Christmas hijackers.

Rating: 6/10 (11 December 2012)

Casting about in December for an alternative Christmas film to watch, to my surprise, saw this at number two in a magazine-list of the 50 greatest Festive films ever. Mind you quote what the body-count here contributes to the season of goodwill to all men is open to interpretation. Still, for thrills, stunts and spectacle "Die Hard" certainly delivers, less so for characterisation, plot and credibility, although I suppose it was ever thus for action blockbusters like this. Bruce Wilis advances into the heavyweight corner with his performance here, even if his wise-cracking persona seems to have carried over from "Moonlighting", although where he picked up his pliability and durability along the way, again is anybody's guess. I liked Willis in "Moonlighting" so it's not surprising I like him here. His John McClane is capable it seems of startling feats of death-defying derring-do, but at least he gets there from an inauspicious start when he initially seems terrified and clueless as to how to cope with the heist situation. He squares off well against smooth, metronomic, but sadistic Alan Rickman, in his first big movie role, as the robber's leader proves a good foil. The stunts are excellent, although the soundtrack and fashions have dated poorly. Nevertheless, the action steams ahead from almost the start and rarely lets up thereafter, Bruce working his way through what looks like a bunch of try-outs for 80's hairbands. At various points I picked up on Christmas in the background, even if the film as a whole has little to do with the traditional festive spirit . Still, I watched it all the way through and even though I'm more a Jimmy Stewart /Cary Grant man around this time of year, I can see how it came to define a whole sub-genre of 80's blockbuster.