Critique: Film> Reviews.

The thing I've always liked about Die Hard is the central character, John McClain: He's an everyday, common-man hero, not invincible or overly buff, but self-conflicting in his thoughts, and cool enough to pull off wearing a grey vest in full view of the audience.

McClain (Willis) is the wrong guy, in the wrong place, at the wrong time. He arrives in Los Angeles to meet up with his kids and hopefully make up with his estranged wife, Holly (Bonnie Bedelia). Soon enough, though, after John and Holly have started arguing within her workplace, a bunch of terrorists, led by the ruthless Hans Gruber (Alan Rickman), begin taking control of the building in hope of attaining the millions of dollars in bonds locked away in the security vault. The people in the building are held hostage, expect for McClain, who somehow manages to sneak away barefoot.

Die Hard has similar tones to the equally-thrilling Lethal Weapon, which was released the year before John McTiernan's film: Both are set at Christmas time, though with a cynical and intimidating outlook. Much like Martin Riggs (Mel Gibson's character in the classic actioner), McClain is isolated, and there's the whole feeling of claustrophobia when he's separated from the norm, being oppressed by the enemy. Both roles portray heroism when the characters do eventually triumph over the bad, making them two of the most memorable and humane protagonists in action cinema.

Screenwriters Jeb Stuart (The Fugitive) and Steven E. De Souza (Commando) also do a great job in outlining the malice and charisma of the villain Hans Gruber. Without Rickman's vicious performance, however, their concepts would've been worthless; Rickman made it his signature role at the time, setting the standards so high that even the forthcoming bad guys in the Die Hard sequels failed to compete with him.

Of course, another huge part of Die Hard's appeal is the action scenes: There are plenty of great shootouts, bare knuckle scraps, and random shit getting blown up. If you don't get a kick out of all this then you might as well take a hint from the film's title.

Twenty years after its release, Die Hard is undoubtedly still up there as one of the greatest action movies ever made. The formula has been intimidated countless times in films since, but it is McTiernan's masterpiece that remains the landmark for thrilling heroism. The normal, everyday cop against the terrorist entrepreneur makes extremely exciting viewing no matter how many times you've seen it.

(C) Andy Carrington, 2009.