Die Hard Review

Every Christmas, Karl has some of his friends over for a screening of his favourite Christmas movie: Die Hard.  So I've seen this one many, many times.  And it never gets old.  This is the epitome of good action movies.  It has everything: explosions, a hero you want to be, a villain that oozes cool but is despicable, a well defined area for the mayhem, fantastic writing and dialogue, and the right amount of comic relief to release any tension.  When it's done, you feel the adrenaline rush and yet satisfied.

It was released in 1988.  So there's technological limitations to some of the things that they do throughout like the lack of access to cell phones, etc.  But because they don't dwell on that or rely on the use of animatronics and CGI, the film ages very well.  It uses explosions, gunfights and Bruce Willis' wit to bring a quality action product.

Speaking of John McClane's wit, Die Hard represents the turning point from superhero action to just hero action.  He's not special forces or anything and has no training other than being an experienced New York City cop.  From the get go, he's trying to catch up to the terrorists and survive.  Even though he survives some pretty outrageous situations, he doesn't do it without a scratch.  You see him get wounded and tire out over the course of the film.  In short, he seems human.  And I think that's why this one stands the test of time.   Many people can relate to John McClane.

This is a definite See it.  It's one of the greatest action movies ever.  It spawned three (and hopefully, four) decent sequels and even an homage in the form of Paul Blart.  See Die Hard and then watch Paul Blart if you don't believe me.