Die Hard (1988)

For various peculiar reasons I missed out on seeing almost all the big hit movies of the 80s. In the past few years I’ve been slowly rectifying those omissions. Which brings me to the mammoth 1988 hit Die Hard which amazingly I had never seen. I had always assumed it was just a big dumb action movie. It is a big dumb action movie but it’s astonishingly well-crafted and it totally redefined the action movie.

Interestingly director John McTiernan was initially reluctant to have anything to do with this project. He thought the early versions of the script were mean and unpleasant and nihilistic. He agreed to do it if major changes were made.

Apparently the source novel by Roderick Thorp was about a major terrorist incident and that was McTiernan’s biggest objection. He wanted to make an enjoyable summer blockbuster, not a horrifying tale of viciousness. When the script was changed to make it more of a classic heist movie rather than a terrorist movie he suddenly became enthusiastic.

McTiernan also wanted to remove any hint of political content.

He also felt that the hero of the novel is too much in the Dirty Harry mould. The hero of the movie, John McClane (Bruce Willis), is not like that. He is a flawed hero but we like him because he is aware of his flaws and he’s working on them. Fundamentally he’s a decent guy. He’s a nice guy. The kind of guy you’d like to have a few beers with.

The Nakatomi Building, built by a Japanese corporation, has just opened. They’re throwing a Christmas party to celebrate. Among the celebrants is high-achieving fast-rising executive Holly Gennaro McClane (Bonnie Bedelia). Her estranged husband, New York cop John McClane (Bruce Willis) has arrived in L.A. to see the kids at Christmas. He gets an invite to a party. It turns out to be quite a party.

A gang of a dozen terrorists seizes the building. Oddly enough they don’t talk about revolution at all. They don’t spout political rhetoric like typical terrorists.

Their leader Hans Gruber (Alan Rickman) has devised an intricate and foolproof plan. There’s just one tiny problem. That problem is John McClane. When the guests were rounded up as hostages the gang overlooked McClane. Now he’s on the loose and he’s annoyed and he intends to make trouble. What do you do when you’re outnumbered twelve to one and the situation is hopeless? McClane has no doubts as to what you do. You seize the initiative. You make the bad guys feel like they’re the hunted rather than the hunters.

This sets up a series of dazzling action set-pieces. And they’re relentless and they’re sufficiently well executed that there’s no danger of action scene fatigue setting in.

The building itself becomes a character in the story (and it should be added that the production design is superb). McClane has to get to know the building. The more he learns about the geography of the building the better his chances.

Bruce Willis’s likeability is a major asset. McClane isn’t perfect but that’s why we’re totally on his side. He’s just a cop.

When we first meet Holly she seems like a typical girlboss but we gradually realise that there’s a bit more to her. She really does love her big lunk of a husband. There’s a great moment late in the movie when it’s obvious that she is incredibly proud of him. She slowly comes to realise that their marriage is worth saving.

There’s a fine love story here.

And Alan Rickman as Hans Gruber is such a fun super-villain. He’s a bad man but he’s clever and his plan is so ingenious that we almost find ourselves thinking that it deserved to work.

The LAPD Deputy Police Chief is both arrogant and dumb. When the FBI guys turn up it’s soon apparent that they’re not as smart as they think they are. McClane’s advantage is that he doesn’t think he’s a genius. He’s just a street cop.

You can also see this as a technology vs humans story. The Nakatomi Building has incredibly sophisticated security but it relies entirely on technology. You can’t help thinking that half a dozen armed guards who know their jobs would have been more effective. In fact one ordinary New York street cop with no technological aids whatsoever achieves more than all thew high-tech security devices.

Die Hard is indeed a big dumb action movie but it’s a truly great movie of its type. Fast-moving, hyperactive, stylish. Very highly recommended.