Die Hard Movie Review

Die Hard (1988)

Rent Die Hard on Amazon Video (paid link)
Written by: Roderick Thorp (based on the novel by), Jeb Stuart and Steven E. de Souza (screenplay by)
Directed by: John McTiernan
Starring: Bruce Willis, Alan Rickman, Bonnie Bedelia, Reginald VelJohnson, Wililam Atherton, Clarence Gilyard Jr.
Rated: R
Watch the trailer

Plot
NYPD officer John McClane tries to save his wife and thirty hostages from German thieves during a Christmas party at the Nakatomi Plaza in Los Angeles.

Verdict
A simple premise, an every-man trapped in a building with well prepared thieves fuels the plot, but a hero is only as good as the villain and Hans Gruber is a great foe. The plot is smart, developing characters and providing a hero with a unique obstacle, a lack of shoes. The sub plot is the relationship McClane has with his wife. It's an action movie, but it's also parts MacGyver and survival with plenty of one liner quips from McClane. The limited resources and cat and mouse games provide an  engrossing story.
Watch it.

Review
Many actors were offered the role before Willis, with the studio doubtful Willis could make the leap from television to film.

Bruce Willis plays John McClane.

Bruce Willis plays John McClane, a cop in California trying to patch up things with his wife Hollie. There's very little filler in this movie. The only scene on the plane shows us he's trying to make nice with his kids, bringing a giant teddy bear, and his seatmate tells him to make fists with his toes to relive the tension after flying. That's why McClane lacks shoes through most of the movie. It's a great obstacle for the protagonist.

Alan Rickman plays Hans Gruber.

A group of criminals have taken Nakatomi Plaza hostage, but they didn't count on John McClane. Part of what makes a good hero is a good bad guy. Hans Gruber (Alan Rickman) is the criminal lead and the movie wastes no time in showing us he's ruthless and devious. Gruber knows exactly how the cops and later the FBI will respond, using it to his advantage. There's a great moment where Gruber and McClane meet prior to McClane realizing it's really Gruber.

McClane is outmatched in almost every way. We watch him outsmart the bad guys with limited resources while barefoot. He provides plenty of one liners. There's also a great attention to detail as he keeps getting dirtier throughout the movie.

This is a very simple concept which is part of what makes this fun. McClane doesn't look like the typical action movie star of the '80s. He looks normal, and that's not the contemporary Hollywood normal where in every movie the male lead is ripped. McClane has to MacGyver his way through the movie and this building, picking off the criminals one at a time.

The stakes of the ending aren't that McClane saved the hostages, it's that his relationship with his wife is on the mend and he made a friend in Al (Reginald VelJohnson). The movie built the relationship between McClane and Al throughout with them on the same side, even when the cops in charge were short sighted. It's a smart movie that the conclusion isn't tied up in the good guy winning, but dealing with the mistakes he's made in his marriage.