Die Hard

Everybody has a favourite Christmas movie that they watch every year around Christmas time. Classic examples include ‘It’s A Wonderful Life’, ‘A Christmas Story’ maybe even ‘Bad Santa’. However, one film that never gets as much praise in this topic as it should is a 1980s classic known as Die Hard. It Stars Bruce Willis and Alan Rickman. It was directed by John McTiernan, who is famous for films such as ‘Predator’ and ‘The Hunt for Red October’.

NYPD cop John McClane goes on a Christmas vacation to visit his wife Holly in Los Angeles where she works for the Nakatomi Corporation. While they are at the Nakatomi headquarters for a Christmas party, a group of bank robbers led by Hans Gruber take control of the building and hold everyone hostage, with the exception of John, while they plan to perform a lucrative heist. Unable to escape and with no immediate police response, John is forced to take matters into his own hands.

The film may not strictly be a Christmas film but it is set during the holiday season and has several Christmas themes and references scattered throughout. Combine this with a great setting of the claustrophobic Nakatomi Plaza, an exceptional villain and a great action movie protagonist, and you have an incredible action film.

Nakatomi Plaza is hands down one of the greatest settings in any film. It feels gigantic yet claustrophobic at the same time. The setting almost acts as a character throughout the film, and there are many iconic moments in the film that couldn’t have occurred without it. The place is just large enough that there is a cat and mouse game between McClane, yet not large enough that the tension subsides. There is always a chance that danger is right around the corner.

The villain of the film, ‘Hans Gruber’ played by the late Alan Rickman, is nothing less than perfection. He steals every scene he’s in, and you always want more of him. His plan isn’t the greatest and holes can be picked at but this is an 80s action flick, so that’s acceptable. Fun fact, this was actually Rickman’s first role in a feature length film, which makes it even more incredible.

Bruce Willis created one of the most iconic film characters of all time. Rather than most action stars at the time, such as Stallone and Schwarzenegger who are portrayed as these invincible one man armies with the bodies of Greek gods, Willis was shown to be the ‘everyman’. He gets incredibly hurt throughout the film and while not unfit, he certainly doesn’t look like a Greek god. Throughout the course of the film he constantly argues with himself and you can see that he is a reluctant hero, this in turn at least in my opinion makes him a more compelling hero.

To conclude, Die Hard is the sort of film that everybody ABSOLUTELY MUST watch at some point in their life. It’s a fun action film with plenty to enjoy, and lends itself to plenty of additional viewings.

Score: 10/10