Classic one-liner action

Rating: 7/10 (1 February 2014)

In the mid-1980s, a transformation of the action movie began. The gritty action dramas of the 70s, of which Gene Hackman vehicles like The French Connection, or at the B-level Charles Bronson's Deathwish were emblematic, gave rise to more cartoonishly violent but breezier fare, enlivened by one-liners and more oblivious to realistic plotting. Schwarzenegger, Stallone, and yes, Bruce Willis led these films. It was the era of the Reagan quip, and while that era has long ended, lesser such films continue to be made.
Without a doubt, Die Hard is one of the best of these. Off-duty police officer in skyscraper saves hostages from a suave but brutal master thief. What sets it off from many films in the genre is a loving level of detail. Like a criminal about to steal millions hesitating to steal a pack of M&Ms from a concession stand; or explaining why the hero will run around the whole movie in his undershirt in a logical manner; or having the hero actually hurt badly from walking barefoot on glass; and building up relationships in some detail.
It also shares some of the weaker points of the genre, from ludicrously incompetent higher-ups in the police or news business, to the monster villain who is resurrected just when everybody thinks it's over, to bad German accent/grammar coaching of the star villain, played by Alan Rickman. This is particularly disconcerting because his henchmen are all Austrian or German actors who hold flawless conversation.
Rickman is a superb villain though, affable and yet coldly brutal, who toys with the good guys by pretending to be anything from a terrorist (he's just a thief) to his own victim. The bad guys can be suave, smart and wear tailored suits.
The action is plentiful and well-paced, the one-liners including the famous yippee-kayeh are funny, the actors are doing a great job, and the score is clever, for example in the way it segues from the frolicky Bach music at a Christmas office party to an ominous version of Freude, schöner Götterfunken when the villains appear. It holds up well with time.