An action classic

Rating: 9/10 (23 September 2011)

John McClane was a breath of fresh air after the series of heavy-muscled, unapproachable action heroes who dominated the 80's - Stallone, Arnie, Van Damme, Norris. If anything, McClane was the child of Dirty Harry Callahan; and if Harry was the ultimate badass cop for the 70's, McClane filled that role in the 80's and early 90's. Even more so than Callahan, McClane was a hero every viewer could identify with; wise-cracking, neurotic, short-tempered. It's the character that made Bruce Willis a star overnight, and made Die Hard one of the defining films of its genre. And even if parts of it seem dated, and a lot of the supporting actors do a cheesy job, Willis and Alan Rickman are both spectacular enough to hold the whole thing together, making it a constantly thrilling and wholly enjoyable movie even twenty years later.