This one can't be topped!!!

Rating: 10/10 (14 October 2000)

"Die Hard" is the best action film I've ever seen. It's a spectacularly exciting, thrilling, and exhilarating adventure that I don't think can be topped as far as action pictures go. Bruce Willis' movie career took off with this film, which I think is his best yet. Willis is John McClane, a New York cop who comes to Los Angeles at Christmastime to be with his estranged wife Holly (Bonnie Bedelia). Shortly after arriving in L.A. he goes to Holly's place of employment, a high rise building in the Nakatomi Plaza where a big Christmas party is taking place. Minutes after he gets there and greets his wife, a dozen terrorists (most of whom are German) take control of the building, crash the party, and hold all the party guests hostage. But our good friend Mr. McClane manages to escape from the bad guys. He proceeds to hide out on several of the floors in the building. Then he decides to take matters into his own hands, and face off against the villains all by himself. "Die Hard" is one thrill ride of a movie that you won't want to miss. Willis is terrific as the good guy who does his best to try and save the day. British actor Alan Rickman is equally good in a standout performance as lead terrorist Hans Gruber, who Willis plays cat-and-mouse with. These two actors make "Die Hard" click, and they're a pleasure to watch. There are other good performances turned in by Bedelia as the career-oriented Holly; Reginald VelJohnson as Sgt. Al Powell, the cop Willis communicates to through a walkie-talkie; and Alexander Godunov as Karl, Rickman's leading henceman. A couple of other supporting performances are ho-hum (especially the one by Paul Gleason as the incredibly stupid Chief of Police), but they're only a minor quarrel in the film. The #1 reason why "Die Hard" works so well are, you guessed it, the action scenes and special effects. They're some of the best that I've ever seen. Seeing this movie on the big screen when I was a teenager was awesome. I hope that this movie will someday get re-released back in theaters because "Die Hard" is most definitely a movie that should be seen on a big screen. If that happens, this movie's sound and sound effects would also get the digital treatment. "Die Hard" is a great action flick from the slightly slow-paced beginning to the smashing fast-paced finale. This movie had my heart pounding and my jaws dropping the first time I saw it, especially during the spectacular climax. What a movie!!!
**** (out of four)