Directed by John McTiernan
I'm going to start off by just saying that Die Hard 100% lived up to the hype. After years of men in movies/TV constantly obsessing over this movie, I can now say I finally understand. And while it may not be my #1 movie ever!!!!!!!, it's definitely a movie I extremely enjoyed and would definitely watch multiple times.
In case you didn't already know, Bruce Willis plays John McClane, a New York City cop, who flies across the country to visit his estranged wife and 2 daughters for Christmas. Before heading to his wife's house, he decides to surprise her at her work Christmas party, hoping they can reconcile. However, not long after John McClane arrives, the party is interrupted by a group of organized criminals, lead by Hans Gruber. John manages to stay hidden and hopes to be able to contact authorities, but John finds he's the companies only hope...
Bruce Willis is just so great as John McClane. And how cool is John McClane? He's a stand up guy, hoping to try to make things right with his wife, and goes to all ends to try to save her, her company, and the people she works for. Yes, John is NYPD and he feels it's his job, but McClane goes above and beyond the call of duty, for selfless reasons. And this is why I love this movie! Sometimes it's nice to see this genuinely nice guy save the day. And his friendship with Sgt. Al? I love that guy! For a movie from the 80's, it was interesting to see how diverse the cast was. Between the Japanese owned company that John's wife works for, Sgt. Al, and Argyle the limousine driver, it's nice to see. Die Hard is the perfect example of how to do a minimalist action movie. The premise is extremely simple, and the movie basically has one location the entire film. It's a simple story and premise, but it never feels too simple. Die Hard strikes the right balance between action, heart, and story.
Look, is this movie the best movie ever made? No, it's not. But it rightfully deserves a spot on the shelf when we talk about the best action films ever made. Because this is definitely one of the best, and most well-made action movies I've seen in a long time. I can tell just how much of a genre this definitely inspired, and while I have no idea if the sequels are any good (I'm definitely going to take them with a grain of salt), it's too bad so many people have tried and failed to rip off this movie. It's a movie that inspired so many other movies, but like all other cases like that, the original always stands up so much higher than the copy cats.
9/10
