To wrap up my holiday film review series, I decided to check out a movie that is kind of a controversial pick for a Christmas movie. Some people think that this is a Christmas movie and some others don’t. So, let’s talk about the 1988 holiday action flick ‘Die Hard.’
NYC policeman John McClane is visiting his estranged wife and kids on Christmas Eve. He joins her at a holiday party in the headquarters of the Japanese-owned business she works for.
But the festivities are interrupted by a group of terrorists who take over the exclusive high rise, and everyone in it.
Very soon McClane realizes that there’s no one to save the hostages - but him.
The ‘Die Hard’ series has delivered some great action in its five installments. After the third movie, the series sort of dwindled a little bit. But, none of the sequels can beat the thrilling action that the Christmas Eve-set 1988 action flick offers.
‘Die Hard’ is known to be one of the most influential action movies out there. All of the action that ‘Die Hard’ delivers is simply incredible and thrilling. There are also some thrills that come from the suspense of McClane using his wits as well as his brawn to fight the numerous bad guys in Nakatomi Tower.
This iconic action flick has quite a few memorable moments and even some intense sequences, especially when McClane finally meets the cunning Hans Gruber (still one of the best action villains out there). Each action sequence in the movie gets better and better, and they also seem to top each other.
‘Die Hard’ also has some memorable one-liners, including the infamous and iconic “Yippie-ki-yay …” (can’t finish the quote due to obvious reasons). And even though Bruce Willis does a great job as McClane, the late Alan Rickman absolutely steals the show as Hans Gruber.
So, let me know on my Wyoming County Examiner reviews page on Facebook if you think whether ‘Die Hard’ is a Christmas movie or not!
Trivia: The fictional Nakatomi Plaza was actually the headquarters of 20th Century Fox, so the studio could use one of its own buildings and didn't have to hold back on stunts and action sequences. While screenwriter Jeb Stuart was writing the script, he did a tour of the building, and immediately incorporated some of the locations and objects he found there into his script as set pieces.
The scene where Willis and Rickman meet up was unrehearsed to create a greater feeling of spontaneity between the two actors. While making this film, cinematographer Jan de Bont got trapped in an elevator. This later gave him the inspiration for the opening scene of a little 1994 movie called ‘Speed,’ which he directed.
You can currently find ‘Die Hard’ on Hulu, Tubi, Pluto TV and The Roku Channel!
*** I hope you have enjoyed the holiday review series that I have been working on throughout the month of December! For the next couple editions, I will be working on a few new releases that the Dietrich Theater will be showing, along with my annual best films of the year list. I will also be checking out a couple recent releases that I haven’t gotten around to checking out, along with a few throwback classic comedies to get us through the cold month of January!***
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