Nothing says Christmas like a skyscraper full of terrorists!

Rating: 10/10 (12 December 2011)

When New York detective John McClane goes to Los Angeles to visit his wife who works for a large Japanese company he is expecting a fairly quiet time he certainly doesn't expect the party celebrating the opening of the company's brand new skyscraper to be gate-crashed by a dozen or more heavily armed terrorists lead by a German called Hans Gruber! Luckily when they strike he is away from the party in his wife's office so he is able to lead a one man fight back. Once he has managed to kill one of the terrorists he can use his radio to try to contact the local police although they don't seem to believe him until a body comes crashing through the windscreen of Sgt. Al Powell's squad car! He becomes McClane's contact as the situation intensifies as first the LAPD then the FBI attempt to deal with Hans and his gang. It is soon clear that Hans has anticipated the responses of everybody except McClane so it is up to him to thwart their plans.
The eighties were a decade packed with great action movies; a decade where action meant fights, bullets and plenty of explosions all accompanied by a few witty one-liners rather than excessive CGI and this is one of the best examples of an '80s action film. Bruce Willis was on top form as John McClane and Alan Rickman was delightfully over the top as Hans Gruber, Reginald VelJohnson also does a decent job as Sgt. Powell. As well as the almost non-stop action there some laughs to be had although they never feel forced. If you like '80s action films then you really need to watch this and if you've seen it already; watch it again!