Die Hard (1988)

I remember watching Die Hard for the first time when I was 16 years old. Ever since, it has been my favourite movie.

It has the right combination of pathos, banter and excitement I want in an action film, and I don't think I will ever get sick of watching it.

Since the subject has been brought up, I wanna ask, is the 6th film still a go, or was it cancelled?

I have to admit, it seems to have fallen to the wayside from my perspective. I'm a fan of the original above all else tbh.

Never mind Christmas movie. I consider it the best action movie of all time. Plus, its characters were actually relatable, inasmuch as John and Holly are flawed people who are struggling with their marriage, and that the side characters actually have personality. I feel sorry for the LAPD for how they were portrayed, however.

Edited by SkyCat32 on May 27th 2020 at 11:43:31 AM

It's the ultimate Christmas movie.

The movie that redefined the action movie genre. How can I not love this movie?

The guy who John became friends with over the walkie talkie was pretty cool.

I think Hart Bochner deserves a lot of praise for the skin-crawling amount of smarm he put into his performance as Ellis.

Well, what do you expect from Carl Winslow.

The Police Supervisor was pretty unprofessional and rude, though, and she took the emergency call seriously too late. I thought the Police were supposed to take calls seriously. It's part of why I mistakenly assumed that we were supposed to hate the character.

Powell's backstory of mistakenly shooting a kid who he thought had a gun would not fly in the modern age, though, despite it being hardwired in police training.

As for Die Hard itself, I always considered it the closest we'll ever get to a Metal Gear movie.

People often talk about the action scenes, but I love the suspense too. There's so many moments where you think "Oh, crap he's gonna get caught... Oh, he made it. Good..." The sequels are action packed, sure, but they lack edge-of-your-seat moments like that.

One scene I love is when Hans Gruber tries to pass himself off as one of the hostages, but John doesn't fall for it, like at all and instead just plays along. If this were any other film, the hero would have turned stupid and gotten themselves captured (or killed).

Edited by Brandon on May 27th 2020 at 2:07:27 AM

Die hard has both an intelligent hero and an intelligent villain,facing off. Even now for an action film its something you don't see very often.

Yeah. It's nice seeing two genuinely clever individuals face off. It's almost like a game of chess, only much more suspenseful.

That's probably true. I think it's good that the film avoided such implications, though.

Edited by SkyCat32 on May 27th 2020 at 6:05:39 AM

At the risk of opening a can of worms, if Powell had been a white cop that story certainly would have different implications I think, at least to modern audiences. I can't remember if the kid's race was specified in fairness but the implications wouldn't be great.

The Netflix documentary series "The Movies that Made Us" had an episode on Die Hard, and it was interesting to see how some of the most iconic movies came about through sheer chance. Certainly what made the original so perfect is a combination of prioritizing the Closed Circle for both the setting and the stakes, and finding the emotional core in a man trying to save his marriage before having to save his wife.

Apparently, one of the screenwriters got the inspiration after almost crashing his car after arguing with his wife.

Yeah, when you see it again and again, you realize how much of a great movie it is. Because it relies on smarts, instead of just stereotypical 80's action movie tropes common at the time which would have been refreshing.

The film actually manages to be epic and relatable at the same time, in my opinion. I mean it's easy to relate to someone who got into an argument about the way their life is turning out with someone they care about, the gunfights and explosions notwithstanding.

In fact, I plan on taking pages out of Die Hard in my own writing regarding the interactions of the protagonists and their loved ones.

Edited by SkyCat32 on May 31st 2020 at 11:05:50 AM

I would love a movie with a female action protagonist who could get into a Die Hard situation, but instead of being mundane it would be an Urban Fantasy.

Maybe a spin-off film centered around John's daughter (provided it's the same actress from 4 and 5).

I also like the fact that John, as competent and quick thinking as he is, actually struggles with the threat which Hans and the other gunmen pose, and initially just wants the cops to deal with them; likewise, his sabotage is mostly done out of desparation.

I rather not have it be a spinoff. I want a female movie inspired by Die Hard, because I want it to stand on it's own. It could be the Laura Croft of Die Hard esque movies.

Yeah, I honestly prefer media which gives women their own icons, instead of forcing them to genderlift characters.

I could imagine a Die Hard scenario featuring Cat Crawfield.

Edited by SkyCat32 on Jun 1st 2020 at 2:02:24 PM

One thing I am surprised that there are not many female led Die Hard inspired movies along with Urban Fantasy. My main character in my mind would also be black, who is married and her personal conflict is with her sister. And the location is at the mansion of her sister's employer.

So you'd want something kinda like a gender flipped Dresden files ?

Never read it, but that would be fun.