Tough and resilient, like its lead; the sort of smart and grounded American action/adventure film that the current filmic climate is devoid of.

Rating: 10/10 (17 May 2010)

People bicker, argue and disagree with one another in Die Hard like nobody's business: the police with the police; the police with the F.B.I.; the F.B.I. with local power company employees; the terrorists with each another; one hostage is rightly reluctant for another to make his presence known, and yet at the heart of it is the action lead in lieutenant John McLane's calm and methodical relationship over a two-way radio with a certain police officer named Al Powell. Amidst all the chaos and panic, two guys, one of whom is on the front line, are keeping their cool and we connect with them intricately on that very basic level as this masterful piece of work weaves down chaotic and anger-filled routes.
Die Hard might very well be the greatest action film of all time, the best of its genre; a chess match in a three or so dozen storey tall building in which cat and mouse and all things substantial linked to revising what traits it is the action film 'ought' to resemble are played out. The sequence in which its revisionist tendencies reach somewhat of a peak is the instance that sees its rugged lead leap off the roof of said building with a fire-hose tied around his waist, just after saying a little prayer. The lead could plunge to his death; he presence is not as required to drive the film as much as it was required earlier on – the police have arrived and settling down into a groove of exchanges and gun battles with the enemies within as a war is waged and could feasibly just play out. McLane is superfluous to proceedings, save a sub-plot that opens up to do with his wife which might be foiled by anyone of a righteous nature in the film.
It's a superb set piece, dramatic and enthralling in its systematic execution of taking into account McLane's own personal safety with the F.B.I. chopper buzzing overhead with an old fashioned 'race against time' premise to proceedings as those with the power eventually agree to set off a number of explosives located in the vicinity. There is heart, peril and raw fear in McLane's voice and actions; items not synonymous with action film leads. The film of course covers the exploits of Bruce Willis' lieutenant McLane, a New York policeman that touches down in L.A. at Christmas time in order to meet with his wife with whom he has a strenuous relationship. The emphasis on McLane as someone out of his depth is playfully toyed with early on, his observing of erratic-to-him behaviour at the airport as a woman leaps into the arms of newly arrived boyfriend spawns a murmured expletive followed by "California(!)", as does an incidence later on when a drunk male party guest kisses McLane on the cheek. We feel McLane is out of his depth, he trudges through the reception area of the building to a low angle capturing the power the place will eventually come to have over him as his footsteps echo eerily throughout the foyer.
His wife is Holly (Bedelia), a strong woman; who's better off in life than her husband with a great job plus prospects in a field usually dominated by the male and more than a match for the terrorists at various times whom have seized control. You may ultimately read into the film as a 'test' for McLane to win Holly back as a marital partner: the symbolic releasing of a gold watch, which was a gift earlier on from a potentially new suitor, during the climax is the ultimate act that wins through in the end and confirms a succession of McLane's goals. The leader of the terrorists that take over the building during a Christmas party is Alan Rickman's Hans Gruber, a man it's established has loved the idea of painstaking process in the meticulous detailing of something from a very early age - it appears he's taken great care in manufacturing the robbery of the high-rise. His first lieutenant is Karl (Godunov), who it's established is himself an unhinged individual when he risks his own life early on by sawing through some electrical pylons as his brother below struggles to cut the correct wires in time. The cat and mouse exchanges between Karl and John for the first twenty or so minutes are dramatically involving; wonderfully constructed and thrilling as special attention to the skyscraper as a space complete with its own tunnels and corridors is observed.
Die Hard's attitudes to the action genre in terms of conflict is highlighted in two sequences, the first being that McLane is quick to avoid conflict; evading and even stopping mid sentence whilst on the two-way so as to check his surroundings to make sure it's safe. Incidentally, he uses his firearm to shoot off locks; break windows so as to enter; 'frighten' hostages into moving to a safer zone and to stop a large fan from rotating so he may pass. The gun is rendered a tool during these sequences, not a mere item used to shoot, blow stuff up and advance action. The second is when the police initially establish themselves outside and charge in on first sight, in what is an event more typically associated in furthering action and conflict and the sort of sequence a lesser film of the genre would solely rely on. The film is aware of this; having its lead, himself embodying many antithetical traits to the typical action lead, comment on proceedings by labelling them "macho a**holes". Their efficient and brutal demise is systematic of the film's overall attitudes to its genre and these actions. There are barely more than a few seconds in Die Hard that don't work, the sort of high octane American feature film you rarely get nowadays in a world flooded with genre hybridising; big budgeted flops; daft star systems; merchandising and the incessant need to leave room for sequels. How unfortunate.