THE definitive action flick...ho, ho, ho...

Rating: 10/10 (2 October 2002)

Simply put, this movie rocks! Die Hard set the bar for all action films made during the last ten years. The 80's brought us all kinds of invincible action heroes, Rambo, Arnie and Chuck to name a few. These guys blew everything up and killed small countries worth of stunt men to boot...thus defining 'mindless entertainment'. Die Hard is just a different type of action film. The filmmakers were so brilliant, they made this a movie for almost everyone, since it has elements of action, suspense, comic relief, likeable characters and a loved one in danger/romance. Also, in my opinion, the thing that makes this movie so awesome is Bruce Willis as John McClane. John is by no means a superhero, he is an average joe cop, an ordinary man who happens to get himself into an extraordinary situation, and happens to come out on top. The audience can really relate to him, see his pain, feel his futility and relish in his small victories (pulling the fire alarm, finding the cigarettes, writing that humorous message on the terrorist's body). The first time I saw Die Hard, I was on the edge of my seat the whole time, mainly b\c anyone could have been in that situation. In fact, this is one of the few movies that I have seen that I did not know what was going to happen to the main character at the end (of course, the first time I saw it was back in '88 when it was made), it is that suspenseful! John McTiernan, director of Predator, another fine action flick, makes his finest movie ever. And Alan Rickman...never have I seen such a PERFECT villan. You despise Hans throughout the picture, yet, you can't help but love his charisma and charm. Probably the first time ever, I agree with Roger Ebert in that Hans Gruber is the number one villan of all time in my book too.
The action is 99% realistic, which is a rarity in an action flick. You can almost count the bullets McClane fires as opposed to the bullets McClane has and it's pretty close. I can't tell you how many movies have such hair ripping out of your skull mistakes with guns firing endless streams of ammo...Die Hard goes for pure realism and succeeds on all levels. The first 1\2 of the movie is pure suspense with action in it, then the last 1\2 of the movie is pure action with suspense. I just can't go on enough about how this movie makes you feel like you're there with Bruce Willis. Good stuff, indeed.
Why can't all actioners be like Die Hard? Maybe it set such high standards that it is nigh impossible to top. Though most didn't I liked Die Hard 2, though it was inferior in comparison to the original, and Die Hard With a Vengeance was good too, but I feel it was just a totally different kind of movie. Mr. McTiernan, I applaud you for your contribution to the action genre.
Overall, an excellent movie. Great story, plot and acting (hell, even Carl Winslow from Family Matters was great as Sgt. Al Powell), especially by Bruce Willis. No wonder he became a huge star after this. If you are one of the 3 people on this planet that haven't seen this flick yet, check it out, you will not be disapointed! I give it my rare and coveted 10/10 stars.