Die Hard

**Die Hard** is a 1988 film starring Bruce Willis, Alan Rickman, Alexander Godunov and Bonnie Bedelia, directed by John McTiernan, written by Jeb Stuart and Steven E. de Souza and produced by Lawrence Gordon and Joel Silver.

## Plot

On Christmas Eve, NYPD detective John McClane arrives in Los Angeles, intending to reconcile with his estranged wife, Holly, at the Christmas party of her employer, the Nakatomi Corporation. McClane is driven to the party by Argyle, an airport limousine driver. While McClane changes clothes, the party is disrupted by the arrival of a German terrorist, Hans Gruber, and his heavily armed team: Karl and Tony Vreski, Franco, Theo, Alexander, Marco, Kristoff, Eddie, Uli, Heinrich, Fritz, and James. The group seizes the tower and secures those inside as hostages except for McClane, who slips away, and Argyle, who gets trapped in the garage.

Gruber interrogates Nakatomi executive Joseph Takagi for the code to the building's vault and reveals that he plans to steal $640 million in bearer bonds, with the terrorist act merely a distraction. Takagi refuses to cooperate and is killed by Gruber. McClane secretly watches, but accidentally gives himself away and escapes. He sets off a fire alarm in an attempt to alert authorities, so Gruber sends Tony to investigate. McClane kills Tony, pocketing his weapon and radio, using it to contact the LAPD. As Sgt. Al Powell is sent to investigate, Gruber sends Heinrich and Marco to stop McClane, who kills them both. Powell arrives and is greeted by Eddie, posing as a concierge. Finding nothing unusual, Powell prepares to leave, but McClane drops Marco's corpse onto his patrol car to gain his attention while Alexander shoots at the car from the building with an M60 machine gun. Powell summons the LAPD, who lay siege to the building. McClane steals Heinrich's bag containing C-4 explosives and detonators.

James and Alexander use anti-tank missiles to disable a SWAT armored car before McClane drops C-4 attached to an office chair and computer down the elevator shaft, blowing up their floor and killing them. Holly's coworker, Harry Ellis, attempts to mediate between Hans and McClane for the return of the detonators. McClane refuses, prompting Gruber to execute Ellis. While checking explosives attached to the roof, Gruber encounters McClane; Gruber passes himself off as an escaped hostage. McClane offers him a gun and Gruber attempts to shoot McClane, but the gun is empty. Karl, Franco, and Fritz arrive; McClane kills Fritz and Franco, but is forced to flee, abandoning the detonators.

FBI agents take command of the siege, ordering the building's power shut off; this, as Gruber anticipated, disables the vault's final lock. Gruber demands a helicopter on the rooftop for transport, but the FBI prepare to double-cross him by sending helicopter gunships. McClane discovers that Gruber intends to detonate the explosives on the roof, faking the deaths of his team so they can escape with the bearer bonds. While making final preparations, Gruber sees a news report by intrusive reporter Richard Thornburg that features McClane's children and deduces from a desk photo that McClane is Holly's husband. The criminals order the hostages to the roof, but Gruber takes Holly with him to use against McClane, who in the meantime defeats Karl in a fight before heading up to the roof, killing Uli in the process. He sends the hostages downstairs just as the FBI appear and start shooting at McClane, believing him to be a terrorist. Gruber then detonates the explosives, destroying the roof and the FBI helicopter; McClane barely manages to survive.

Theo retrieves their getaway vehicle but is incapacitated by Argyle. A weary McClane finds Holly with Gruber and his remaining men, Eddie and Kristoff. After knocking Kristoff unconscious, McClane confronts Gruber and is ordered to surrender his machine gun. McClane does this to spare Holly, but distracts Gruber and Eddie, allowing him to grab a concealed pistol taped to his back that contains only two bullets. McClane shoots Gruber and kills Eddie with a single shot to the forehead. Gruber crashes through a window but grabs onto Holly's wrist. Gruber raises a pistol and attempts to shoot them, but McClane removes Holly's wristwatch and Gruber falls to his death.

Outside, McClane and Holly meet Powell. Karl emerges and attempts to shoot McClane, but is shot dead by Powell with his police revolver. Argyle crashes through the parking garage door in the limo. Thornburg arrives and attempts to interview McClane, but Holly punches him before she and McClane leave the area with Argyle.