|
|
|
1988
|
DIE
HARD
|
|
|
STARRING:BRUCE
WILLIS,ALAN RICKMAN,BONNIE BEDELIA,REGINALD VELJJOHNSON,ALEXANDER
GUNDONOV,WILLIAM ATHERTON,HART BOCHNER
BASED
ON THE NOVEL "NOTHING LASTS FOREVER" BY RODERICK
THORP
SCREENPLAY
BY JEB STUART & STEVEN E.DE SOUZA
PRODUCED
BY LAWRENCE GORDON & JOEL SILVER
DIRECTED
BY JOHN MCTIERNAN
GENRE:ACTION/THRILLER/CRIME
RATED:AUSTRALIA:M/UK:18/USA:R
RUNNING
TIME:126 MIN
|
With
Lethal
Weapon giving the action genre a much needed kick
in the butt, Die Hard raised the bar to new heights taking
with it the career of then TV personality Bruce Willis, who stars
as New York police officer John McClaine. Flying to California on
Christmas Eve to visit his estranged wife Holly (Bonnie Bedelia) at
her workplace (the Nakatomi Plaza office building), it is up to McClaine
to save the day after the building is seized by a group of international
terrorists led by the charmingly sadistic Hans Gruber (Alan Rickman).
By deciding not to cast some muscle bound actor such as Stallone or
Schwarzenegger (who both ironically turned the movie down), Die
Hard instantly becomes a uniquel action movie. Instead of being
the big man with all of the answers, Willis plays McClaine as the
everyday man caught in an extraordinary situation who uses his skills
as a police officer to take down the bad guys, which is played out
in a much more realistic manner when compared to other movies cut
by the same cloth. Willis brings a vulnerability to his action roles
while still playing the wise cracking bad ass. The most memorable
images in the movie are that of John McClaine limping around, his
bare feet all cut to hell while the rest of him is a dirty bloody
mess, something that neither Stallone nor Schwarzenegger could pull
off. He was a new action hero for a new generation and even though
has been imitated numerous times he has yet to be bettered.
With Willis playing the hero, Alan Rickman nails the part of the dastardly
villain to perfection. Suave yet cold blooded, Rickman plays Hans
Gruber with much authority and intensity, never going over the top
yet stealing every scene he is in. Bonny Bedelia makes use of her
limited screen time thankfully not resorting to playing the damsel
in distress, while Hart Bochner is brilliantly sleazy as yuppie coke
head Harry Ellis.
The portrayal of the media as ratings hungry savages cuts close to
the bone especially considering how the media would cover events such
as the O.J. Simpson trial, 9/11, and the Iraq War not as news but
as big time entertainment where journalistic responsibility is passed
aside for the "big story", with William Atherton continuing
to shine playing wankers this time in the guise of journalist Richard
Thornburg.
The action scenes have lost none of their intensity thanks to John
McTiernan's electrifying direction, yet the emergence of too many
sub plots and annoying side characters damage the film. Die Hard
can be seen in two parts; the first is an awesome action thriller
that takes place inside the building, while the second is a bumbling
almost 'spoof' like cop movie on the outside where the fat cop loves
Twinkies, the head cop is an ignorant prick, and the FBI are even
bigger douche bags on a power trip.
Thankfully the performances by Willis and Rickman are strong enough
to counter the films flaws, making Die Hard a very good, big
bang, action movie. |
|
|
