The Real 'Last Action Hero'

Rating: 10/10 (8 May 2005)

1988 saw the peak of modern action films. It will be forever imitated but never bettered. White vests and catchphrases at the ready..Its DIE HARD John Mclane is a New York cop, recently separated from his wife Holly. Holly works for a big business company in the heart of California and is celebrating the opening of a new mega-plex building 'Nakatomi'. She invites on-off husband to the opening ceremony and his arrival quite nicely co-insides with the arrival of a group of party-spoiling terrorists led by a German named Hans Gruber. Good job he brought his gun then! Directed by John Mctiernan, Die Hard, saw the first and best action film with soul, and a lead hero who wasn't actually invincible. Struggling with the issues of doing his job, saving his wife, escaping from the building etc, John Mclane comes across as someone who actually has a heart, someone who can be beaten and above all, someone we can genuinely like.
The film follows Mclanes exploits as he scurries around the 'Nakatomi' plaza evading terrorist grasp whilst trying to help cops on the outside diffuse the situation. He's not an Arnie type character whos just there to empty a few clips, he's simply stuck in the situation and just doing the best he can, which incidentally sometimes isn't all that much.
There is a particularly good scene where Mclane succumbs to the likelihood that he may never escape alive and in a heartwarming scene, relays a message to a cop on the outside 'Al' to pass on to his wife. Fighting tears whilst trying to remove shards of glass from the feet of his broken body, we find that this guy is real. He's human, and very much destructible. Hence we back his corner more.
Bruce Willis stars as the said cop, elevating him to super stardom from then on. It was a film requiring excellent acting skills over a toned physique and casting was spot on. Alan Rickman plays the terrorist leader Hans Gruber and Bonny Bodelia Mclanes wife Holly. All parts are played superbly, further increasing the immersion.
Now, Die Hard IS still an action film. There's a lot of explosions, fighting, swearing and heroics but thanks to great scripting, acting and directing, it never becomes clichÃ©d. The pacing is spot on. Scenes of dialogue are freed by a gun-fight and harrowing scenes, followed by hate-fuelled violence. Its got explosions, but never too many, dead bodies, but never dwelled upon, its got swearing, but never for swearings sake and its even got a catchphrase, but even that is believable given the feelings and emotions going through Mclane as he battles for his own life as well as his wife and hostages. And thats the key to its success: Perfect pacing and perfect balance.
This all may sound very deep for an action film, and it probably is, but when you watch it you'll most probably think..'That was absolutely amazing' and you wont know why. Well this is best an analysis i could make. We sit there and just take for granted how much effort goes on in the background.
Wise people say that 'when you've done your job right, people wont know you've done anything at all' Here here i say.
Yipee-Kiyay! movie lovers