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SHOPPING > DVDs > Action & Adventure > Die Hard (DVD) > Reviews

Die Hard (DVD)

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Die Hard (DVD)

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The Pinnacle Of 80s Action Thrillers

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5 May 8th, 2001 

7 Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful

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wampyrii

wampyrii

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Wampyrii doesn't live here any more. Play nice y'all. :)

Member since:15.09.2000

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The pinnacle of 80s action movies, Die Hard is one of the enduring classics of modern action cinema. Not a movie to provoke much thought or reaction, but one filled with high octane thrills and spills which is enough to keep anyone on the edge oftheir seat - I defy you not to enjoy it.

New York cop, John McClane(Bruce Willis) arrives in Los Angeles to spnd the Christmas period with his ex-wife(Bonnie Bedelia) and their two children. He meets her at a Christmas party where she works, on the 30th floor of a high rise office complex, but whilst he is in her executive bathroom, a group of international terrorists seize the building, holding everyone hostage whilst they attempt to break into the safe and steal $670m in negotiable bonds. Isolated from the others, Willis tries single-handedly to overcome the terrorists...

Yes, it sounds a little cookie, but once the action starts you'll forget all the macho cr*p, weak plot and dodgy scripts and just go with the flow. Willis is superb in te role of John MacClane, a tough, sarcastic cop who goes through hell and high water to overcom eall odds. Alan Rickman is also fantastic as the evil head of the terrorist group, in the role which launched his Hollywood career, although Bonnie Bedelia's talents are wasted, as her role is extremely limited. An action movie which runs for over 2 hours is something of a novelty in itself, but this movie never runs out of ideas. The high rise setting gives plenty of scope for some breathtaking action sequences and some clever ideas are employed to full effect here. The script is the usual fare, all dodgy accents from the terrorists and wise cracks from Willis, but you've probably learnt to either love or ignore this in Hollywood movies by now and overall its all good fun.

A number of criticisms were levelled at this movie when it gained surprise popularity back in 1988. Some claimed that its sentiments were a little distasteful, claiming that it highlighted feminism as the key to undermining modern family values(Bedelia left Willis to pursue her career), whilst others said that the script played upon the audience's xenophobic fears. Its easy to over-analyse a movie however. This is nothing more than a straight ahead action thriller, no bells and whistles just all out high octane fun. If you have to analyse anything, then analyse Willis' performance or that of Rickman who is just perfect in the role, rather than looking for issues which are of little real importance. This is a thriller, not a piece of social commentary.

Enjoy!


 

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Comments about this review »

Howiemon 11.07.2001 23:51

Excellent review of what I think is the best film ever made by anyone ever!

bigkenny 08.05.2001 15:23

Could not agree more. Great opinion.

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