Die Hard

Now, now, do not act surprised to see an entry devoted to the iconic 1988 action film, Die Hard (trailer) as Christmas draws near. It has been long debated among film fans that if Die Hard is truly a Christmas movie or merely a film that takes place at Christmas. I feel that it is both. Nearly the entire feature focuses around a Christmas party at the Nakatomi Building where sinister German terrorists headed up by one Hans Gruber (Alan Rickman) seize control of the building and attempt to penetrate its vaults filled with countless riches. The film’s cast is consistently humming/singing Christmas songs throughout and there is various Christmas lingo and jargon peppered in throughout. Protagonist and NYPD officer John McClane (Bruce Willis) who is assisted by the affable,Twinkie-loving LAPD officer Winslow….er I mean officer Powell (Reginald VelJohnson) are among those belting out Christmas tunes and references throughout and both are endlessly fun to root for throughout Die Hard’s just over two hour runtime.

I have an odd history with the Die Hard films. I was always aware of the initial trilogy being much-revered action films, but until last year, yes 2017, I did not get around to watching them until I mentioned that fact to a friend and we then proceeded to knock them out over that summer. I did see the fourth and fifth films when they hit theaters this century, and while Live Free or Die Hard was solid, I very much detested A Good Day to Die Hard and it soured me on the series….until watching the initial trilogy last year turned me back on to the series (minus Die Harder anyways). I loved the first movie so much that earlier this year it wound up being the first movie I picked up on 4K BluRay! I do not have a 4K TV, but it was the only version Target had when I went there to get it, and that version came with a regular BluRay that I was thrilled to make use of yesterday as the final film in a six-movie Christmas marathon with friends this past weekend. I could not think of a better Christmas film to finish off the night with!

Part of me is still surprised I came out of the original Die Hard such a big fan knowing all the high critical acclaim and praise for it going in. I had no choice but to go in with high expectations and that usually comes back to bite me when I am late to the party to a much-buzzed about movie. Longtime readers here probably know I am a sucker for the cliché 80s and 90s action movies, both of high and low budget fares. It only helps that Die Hard was a pioneer for establishing a specific formula of action films where a big gang of thugs/terrorists (of whom almost all have their own unique personalities, moments and even are named throughout the film other than the typical ‘terrorist #6’) overtake a high-stakes building with many hostages and leaves it up to a low-level everyman cop to overcome the odds and slowly work his way through the lower tiered terrorists before having a climactic clash with the ringleader of the pack. Top if off with countless well-produced exchanges of gunfire, explosions, epic stunts and plenty of time to space in moments of character development for Powell, Gruber and McClane that includes classic one-liners that I do not need to remind you of because they are repeated ubiquitously to this day.

Another reason why the first Die Hard is special that is lost in most of the other installments other than With a Vengeance is that McClane takes a beating throughout the film. Taking out Gruber’s goons has taken a toll on him as McClane is a bloody, limping mess by the final act which resulted in me getting behind him even more as he worked his way up Nakatomi Tower. McClane’s relationship with Powell helping him on the outside of the tower is also fantastic to see unfold throughout as Powell represents the viewer at home constantly in McClane’s ear through the CB radio encouraging him to keep hanging in there and how everyone is rooting for him down there despite those pesky FBI officials attempts to interfere. It all culminates in a great payoff towards the finale where McClane has a personal exchange with Powell earlier that foreshadows Powell overcoming his personal demons and taking justice into his own hands!

The final reason why Die Hard lived up to the hype for me is that it has one of the quintessential villains in Hans Gruber. Alan Rickman delivered a masterful performance as this antagonist who remains cool, confident and calm throughout no matter what obstacles McClane overcomes to attempt to thwart his heist. He has a few classic moments throughout which shows how ruthless he is to get the prize he desires. Much like McClane interacting with Powell, watching Gruber command his troops and maintain order amongst McClane’s chaos is an irresistible force to get swept up in. If I were to relate this to sports it would be like McClane representing the weakened and throttled underdog team late in a game overcoming insurmountable odds to make an unbelievable comeback to defeat the heavily-favored competitor.

I cannot attest for how great the 4K UHD looks because I do not have a 4K TV, but the BluRay still looks stunning in HD….for a remastered film from 1988 that is. Other than that there is a smattering of extra features available. There are eight minutes of newscasts scenes taken from the film and also contain unused newscast updates and outtakes from the anchors in a nice extra. There is a ten minute slide show of stills and production shots and a ton of trailers. The only standout extras are ‘subtitle commentary’ from various cast and crew members and feature-length audio commentary with director John McTiernan and production designer Jackson DeGovia. The subtitle track is similar to pop-up factoid tracks I have seen in other films, but it is better at having a constant flow of quotes from the cast and crew relative to the scene playing. Watching the subtitle track along with the audio commentary was a vastly insightful experience. McTiernam and DeGovia have a lot of nonstop facts and stories from the production with some highlights being callbacks to props used in their other films, making the heavies stand out by intentionally casting European models to portray the goons and McTeirnan explaining how the ideal movie shoot is done in under 80 days and how he was doomed for going over that like he did with Last Action Hero.

Die Hard easily ranks among one of my all time favorite action films. That is not nostalgia talking either because as I stated earlier, even though 2018 is the 30th anniversary of Die Hard, I did not watch it for the first time until last year. For a movie that old to be that timeless, especially in a genre where special effects goes a long way in proving how special Die Hard truly is. Regardless of whether you have seen this Bruce Willis classic countless times or never before, go out of your way to watch it now and show to your friends how it is the perfect Christmas movie!

Other Random Backlog Movie Blogs

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12 Angry Men (1957)
12 Rounds 3: Lockdown
21 Jump Street
Angry Video Game Nerd: The Movie
Atari: Game Over
The Avengers: Age of Ultron
Batman: The Killing Joke
Batman: Mask of the Phantasm
Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice
Bounty Hunters
Cabin in the Woods
Captain America: Civil War
Captain America: The First Avenger
Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Christmas Eve
Clash of the Titans (1981)
Clint Eastwood 11-pack Special
The Condemned 2
Countdown
Creed
Deck the Halls
Dredd
The Eliminators
The Equalizer
Dirty Work
Faster
Fast and Furious I-VIII
Field of Dreams
Fight Club
The Fighter
For Love of the Game
Good Will Hunting
Gravity
Guardians of the Galaxy
Hercules: Reborn
Hitman
Indiana Jones 1-4
Ink
The Interrogation
Interstellar
Jobs
Joy Ride 1-3
Man of Steel
Man on the Moon
Marine 3-6
Metallica: Some Kind of Monster
Mortal Kombat
National Treasure
National Treasure: Book of Secrets
The Replacements
Reservoir Dogs
Rocky I-VII
Running Films Part 1
Running Films Part 2
San Andreas
ScoobyDoo Wrestlemania Mystery
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty
Shoot em Up
Steve Jobs
Source Code
Star Trek I-XIII
Take Me Home Tonight
TMNT
The Tooth Fairy 1 & 2
UHF
Veronica Mars
Vision Quest
The War
Wild
Wonder Woman
The Wrestler (2008)
X-Men: Days of Future Past