Dirty Harry with an attitude!

Rating: 10/10 (23 March 2012)

Okay, so who am I to argue with success? Obviously this franchise has proved immensely popular, given the further proliferation of Die Hards 2, 3, & 4. John McClane is Willis' most popular character, and a natural extension of his role in the television series Moonlighting with Cybil Sheppard. McClane is a street cop, a no-nonsense, shoot first ask questions later police officer who apparently gets the job done in the style of Dirty Harry. Alan Rickman is exceptional as Hans Gruber, the ex-terrorist with aspirations of becoming wealthy no matter how many lives are lost. As in most McTiernan action films, there is little background or lead in, just enough to let you know who the players are, and the action quickly starts and barely pauses. Bonnie Bedelia is excellent in her role as Holly Gennero, the top executive with people skills and a sense for reasonable control. She is the perfect executive who thinks of her people first and attempts to maintain calm under duress. Alexander Godunov plays Karl, the hot-headed terrorist on a mission to kill McClane for killing his brother. While no one will ever consider the Die Hards as Oscar worthy films, they are fun and exciting, and definitely collectible. Rated R for some brief nudity, drug use, and a whole lot of gratuitous violence. Like Vin said in xXx, "....think Playstation...Blow s*&t up!"