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Rating: 9/10 (5 June 2010)

Has there ever been an action movie made that is a more perfect representation of the term "man movie" than "Die Hard"? Die hard has all of the elements that you would want in a no-holds-barred action flick - guns, guts, glory, bare breasts, and a hail of bullets.
The story centers around New York detective John McClane (Bruce Willis), who is on a trip to LA to meet up with his estranged wife at her office (a high rise in Century city) during the holidays before eventually heading home with her to spend Christmas with her and his two children in an effort to patch their family back up. One hitch though, the high rise is taken hostage by a militant group of terrorists armed to the teeth and highly technologically advanced and intelligent. The terrorists are led by the suave and ultra-creepy Hans Gruber (portrayed wonderfully by Alan Rickman in his big screen debut) who seemingly has left no stone unturned and has considered every possible detail and prepared for every possible contingency, except one. While everyone in the building is under the thumb of Gruber and his men, McClane manages to slip through the cracks and soon finds himself hopping secretly from floor to floor taking out the bad guys one at a time, until the final, heart pounding, white knuckle finale that is one of the best endings in movie history.
This movie is expertly directed by action-veteran John McTiernan (who finished post-production on another quintessential man-movie, 1987's "Predator", just before principal photography began on "Die Hard") and benefits from the talents of cinematographer Jan De Bont (future director of such Hollywood blockbusters as Speed and Twister), whose break neck, fast paced style of film has become his trademark. The film is perfectly cast and the ensemble that is put together for this film is one of the finest groups of talent on any one film in cinema history.
The quintessential 1980's action thriller, "Die Hard" has become an iconic film and has entertained the masses and been a staple "man movie", and although the film is over two decades old now, it is still going strong and still appealing, even to today's film audiences.