Die Hard
Every once in a while we get what comes along that which is known as a âblueprintâ movie, one which epitomizes everything that is perfect about a particular genre for all time and thus in doing so lays down the foundation for nearly all the films in that given genre yet to come. The earliest evolution of the modern day action movie is most likely Bullitt with Steve McQueen and French Connection with Gene Hackman, two classics each with iconic leading men and a classic car chase sequence. After that (and Connectionâs multiple Oscar wins), the genre got a bit hazy, producing films that incorporated a LOT of comedy and / or sci-fi into the mix as well as âbuddy copâ films that depended more on the chemistry of the two main (partners) characters than it did on the actual story (with Lethal Weapon topping that end of things), but it wasnât until 1988 that literal PERFECTION was finally achieved in the action movie realm, with director John McTiernan coming up with this Grand Masterpiece that not only scored four (technical) Oscar Nominations, but in the years since has virtually made it onto almost all of the major cinema âBest Ofâ lists, right up there with the Citizen Kanes and Vertigos of the world as The Undisputed Greatest Action Movie Of All Time, a triumph so profound and complete that most if not all of the filmâs components have made their way into countless films produced since its release (particularly the basic concept of âman alone and trapped in one place against a slew of bad guysâ), with these components never having been utilized into the mix any better than they were right here, continuing to hold up today as a timeless classic with an epic, larger than life feel to it, due in no small way to the casting of the then unproven Bruce Willis as John McClane, not any real kind of action superhero (at least not until the sequels) but more like an Everyman facing impossible odds and having to rely on his smarts just as much as on his aim and profiency with a firearm, making McClane into the character that most epitomized Willis himself in both real life and his other roles, a pissed off NYPD cop and implied loose cannon at that job who nonetheless manages to rise to the occasion whenever the chips are down. As great as Willis is here (he certainly carries the film awesomely enough to have deserved at least a Best Actor Nomination, as Hackman won one for French Connection for doing arguably less), it turns out that through either a happy accident or directorial hindsight that since Willis was filming this movie at night while working on his TV show Moonlighting during the day (no doubt contributing to his exasperated performance), in order to take at least some of the pressure off of Willis, McTiernan mandated that a good number of the supporting characters now become more fleshed out and better developed, and itâs in this theory that no major actor on set be wasted when it comes to their talents that makes a noticeable difference on the impact of the film. The opening credits almost deftly establish the first slate of characters that we meet, starting with McClane himself arriving at LAX to spend Christmas with his estranged wife and kids. She (Bonnie Bedelia) has set herself up as the top female executive at The Nakatomi Corporation (for which the very building where the headquarters are located has since become a revered downtown LA landmark) as we also meet her boss (James Shigeta), her coked out co worker (Hart Bochner) whoâs still hitting on her almost all the way up to before her husband walks in the door, and McClaneâs goofy limo driver (Deâvoreaux White) who drops him off and then sits in the underground parking garage almost the whole movie having his own private party. Things get a little tense upon McClaneâs arrival, as his cop side canât help but notice Bochnerâs cocaine habit while he and the wife only have enough time for about half of a decent argument before the building is raided by a group of apparently German terrorists led by the super smooth Hans Gruber, played perfectly by Alan Rickman in the role that instantly shot him onto the A list, and while his Gruber is readily thought of as being a game changing movie villain of all time, he is nearly matched by his top lieutenant henchman Karl, played by Alexander Godunov in a performance that has considerably less dialogue than Rickmanâs but is matched by Godunovâs cold eyed intensity and commanding presence, especially when he virtually abandons the othersâ mission in order to hunt down McClane as a personal vendetta for initially killing his younger brother, ironically making his intentions much more pure than his fellow terrorists, since the filmâs main twist here (revealed early on) is that these men are NOT actually terrorists at all with some kind of religious and political ideology, but rather just high tech bank robbers with EuroTrash male model looks intent on stealing over $600 million in bearer bonds hidden in The Nakatomi vaults, with the idea being that they are actually just POSING as terrorists (complete with a pseudo sermon from Hans and ridiculous demands to release their fellow ârevolutionary brothers and sistersâ that have absolutely no connection to them whatsoever in order to keep the negotiators outside busy) all while trying to figure out a way into that damn vault to get all the money as they and McClane merrily tear the building apart in open warfare. Other characters soon come into the story (mostly on the outside) including Reginald VelJohnson as the LAPD desk jockey who becomes McClaneâs friend and confidante on the outside; Paul Gleason (unforgettable in Breakfast Club and almost as good here) as the Deputy Police Chief in charge at the scene who starts off as a reactionary asshole but later becomes almost a passive observer once the bumbling FBI shows up and takes over; William Atherton as the obnoxious asshole reporter willing to cross both moral and ethical boundaries in order to get the scoop on the story over everyone else; and Robert Davi and Grand Bush as the cocky, arrogant FBI guys working straight from the handbook on how to deal with terrorists (which unfortunately Gruber also knows like the back of his hand). All of these characters are expertly written and performed regardless of screen time as nobody comes off as being one note and some even get their own actual moments of poignancy, such as Bochnerâs âsacrificeâ when his drug addled mind gets carried away and thinks that he can actually sit down and negotiate with these cold blooded killers, or VelJohnsonâs confession to McClane about a tragedy in his own past. But the bread and butter here of course is the vendetta of McClane vs Hans, beautifully shown when they accidentally meet up and Rickman affects an American accent and pretends to be an escaped hostage (though McClane is not fooled) among many other mind games the two play with each other, ably supported by Godunovâs aforementioned vendetta with McClane over his brotherâs death, which in contrast has little psychology involved but rather resembles a straight up, hunter-killer mentality. And that brings to light the rather impeccable element of the film that lifts it above all others (including the sequels) whereas McClane picks off these bastards one by one (or two at a time) which causes the terrorists themselves to start showing panic, fear, and discord among themselves, we come to notice a sort of savage, bestial, testosterone fueled, primordial nature to the action scenes whether they be gunfights or fistfights, as whenever the villains with their fancy clothes and high tech weaponry clash with the barefoot, t shirt wearing McClane, the scenes take on an almost barbaric intensity that resembles nothing less than cavemen with machine guns, or (in the case of McClane vs Godunov) two rabid animals clawing at each other to the death, all while Rickmanâs Hans sometimes resembles the most well cultured, civilized character in the movie! And the indescribable last 20 minutes of the film with Hans finally showing his hand along with the unexpected yet pure and primal âshockâ ending (almost like something out of a horror movie) ultimately hammers the point home that sometimes we need good men who are willing to get their hands dirty in order to deal with bad men who would willingly harm and murder the innocent in order to achieve their means, striking a rightful fear into them and subjecting them to just as awful a fate as they would do onto others who do not deserve itâŚ
10/10