‘Die Hard’ (1988)

Dave’s 3-Word Review:
Never gets old

What do you think of when I say…action hero? There are many faces that have carried the title of an action hero, but only a select few of those have remained memorable. Bruce Willis, for example, is widely known for his role as John McClane in his “Die Hard” series. Even today, 25 years later, they are still coming out with movies. Sure there was a delay in the series for a while after the third, but his character remains fresh and he has carried the title of action hero in almost every movie that he has done since.  This is where it all started for Willis, however…it HAS been twenty-five years, so how well does it hold up?

With hair, Bruce Willis plays John McClane, a New York City policeman who has travelled to California to patch things up with his wife in the tall Nakatomi Plaza building, where a Christmas party is soon to take place. While there, a group of German terrorists overtake the building with McClane inside. His wife is among the hostages, and he must plot a rescue mission before she, and the rest of the hostages, are killed. The terrorists are there for a complicated robbery that would result in them becoming $640 million dollars richer. When plans to call the police in for help go awry, it is up to him to save the day.

There are some things that tend to look unbelievable in this movie, like having so many terrorists going to this building to kill innocent money for some cash. In reality, it is believable, but other hostage-type movies have come up with a cleverer story than that. That being said, it doesn’t really matter because that isn’t what the common viewer is looking for, which is just some good…bloody…fun, which is delivered here. Also, even after there was so much supporting the fact that there really is hostages at this building, the police continue to shrug it off as a prank, which…come on. Again, it doesn’t matter, because this time it was all about McClane being a serious all-in-one tough guy.

Because I haven’t seen this movie in a long time, it was actually pretty awesome to see Bruce Willis sport some honest emotions. Clearly, it isn’t a big part of the movie, it is only about two minutes worth, but it looked believable, and that is something I don’t see very often from this rugged actor. It was also good to see Carl Winslow….er I mean, Reginald VelJohnson again. I completely forgot he played a role in this because it has been so long, but he and Willis had tremendous chemistry for not being in the same room with each other.

The greatest aspect of this film is the fact that the movie continues to be more than a classic; it is an iconic piece of history for film that is likely never to be forgotten. It’s the reason why we are still seeing them being made. Maybe they aren’t as great as the original films now, but they are worth having a “Die Hard” title. In fact, I think anything with Bruce Willis deserves a “Die Hard” title, and he should change his name to John McClane. This movie defined his career, and continues to receive great recognition. This is one of the few movies that I think will never get a remake or reboot…I could be wrong, but we’ll see.

I, for one, am excited for the new movie coming on the 14^th. I plan to see the entire series as a marathon at my local theater. If that means watching this movie again, I will do it. So a few movie reviews may be making their way to you on the 14^th.