Excellent action thriller! Yipee-ki-yay!

Rating: 9/10 (4 July 2001)

Okay cowboy, here are the odds: The forty-story Nakatomi Building has been seized by twelve German terrorists armed with automatic weapons. Thirty people have been taken hostage. You? You're just a cop, in the wrong place at the wrong time. Sound hard? Let's make it harder. You're not wearing any shoes!
Prepare to DIE HARD!
DIE HARD is the story of a New York cop, John McClane (Bruce Willis), who is in Los Angeles, visiting his estranged wife Holly (Bonnie Bedelia). While he is sitting in a room making "fists with his toes," a team of terrorists led by the brilliant, cold-blooded, and yet charming Hans Gruber (Alan Rickman) seizes the building and takes everybody hostage. That is, everybody except McClane!
And so begins one of the best action thrillers made. DIE HARD grabs the audience and does not let go! The American Film Institute just released its choices for the top 100 most heartpounding movies ever made. DIE HARD sits at #35, defeating other edge-of-your-seat movies like CARRIE, TERMINATOR 2: JUDGEMENT DAY, and SPEED.
Personally, DIE HARD was recommended to me when I was 14 years old by my 42-year-old British aunt. She felt it was "wonderful."
Now, the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) did give DIE HARD an R rating and it is well-deserved. DIE HARD has pervasive profanity (and let's just say that four-letter words play an active role in McClane's vocabulary), lots of bloody action violence, and some extremely brief nudity.
But before that turns you off, let me say a few things. First, the nudity in the film is, like I said, extremely brief. The first time I saw the film, I did not notice it (and I'm the kind of "goody-goody" who is very offended by nudity and would notice it right away). Second, the violence, though plentiful, is also almost justifiable. DIE HARD does not have any TERMINATOR-style senseless violence nor does it have any RAMBO-style "shoot anything that moves" violence. One can relate to McClane and understand why he kills. Chances are, one would do what McClane does if caught in a similar situation. Furthermore, even though DIE HARD has abundant shooting and explosions, the final body count is 16.
"[McClane] is not here to be a hero," says action star Jean-Claude Van Damme, "He is simply a man who is in the wrong place at the wrong time."
Parents, if you like the plot of DIE HARD but do not want your children watching all the violence and profanity, I understand, and I'd recommend showing them MASTERMINDS.
Otherwise, get ready for "40 stories of sheer adventure!"
Yipee-ki-yay!
Grade: 94/100 A