Die hard is a great action thriller

Rating: 8/10 (2 February 2011)

The movie Die Hard is a fast paced action thriller. The film stars Bruce Willis who plays New York Police Officer John McClane. In the movie John travels to Los Angeles to visit his wife and children. John's wife Holly who is played by Bonnie Bedilia has relocated to L.A. and has become a vice president for a corporation called Nakatomi. Shortly after when Jon arrives at the Nakatomi towers to see his wife at a Christmas party, a terrorist group led by Hans Grueber who is played by Alan Rickman seizes control of the building. John manages to escape capture and becomes involved in taking down the terrorists. John manages to inform the police and Sgt. Al Powell played by Reginald Veljohnson from the LA police department. The movie then turns into John McClane against 12 bad guys in a plot themed cops and robbers action type movie.
When a movies theme is a focus on plot, the movie is meant to be an escape from everyday life (Boggs, Petrie 2008). This is usually obtained by having very fast paced and exciting action. Die Hard definitely fits into this role. Wants the movie gets going it is pretty much nonstop action from beginning to end. There is lots of shooting and explosions and the special effects in this area are fantastic. Along with the plot theme there is another theme with a focus on character. In this case it is John McClane and how his character is developed. As the film progresses we start to understand John as the hero that he is. He doesn't choose to be, but he is thrust into this situation and his natural instincts as the hero are shown.
To go with the action plot theme Die Hard does a good job of using sound to establish the action that we see on the screen. Whenever there is an action theme we hear a very fast paced action type soundtrack. This helps to inform the audience of what is about to take place on the film. Another aspect that the film uses is camera angles. Many of the times that the camera shows John McClane, it shows him in a close up or from a down angle looking up at him. The close up shots let us connect with John and his emotions and the angles further emphasize the hero role as we all look up to him.
The movie Die hard is nothing new. There were action thriller before and there will continue to be action thrillers for as long as movies are made. A comparable movie would be another Bruce Willis film title The Fifth Element. Both films have a theme with a focus on the plot and lots of action and great use of special effects. Additionally both film focus on character. There is a brief description of the central character, with emphasis on the unusual aspects of the individual's personality (Boggs, Petrie 2008). In both film cases it was a wise cracking hero who is not everyone's favorite person, but when it comes to getting the job done and saving the day there is no better option.