Went to the theater 'thinking' "This might be stupid."

Rating: 10/10 (12 July 2006)

I was not a Bruce Willis fan per say. As a matter of fact, I thought what is this guy from Moonlighting gonna do? Is he gonna make them laugh to death with stupid comments and jokes?
I was not a fan of "Moonlighting" then either, that would come later. In addition I was not thinking, 'John McClain' "Hans Gruber' or 'John McTiernan' that was my first error.
As I took in the very first minute of the film, I knew, this was going to be radically different than I had imagined.
This movie and John McTiernan's directing (Also 'Preditor'-1987 'The Thomas Crown Affair'-1999) (The Hunt for red October) (Medicine Man)
The way I felt from his genius directing style, that gets you fully involved, stomach wrapped in knots, pulse pounding. He brings out the whole story, not just a 'clot' of mindless action and or violence.
He actually led up to the stories climax and didn't blow it when he got there. I was shocked at this movie, which gets 'compared to' all the time with other action and drama movies! Still, after two decades.
Needless to say, it changed the way I felt about movies and film making. From Willis's flawless performance to master terrorist Hans Gruber, (Rickman) what a truly superb 'Villain' & (James Shigeta, Holly's Boss) the emotion and heart-thumping fear that lead up to the demise of James's character. The scenery of the towering building and the city itself after dark, under the threat of terrorist activity.
Don't forget L.A. P.D.-in charge 'DeWayne T. Robinson', (Paul Gleason - God rest his soul -Died May 26, 2006)
I truly looked at film with a whole different view point. I got a copy of the original script, well the 18th re-write or something like that and went, line by line, through the story. It was unbelievable how this movie changed my mind on Movies...as well as Bruce Willis. I just can't say enough about Die-hard, but I will come to a soft close...but before I do, here is a 'spanner' of a thought, originally Willis was not first choice, it was Stallone that they wanted and he turned it down, think on that one! This would not be what it is this way, it would be wholly different with 'Sly' at the helm. I will even venture further out, do you know who this was originally written for? -Answer: Burt Reynolds. No kidding.
This is on my all-time list of the best of the best films, bar-none.