DIE HARD
This is a thriller where all the moving parts are perfectly synchronised by director John McTiernan, and where it is paced so meticulously that when we get to the climactic scenes on the roof of the Nakatomi Tower they are about as exciting as action cinema gets - I especially love the moment when McClane throws himself off the building and then has to shoot out a window.
Bruce Willis is the right actor to play an unsophisticated New York cop who single-handedly has to thwart a bunch of thieves posing as terrorists.
They of course are headed up by ruthless yet strangely charming Hans Gruber (a career-defining performance from Alan Rickman).
McClane is just an average guy who has to rely on grit and street smarts to survive, aided by a wry sense of humour. McClane telling sergeant Al to put $20 on him to survive (‘I’m good for it’) makes me chuckle almost as much as it does Al.
Besides Willis and Rickman the other actor who you can’t imagine the film without is Reginald VelJohnson as Al, a gentle soul who develops a touching rapport with McClane.
Given how seemingly flawless this movie is, this time around I thought I would put my nit-picker glasses on and see if I could find any flaws, but I didn’t find much.
The early scene in the lift shaft does involve McClane doing some things which seem physically impossible.
It's rather careless of McClane to drop the bag containing the detonators so as to put Gruber's plan back on track.
Given how obnoxious the IT guy, Theo, is I'm always disappointed that he doesn't come to a sticky end.
These are minor quibbles indeed.
In a recent poll of the British public a majority were of the view that this is not a Christmas film, yet more proof (were it needed) that a significant proportion of my fellow citizens can't be trusted to make any important decisions.
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