"You shoulda heard your brother squeal... when I broke his f*****g neck!"

Rating: 10/10 (5 January 2005)

This may sound stupid to those of you that think that the only movies that should be considered quality works are period pieces and Merchant Ivory productions but I honestly think that this is one of the greatest and influential movies ever made. Hang him high, you're probably saying. I say, hear me out.
I saw this in the theaters when it came out back in 1988, which would have put me at fourteen at the time. I remember clearly, thinking nothing about this movie going into it. It had Bruce Willis, who really didn't strike me as the action hero type, being familiar with him only from the TV show, "Moonlighting". The trailer for the film said nothing more than, "GET READY TO BE BLOWN THROUGH THE BACK OF THE THEATER!" or something along those lines, coupled with lots of rapid fire editing and explosions and gunfire and no real hint at what the story would be about. It didn't occur to me that I would be walking out of the theater feeling like I had an idea of what to do with my life.
I credit this movie with giving me the desire to make my own films. I've always loved movies and have always appreciated their artistic and production values but for some reason, this was the one that had me saying afterwards, "Wow, I would love to give people the same feeling that this movie gave me". This was the one that really hit home.
Bruce Willis creates one of the most enduring screen heroes of all time with hard edged cop John McClane. Think about it, when you hear the name, don't you just know that trouble's right around the corner? He was the perfect antidote to the ridiculous peak of the action films of the 80's, where you had Schwarzenegger traveling to remote islands and wiping out entire platoons of soldiers single handedly in "Commando" or Stallone massacring entire nations of troops in the Rambo movies. Come to think of it, I'm surprised that Stallone didn't tie one arm behind his back to even things up a little. But I digress. In John McClane, we have a hero that is a little closer to the regular joes who walk the streets, someone who knows that he isn't bulletproof. In his fear, we see ourselves and I love that about the character. Yeah, his smartass jokes might get on your nerves once in a while but it only serves to make the character that much more endearing.
Then you have Alan Rickman. I can only think of one other movie villain who I'd consider about as good as he is here and that's Gary Oldman in "Leon" (or "The Professional", for those that aren't familiar with the film's original title). Alan Rickman as Hans Gruber is the best thing since canned Vienna Sausages in this film. In fact, I'll just leave it at that. If you haven't seen this movie, do so and see why I say that. If you have already, I know you've agreed with me already.
Now, the action sequences are something else entirely. John McTiernan directs with expertise and all the action scenes are pulse-pounding, to say the least. The scene where McClane jumps off the roof of the building with a fire hose tied around his waist goes down (for me anyway) as a moment I'd put up with Moses parting the Red Sea in the Ten Commandments. One thing I remember clearly about this scene was how insane the audience I was with got during that moment. Classic.
There are a lot of other things I can say about this movie but I really feel like it's better left for those of you who haven't seen it to experience for yourselves. I really, really believe that this is probably THE greatest action movie ever made. A human story, great action, great villains, great supporting players, great special effects... you can't ask for more.
RATING: ***** out of *****.