Gripping, tense and terrific action film starring Bruce Willis in his most iconic role

Rating: 8/10 (10 September 2013)

I must admit that although Die Hard isn't my 'favourite' action film as such, it is still an excellent action film and is right up there with the best films of its genre.
We begin with officer John McClane (Willis) who is on a flight from New York to Los Angeles to spend Christmas with his family. His ex wife Holly (Bonnie Bedelia) is at a Christmas party at the Nakatomi Plaza and John has arranged to meet her there. Whilst there, the complex is breached by a group of terrorists led by Hans Gruber (Alan Rickman). Hans is intent on stealing a $600 million dollar fortune which is kept in a safe at the Plaza. When the owner of the Nakatomi Plaza Joseph Yoshinobu (James Shigeta)refuses to provide Hans with the code for the safe, Hans kills him and due to the fact that no-one else knows the code he sets about trying a different method to get his hands on the cash. In the meantime, he also holds all the patrons hostage - all except one person who managed to evade capture namely 'John McClane' and he is determined to stop Hans and his goons by any means possible.
A lot of the strengths in Die Hard come from the way the tension is created. Although all of this takes place in a 40 storey building, strangely enough at times there is almost a feeling of 'claustrophobia'. You see a lot of McClane in tight spaces and on a number of occasions he gets very close to his captors and I think it really helps to create an edge of your seat feel to the whole proceedings. Hans Gruber is also an excellent villain - the very fact that he is so calm, cool and calculated makes him more dangerous and ultimately more terrifying. It seems that no matter what is thrown at him, he never panics and almost views holding hostages as being like a game of chess - he always appears to be one or 2 moves ahead of everyone else.
Kudos also should go to John McTiernan for his exceptional direction of Die Hard. He really has given it a 'claustrophobic' feel - much like he did with Predator. I also felt the score was excellent - although it wasn't as good as the score in Predator it still more than complemented the overall tone of the film. As with Predator, there are also plenty of humorous moments and one liners (who can forget the classic 'Yippee Ki Yay' line from McClane).
The acting was also great by everyone involved (particularly by Alan Rickman). His portrayal of Hans Gruber was pretty much perfect and he will be long remembered as being one of the better villains to grace our screens. Even though Die Hard is now 25 years old, it still has a certain 'freshness' about it and it is a film that I thoroughly enjoyed.