well i'll try to write more but i'm clearly doing 39 hours a week of work at uni. *smirk*
well i'll try to write more but i'm clearly doing 39 hours a week of work at uni. *smirk*
Member since:02.03.2001
Reviews:68
Members who trust:9
Before today, I had only seen bits of this film, but now I have seen it all, and like other peoples ratings suggest, it is one of the best action thrillers ever.
The story is: John McClane (Bruce Willis), a policeman from New York, is visiting his wife in Los Angeles, and they are having a party at the Japanese owned Nakamoto tower, but thungs quickly go wrong.
A gang of 12 terrorists, with the boss, Hans Gruber (Alan Rickman), takes over the building while McClane is conveniently not with the rest of the party, and for a while is undetected. Typically enough, for an American film, the terrorists just have to be European. We should maybe do our own films where loads of American terrorists get shot by 1 British person.
And that is generally what happens to these terrorists over the course of the next 2 hours, after some spectacular and violent battles, with some amazing stunts. Willis is great as the tough and sarcastic policeman, who has to fight all the terrorists on his own, and there is always 1 who is particularlt tough, and this time it is a suitably nasty looking German called Karl, who wants to avenge the death of his brother.
McClane does somehow call the police, but this only leads to his detection, and when they arrive, it takes all his efforts to attract their attention, and only 1, Sergeant Al Powell, well played by Reginald VelJohnson, really believes him.
They communicate throughout, and the suspense never lets up in this film. As every battle passes, McClanes injuries get worse, until the final battle. He only comes face to face with Rickman twice in the film, and I think this adds to the tension at the times when they do meet.
And the second time, McClanes wife is also involved, and the end scene, whilst predictable, is still exciting. Often in action films, the main bad guy is not the last to die. Karl, who somehow escapes from being hung on metal chains, bursts out the building, and just as it seems the McClanes will die, the Sergeant, who had sworn never to draw another gun, saves the day.
The acting in the film is good, but it is the suspense, pace and excitement of the film which really make this stick out from the rest. The storyline is great, maybe unrealistic, but who cares, its one policeman versus a gang of terrorists, it isn't meant to be realistic. The setting seems completely authentic, and adds to the atmosphere of the film.
Finally, it is an 18. This may not be completely fair, because I'm 16, and I didn't find it at all distressing. There is alot of swearing, but its not like people above 15 aren't used to this. It was also edited last night, so maybe it was more violent in the original.
<off topic> Greece were robbed in the eurovision song contest
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Production Year: 2002 - Action/Adventure - Director: Vincenzo Natali - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring:Lucy Liu, David Hewlett, Anne Marie Scheffler, Joseph Scoren, Matthew Sharp, Jeremy Northam
Production Year: 1964 - Action/Adventure - Director: Cyril Endfield - Original Language: English - Classification: Parental Guidance - Starring:Stanley Baker, Jack Hawkins, Ulla Jacobsson, James Booth, Michael Caine, Nigel Green
Action/Adventure - Director: Peter Jackson - Original Language: English - Classification: 12 years and over - Starring:Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen, Viggo Mortensen, Liv Tyler, Sean Astin, Billy Boyd, Dominic Monaghan, Andy Serkis
High above the city of L.A. a team of terrorists has seized a building, taken hostages, ... more
and declared war. But one man has managed to escape detection...an off-duty cop. He's alone...tired...and the only chance anyone has.Bruce Willis stars as New York ...
High above the city of LA a team of terrorists has seized a building taken hostages and ... more
declared war. But one man has managed to escape detection.. An off-duty cop. He's alone..tired..and the only chance anyone has. Bruce Willis stars as New York Ci...
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![Die Hard (Special Edition) [DVD] [1988]](http://picnica.ciao.com/uk/76770162.jpg "Die Hard (Special Edition) [DVD] [1988]")
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