Movie #120 - Die Hard

"It will blow you through the back wall of the theater!"

One of the more entertaining films to come out of 1988, this film created the persona that Bruce Willis now utilizes in almost every one of his action movies. Definitely one of the crown jewels of Willis' career, the Die Hard franchise has been a box office success overall, and has some memorable moments for action movie fans everywhere.

If you watch this movie with a keen eye, you notice that the film was shot in a stretched lens, probably to make Willis look a little slimmer and taller, something that was pure illusion. Leading up to his Die Hard role, Willis was mainly known as a big time television actor, especially in his role on the romantic drama Moonlighting opposite Cybill Shepherd. That show started Willis' career and ran from 1985-1989, but was the stepping stone Willis needed to get into the big screen roles.

After Die Hard, Willis was over exposed fairly quickly both on the screen and off the screen. He quickly made a number of forgettable movies, too many to name here, and married Demi Moore, who was also one of the "it" female celebrities of the early 90's. Together, Willis and Moore became one of Hollywood's 90's power couples and thus, Willis movie career took off.

However, going back to Die Hard, this movie was both action packed, witty, and quite clever in its overall delivery. The concept of holding a bunch of people at the penthouse of a high-rise business building on Christmas Eve was intriguing and made for great suspense. The stars of the show, however, were the villains that were cast to contrast Willis (Alan Rickman and Alexander Godunov), and the supporting roles offered by the likes of Reginald VelJohnson and Paul Gleason. Other cast members such as Bonnie Bedelia and William Atherton provided some consistency in the sequels to follow, but were also strong in this film.

Without Rickman, though, the McClane character would not be as favoured, without a great villain. In Rickman, the casting was perfect. Although born of Irish and Welsh descent, Rickman is a chameleon type actor, similar to the likes of Gary Oldman or even Johnny Depp. Rickman immerses himself 100% into his character and has portrayed a villain in many strong roles over the years. His portrayal of Hans Gruber in Die Hard is one of the main reasons to enjoy this movie and this boosts the approval rating for the protagonist in the end.