a resolution, this film forces McClane to use his brains, cunning and guile to advance. To be completely honest, McClane isn't an archetypal action hero, he's an average Joe, and this makes his character more lovable. The use of brains and guile also same applies to Rickman's character; Gruber is cold and calculating - just when you think McClane has won a situation, it turns out the Gruber is one step ahead or has an ace in the hole. Delivered with sneering grit and hatred Gruber is a proper Machiavellian character, the kind is the perfect yang to McClane's Ying. Instead of just telling people he's smart, Gruber delivers on this and quite often out foxes McClane, forcing him to rethink and re-approach the situation. The casting of these two roles above everyone else in the film is fantastic.
Spawning a series of sequels, the Die Hard movie isn't just the best of its follow up's, it's actually the bar by which films these days are judged. I read some film reviews and it's common to read something along the lines of: "The is Die Hard, in a submarine", or "if Die Hard took place in a football stadium". It's a testament to the quality of the film that 30 years later it stands tall as one of the absolute finest action films of modern cinema.
It wouldn't be fair for me to award anything lower than an 8 out of 10 for this epic.