I can't even count the number of times I have seen Die Hard but it has to be at least 15. Man do I love this film. In my humble opinion it has to be the greatest action film ever made. Perfect in every way, and no matter how many times I see it, I can't find anything wrong with it and it entertains just as much as the first time. Released on July 15th, 1988, I was to young to see Die Hard in the theater in it's original release, but since then I have owned it on VHS, twice on DVD and seen it in the theater in a one night only second run.
Having directed Predator, John McTiernan next set his eyes on an adaption of the novel Nothing Last Forever by Roderick Thorp. Predator was a fantastic hybrid of action, science fiction and horror, but like many a modern classic, it was overlooked by the critics at the time of its release. Mctiernan brought a great aesthetic to that film, bringing a unique and original vision to a tried and true storyline. He aimed to do the same to Nothing Lasts Forever.
Die Hard was a game changer for the action movie. After it's release, and still to this day, it acts as a templete for most action films. It created numerous ripoffs, hundreds of spoofs, has been referenced thousands of times in thousands of things, has had three sequels and at the time of this writing a fourth sequel is in the works.
McTiernan chose to cast Bruce Willis as the lead. At that time he was primarily known as a TV Star, in the hit show Moonlighting. Within a few weeks of it's release, Willis was an A-List, top of the box office mega star. Alan Rickman was cast opposite Willis, as the villain, and steals the picture from everybody he shares the screen with. He delivers an utterly breathtaking and intense performance. He's so good that even though he's the bad guy, you can't help but like him. Not a single character in Die Hard is wasted and they all bring their own humor and charm to the movie. Reginald VelJohnson is great as Al, Paul Gleason is hilarious as the Sergeant. The two FBI agents are fantastic and Alexander Gudunov is formable counterpart as Rickman's second in command.
Like Predator, McTiernan starts the action right away and doesn't let up till the end of the film. He gives you a a moment to breathe hear and a moment there, but then he throws everything but the kitchen sink at you in terms of action. There are great oneliners, moments of humor, and moments of great emotion. It's a testament to McTiernan that he can make you feel for the characters as much as you do with the balls to the wall action that occurs.
McTiernan skillfully weaves the story and the characters together, with nary a plot hole to be seen.
The film is shot in glorious 2.35:1 widescreen and has stupendous special effects. The cinematography is stunning and captures every cramped space, every floor and every nook and cranny of the office tower so perfectly that the setting almost becomes a character in and of itself. The explosions, the blood and the fighting all looks real too. When someone falls out of the building near the end, even 24 years later, it actually looks like he is falling 40 stories. It looks so real and has stuck with me all these years; and I am still amazed when I see it.
McTiernan and his editor did a phenomenal job with Die Hard. Every scene is tightly knitted together and helps propel the story and keep the audience involved. At times it keeps long shots going while at other times the editing is fast and furious. The music by the sadly missed Michael Kamen is top notch and should of won the Oscar for 1988. Mixing a pulse pounding symphonic score with Beethoven's Ode to Joy was an inspired and brilliant move. Absolutely incredible!
McTiernan, who did a fantastic job with Predator, has topped himself here with Die Hard. The script, the casting, the music, the editing, the cinematography, the action, the humor, the pace, the effects, the one liners, the characters, the direction couldn't be better. Not before and not since has there been an action movie as good as Die Hard. The sequels were all fun and enjoyable but none were as good as the original.
This being McTiernan's third film, and having watched all three in a row I noticed a trend that he has kept up with in all three. All the films begin with the hero/main character arriving in the opening shot. Pierce Brosnan arrives at a hospital in Nomads and gets the story rolling (not quite the opening shot, but close enough). In Predator Arnold and Company arrive in the Jungle in a Helicopter and in Die Hard Willis arrives in L.A. on an airplane. Then each movie finishes with a shot of the hero leaving the scene of action. Lesley-Ann Down leaves the city in Nomads, Arnold flies out of the jungle via helicopter and Willis drives away from the building in a limo.
McTiernan doesn't linger on useless moments. He starts the movie off right away with the action and the hero and the set up and then when the hero wins, if they win, the movie ends. There is no lingering on characters, or happy moments or extraneous scenes that the viewer sits through. The action ends, the movie ends, that's it, that's the McTiernan way. Would he do it again in his next movie? What would his next movie be? Could it top Die Hard? Or equal it? To answer those questions we'd have to wait until March of 1990 when his fourth film was released.
Film Rating: 97%
Breakdown (How Die Hard scored 97%):
Production Design: 10 out of 10
Cinematography: 10 out of 10
Re-playability: 10 out of 10
Originality: 9 out of 10
Costumes: 9 out of 10
Directing: 10 out of 10
Editing: 10 out of 10
Acting: 10 out of 10
Music: 10 out of 10
Script: 9 out of 10
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