It's not hard to see why some folks, ho ho ho, claim this is their favorite Xmas film, it's pretty darn exciting

Rating: 8/10 (8 September 2008)

John McClane (Bruce Willis) has just landed in Los Angeles at Xmas time. A New York City cop, he is going to spend the holidays near his estranged wife, Holly (Bonnie Bedelia) and his children. Holly, a rising corporate star, was offered a high echelon job for a Japanese conglomerate and she accepted the position. This caused a deep rift between the couple, for John is a born-and-raised Big Apple resident and he doesn't want to leave the city, no matter how big his wife's salary is. Over the holidays, they are going to try to come to a resolution. Yet, when John enters the skyscraper headquarters of the Japanese company, his wife is committed to helping with the holiday party that is in full swing and he goes to a washroom to clean up. Just at that moment, a German terrorist, Hans Gruber (Alan Rickman) and his gang take over the building in a near-perfect seizure and the employees are turned into hostages. The German thug is after the million dollar bonds that are locked away in a heavily-fortressed vault. Meanwhile, McClane manages to slip away to the elevator shaft to spy on the crooks. It is John, then, who witnesses Hans executing the Japanese CEO when the businessman does not give the gang leader the combination fast enough. Hans, it seems, believes that the computer expert he brought with him will be able to crack the code. As it may take hours, however, John has some time to find a way to stop the killers. But, can one man really do the impossible? This is a very exciting film, with plenty of white-knuckle action and suspense. It launched the career of Willis into superstardom, of course, and spawned three sequels. As the never-say-die cop, Willis is terrific, cracking jokes as he tries to pick off the enemy one by one. Bedelia is nice, too, and the rest of the cast, including Alexander Godunov, is first rate. As for Rickman, he is superb as the cold-blooded terrorist with the eloquent voice and style. It really brought his career to the forefront, too, and his performance ranks high among those of the evil villains of film. The action takes place mostly inside a building, so there is no great scenery, but it manages to make every nook and cranny of the edifice into a battleground. Costumes are fine and the production values are high. Best of all, the script and direction are truly inspired, as the struggle between the good guys and the nasty ones is thorough and exciting. If you are looking for a movie to get you in the Christmas mood, this one may do for those twisted minds out there or, rather, for those who want a bit of action in their holiday films. So, show the children something like The Polar Express or Elf, then send them to bed, for Die Hard is strictly for adults only.