Die Hard

Grade: B

My backwards journey with the hostage thriller genre started with The Negotiator in 1998. Since then, I’ve enjoyed Mad City, Money Monster, Breaking, and I made my way to a couple of the OGs long after the fact. I saw Dog Day Afternoon just a few years ago, and today I saw Die Hard at my local AMC. It’s back in theaters for the holiday season.

Released in July 1988, Die Hard is John McTiernan’s third movie as a director. By this point, he just had Nomads and Predator under his belt. He would go on to do The Hunt for Red October, Last Action Hero, Die Hard with a Vengeance, and The Thomas Crown Affair, to name a few. The Die Hard series sparked a total of 5 movies. The first film was based on a novel by Roderick Thorp called Nothing Lasts Forever.

Bruce Willis has a few eerie parallels with Michael J. Fox. Both filmed movies in the 1980s that would make them huge stars, while appearing in a TV show at the same time. For Willis, it was Die Hard in the midst of Moonlighting. And now, they each suffer from debilitating health issues that all but prevent them from acting anymore. It’s bittersweet to see Willis here, at about 33 years old, at the beginning of his career as an action star. He sweats, bleeds, smokes, yells into a walkie talkie – and makes all of that look so cool. I wish he’d had an opportunity to put shoes on before the bulk of the film gets going. Maybe you know why. I hope his character, John McClane, got some good medical attention when all this was over.

This was the late Alan Rickman’s feature film debut, and it set in motion a persistent pattern of typecasting that he’d spend the rest of his life trying to overcome. He’s the main villain here, and it’s delightfully sneaky the way it’s suited for his talents – particularly when he gets to show off his American accent. You know the scene. The action is as well put together as any I’ve seen, with some nail-biting tension. (Anything involving the elevator shaft, am I right?)

The movie is not without its hiccups. Paul Gleason’s character is annoying, unnecessary, bad at his job, and didn’t work for me. His inclusion just piles on more conflict to a movie that has plenty already. Some of the conversations over the public police radio get surprisingly deep and candid. I’m not sure how ethical, orthodox, or professional that is. Seems like they all should know better. Whatever. These are nitpicks. The film succeeds at what it sets out to do, and there’s a reason it has endured for 35 years.

Now, the decades-old, still ongoing debate: is Die Hard a Christmas movie? Willis says no. One of the screenwriters says yes. I was on the fence, but now I confidently say yes, and you want to know what sealed the deal for me? Rickman’s character’s name. Hans Gruber. Almost identical to the guy who wrote the music for “Silent Night.” Franz Gruber. That’s enough for me. Die Hard is bombastic and over-the-top, but I had fun. I’m glad I finally saw it, and on the big screen, no less. Yippee ki yay…

Grade: B