Day 165: Die Hard (1988)

Movie #109 – Die Hard (1988) - 131 min, cert 18.

John McClane (Bruce Willis) is a New York cop, visiting Los Angeles for Christmas to see his estranged wife and their kids. She works as a high-flying executive for a Japanese-run company in a high-rise office block. John calls in to see her at her office where a Christmas party is in full swing. While he’s there, the place is suddenly overrun by a gang of armed terrorists led by Hans Gruber (Alan Rickman). They gather all the staff together in the lobby, but John manages to escape up the stairwell to another floor. Thereafter, he wages a one-man war against the mercenaries with little help from the authorities who gather outside.

I have watched this film more often than any other on this list. Indeed, probably more than any other film full stop. It’s a film I can watch again and again without ever getting bored of it. This is an action movie in its purest form. The action is non-stop, the dialogue is crisp and witty, the hero is intelligent, and the villain is too. The stunts and special effects are awesome, and the plot is clever, but easy to follow.

Bruce Willis was ideally cast as McClane. Fit enough to carry off what must have been a physically challenging role, but with just the right amount of comic timing to pull off the constant barrage of quips and one-liners that became his signature in Moonlighting. Alan Rickman is also superb as Gruber. The plot requires him to get a lot of screen time, and this might have been a problem with a lesser actor, but Rickman is certainly as good as Willis, probably better.

Score – 10/10. The perfect action movie.

Next up is more Japanese anime with Princess Mononoke. I wasn’t impressed by Spirited Away, but maybe this will be more my cup of tea.