A Headache

Rating: 3/10 (13 August 2002)

How this movie enters into IMDB's top 250 is beyond me. This film is not a well-crafted work of art, but a dull, banal, predictable action blockbuster.
Bruce Willis plays John McClane, a cop who's arrived at his wife's company's party. He escapes unnoticed when a terrorist leader (Alan Rickman) and his lackeys take the party hostage. They are after the company's money, and won't be leaving until they get it. Well, surprise, surprise, but a certain cop decides to be the hero and stop them. And this is no ordinary cop  he seems to be able to dodge bullets (think of the `miracle' scene in Pulp Fiction, many times over).
Our so-called good-guy also kills ruthlessly, whilst our bad-guys seem to be very merciful. The amount of times they have McClane at gunpoint and let him escape is unbelievable. By the end you get the feeling that Brucey's character is very much invincible.
The one good point of the movie is Alan Rickman. He is an excellent actor, and his character is the one likeable one in the entire movie. Bruce Willis, who is usually excellent, is disappointing as all he manages to do well is shoot a gun and not die. The rest of the acting is fairly forgettable action movie acting, but that is acceptable in a movie of this time, whose purpose is to excite and not to make the viewer think.
Obviously if you are thinking of seeing this movie you won't be looking for a deep and meaningful picture, but you'll be looking for a thrill-packed experience. Die Hard will not give you this; it will most likely give you a headache (if my opinion is anything to go by). If you want to see an exciting action movie about hostages in a tower, forget Die Hard, and go and see The Negotiator (8/10).
I give Die Hard 3/10.