Die Hard (1988)

Directed by John McTiernan. Starring Bruce Willis, Alan Rickman, Reginald VelJohnson, Bonnie Bedelia, Alexander Godunov, Paul Gleason, Hart Bochner, De’voreaux White, William Atherton, James Shigeta, Clarence Gilyard, Robert Davi, Grand L. Bush. [R]

While attending an office Christmas party (on, uh…Christmas Eve?) on the thirtieth floor of a Los Angeles skyscraper thrown by his estranged wife’s boss, New York City cop John McClane (Willis) turns into a reluctant one-man army when a group of terrorists with ulterior motives crashes the party, locks down the building, and holds the attendees hostage. Dynamite action yarn turned Willis (best-known for TV’s “Moonlighting”) into a movie star and reinvigorated the genre for a new style and new audience—the macho, muscle-bound “supermen” played by the likes of Schwarzenegger and Stallone were about to be elbowed aside for “everyman”-type heroes having really bad days. Expertly-paced and directed, with top-notch photography, stuntwork and pyrotechnics making the most of its cat-and-mouse games within confined spaces, but what sets this one apart (and above) almost all of its brethren are the satisfying characterizations and performances from Willis’ smart-mouthed hero defying the odds; Rickman as the intelligent and urbane chief baddie, Hans Gruber; Godunov’s imposing and taciturn henchman; the avuncular and dedicated beat cop (VelJohnson) on the outside who becomes McClane’s loyal ally; and Bedelia as McClane’s wife, Holly, who reaches down deep for courage during a crisis. Jeb Stuart and Steven E. de Souza’s script, loosely based on Roderick Thorp’s “Nothing Lasts Forever”, forces unconvincingly stupid behavior on a few occasions—Gleason’s incompetent LAPD Deputy Chief refusing to trust the “fly in the ointment” no matter the mounting evidence, Bochner’s coked-up exec acting like a total jerk while attempting to negotiate with the villains by selling out the hero—and the denouement “surprise” is illogical and corny enough to inspire a cringe, but it’s otherwise a nearly flawless piece of exciting and violent entertainment. Yippee-ki-yay, motherf—er! Rickman’s film debut. Followed by four sequels.

91/100