By Geno McGahee
In 1988, it all began. Bruce Willis plays “John McClane,” a New York cop visiting his wife in California. DIE HARD is part of my Xmas Movie run this year and many don’t consider it an Xmas movie, but it is. It takes place during the Xmas season and features all the decor and atmosphere that makes this holiday so special. Yippee Ho Ho Ho mother fucker.
McClane attends a party at the huge Nakatomi building, and that’s when hell breaks loose. Terrorists, led by Hans Gruber (Alan Rickman) take it over and now there is only one man that can stop them and that is McClane. This more realistic approach to a hero, vice the Terminator style, was a welcomed change. On a side note, this was rumored to be a sequel to COMMANDO with Arnold Schwarzenegger but he was tied up, allowing Willis to step in and change action history. McClane was human and was vulnerable, and quick –witted as well, which was part of the great appeal of this film. Willis does a great job as the good guy.
Hans and his crew of bad guys gather all of the guests on one floor, but McClane is roaming the building. He uses his police skills to get a grip on the situation and combat the evil force that has taken over the building. He pulls a fire alarm but before the police could arrive, Hans and his group call them off and the first firefight begins and the first kills happens.
McClane’s sense of humor is on display as he puts the body into an elevator and writes: “Now I have a machine gun. Ho-ho-ho.” He adds a Santa hat to the corpse and sends it to the floor where the entire crowd can see it.
McClane finally gets the attention of the police. He drops a body on the squad car of Sgt. Powell (Reginald Vel Johnson). You may remember Vel Johnson from the show “FAMILY MATTERS,” as Carl Winslow. Why that show was popular is beyond me. That was one of the most annoying and unfunny shows in the history of TV. It was so unfunny that they placed in laugh tracks to tell you when to laugh, but that horrible show doesn’t take away from how great DIE HARD is.
DIE HARD has plenty of good villains. We have the kiss ass, slimy salesman, Harry Ellis (Hart Bochner). Not only is he trying to pick up McClane’s wife, Holly (Bonnie Bedelia), but he is just a selfish prick. When he finds out that McClane is causing troubles for the terrorists, he approaches them and says: “I can give’em to yah.” Unfortunately, he couldn’t convince McClane to turn himself in and Hans blows Ellis’s brains out of the back of his head.
Another great villain is Police Chief, Dwayne T. Robinson (Paul Gleason). Gleason was a great villain in THE BREAKFAST CLUB and he does equally great here as the asshole. He continually harasses McClane over the radio, telling him to back down and threatens Powell with his job because of his allegiance to McClane. He says something to the fact that if Powell leaves the scene, he will be fired and if he tries to put in a laugh track or bring that annoying Urkel around, he will be shot.
Another sleaze is a cutthroat reporter, Richard Thornburg (William Atherton). He risks the lives of McClane and his wife inside of the building and does it only to enhance his career. He is a fake on the camera and a dickhead off of the camera, which is what many think about many journalists. Atherton nails the role.
DIE HARD is an action-packed classic. It has spawned three sequels and there is another on the way. Bruce Willis is a likeable good guy and Rickman is perfect as the villain. This is a perfect film and the beginning to a great series.
Rating: 10/10. The perfect action film for Xmas.
“Why don’t you come out to L.A.? We’ll have a few laughs, see some shows.”