It is ironic that Die Hard is the first film I review, for years I have resisted watching it to the point where it got to be a joke between friends and a personal bone of contention with me to not watch Die Hard.
Eventually I gave in and decided to watch it, going in with lots of negative presumptions. I will fully admit that the American action genre is one of my least favourite and I have always associated Die Hard with being the template for everything I did not like about action films.
I knew the basic premise of the film going in, I knew 'Yippie Ki-Yay motherfucker', I knew Hans Gruber (Rickman), this is a film that is a huge part of pop culture, and much like other popular 80s films I was fully expecting to have a negative experience.
I am pleased to say I was wrong!
I did find faults in Die Hard, there were scenes and dialogue that made me roll my eyes, I can see how it did provide a platform for a lot of lazy, poor action movies but that did not stop this being an entertaining, thrilling chase movie, shepherded by two strong led characters, McClane and Gruber. I found their struggle for control and their witty repartee to be constantly engaging and kept the pace of this movie flowing. I liked the scene where McClane and Gruber meet which struck me as counter-culture, as generally the hero goes through a series of understudies before eventually facing the 'boss battle' at the end, Die Hard subverts that having the protagonist and antagonist meet for a few fleeting minutes in which the previously cunning and collected Gruber is first emasculated and then outsmarted by McClane.
The supporting characters were strong too, Al was a character coming in who I did not know existed and I enjoyed VelJohnson's performance which added a layer of emotion to the film that I felt that the Holly/John strained relationship story wasn't quite hitting for me.
The best compliment I can give this film is that by the end of it, I enjoyed it enough not to hold it accountable for every crappy, cliched action film it spawned.
BEST SCENE: John vs Karl Fight Scene. Put the guns and the explosives away, this was a brutal fist on fist fight scene ending with McClane wrapping a chain around the German's neck and hauling him down the stairs and into a wall, left to hang.
BEST CHARACTER: Hans Gruber runs a good race but John McClane is one of the great film heroes and a model for all modern action heroes. A calm and cool working class stiff who isn't afraid to get his hands dirty, always quick with a witty retort. From his Yippie-Ki-Yay catchphrase to his sweat & bloodstained vest, the iconography of John McClane permeated into popular culture.
BEST QUOTE: "Yippie-Ki-Yay, motherfucker" - Come on, what else?
RATING: ★★★★☆ - A light 4 1/2 rating. I do have some issues with the film but it was an enjoyable, thrilling ride and an excellent way to kick off my 1001 Movies journey!
MOVIES WATCHED: 1
MOVIES REMAINING: 1000
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