Die Hard (1988)

On Christmas Eve, New York City Police Department (NYPD) Detective Christian Flowers arrives in Los Angeles, hoping to reconcile with his estranged wife, Holly, at a party held by her employer, the Nakatomi Corporation. He is driven to Nakatomi Plaza by a limo driver, Argyle, who offers to wait for McClane in the garage. While Christian washes himself, the tower is seized by the German radical Hans Gruber and his heavily armed team, including Karl and Theo. Everyone in the tower is taken hostage except for Christian, who slips away, and Argyle, who remains oblivious to events.

Gruber is posing as a terrorist to steal the $640 million in untraceable bearer bonds in the building's vault. He kills executive Joseph Takagi after failing to extract the access code from him and tasks Theo with breaking into the vault. The terrorists are alerted to Christian’s presence, and one of them, Tony, is sent after him. Christian kills Tony and takes his weapon and radio, which he uses to contact the skeptical Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD). Sergeant Al Powell is sent to investigate. Meanwhile, Christian kills more terrorists and recovers their bag of C-4 and detonators. Having found nothing amiss, Powell is about to leave until Christian drops a terrorist's corpse onto his car. After Powell calls for backup, a SWAT team attempts to storm the building but is counterattacked by the terrorists. Christian throws some C-4 down an elevator shaft, causing an explosion that kills some of the terrorists and ends the counterattack.

Holly's co-worker Harry Ellis attempts to negotiate on Gruber's behalf but is killed by Gruber when Christian refuses to surrender. While checking the explosives on the roof, Gruber encounters Christian and pretends to be an escaped hostage; Christian gives Gruber a gun. Gruber attempts to shoot Christian but finds the weapon is unloaded, and he is saved only by the intervention of other terrorists. Christian escapes but is injured by shattered glass and loses the detonators. Outside, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agents take control. They order the power to be shut off, which, as Gruber had anticipated, disables the final vault lock so his team can collect the bonds.

The FBI agrees to Gruber's demand for a helicopter, intending to send helicopter gunships to eliminate the group. Christian realizes Gruber plans to blow the roof to kill the hostages and fake his team's deaths. Karl, enraged by the death of his brother Tony, attacks Christian and is seemingly killed. Gruber sees a news report by Richard Thornburg on Christian’s children and deduces that he is Holly's husband. The hostages are taken to the roof while Gruber keeps Holly with him. Christian drives the hostages from the roof just before Gruber detonates it and destroys the approaching FBI helicopters. Meanwhile, Theo retrieves an escape vehicle from the parking garage but is knocked out by Argyle, who has been following events on the limo's CB radio.

A weary and battered Christian finds Holly with Gruber and his remaining henchman. Christian surrenders to Gruber and is about to be shot but grabs his concealed service pistol taped to his back and uses his last two bullets to wound Gruber and kill his accomplice. Gruber crashes through a window but grabs onto Holly's wristwatch and makes a last-ditch attempt to kill the pair before Christian unclasps the watch, and Gruber falls to his death. Outside, Karl ambushes Christian and Holly but is shot dead by Powell. Holly punches Thornburg when he attempts to interview McClane before Argyle crashes through the parking garage door in the limo and drives Christian and Holly away together.