History Fridge / DieHard

!!!''Film/DieHard''

* A bit of Fridge Horror: Hans and company took everything into account with the exception of John being at the building. Picture how things would have played out had he decided not to come to L.A., miss his plane, or had it been delayed. Hans and his crew would have succeeded and everyone at the party, Holly included, would be dead.

!!!''With a Vengeance''
* Before TheReveal, Simon claims that "all the gold in Fort Knox" couldn't make him stop. [[spoiler:Then he robs the Federal Reserve Bank, which contains a substantially larger amount of gold in it.]]

!!!''Live Free or Die Hard''
* Gabriel insults [=McClane=] by calling him "a Timex watch in a digital age". However, it's [[InsultBackfire a borderline accidental compliment]] if you take Timex's slogan into account: "Takes a licking and keeps on ticking." It's also slight lampshading of the flaws in Gabriel's plans. The main roadblocks in his "fire sale" plan are the things that aren't online, the old-fashioned stuff. That's where the problems typically set in, because [=McClane=] is able to get there and slow him down. Gabriel doesn't seem to account for the low-tech stuff.

!!! ''With a Vengeance''
* Before TheReveal, Simon claims that "all the gold in Fort Knox" couldn't make him stop. [[spoiler: Then he robs the Federal Reserve Bank, which contains a substantially larger amount of gold in it.]]

* Gabriel insults [=McClane=] by calling him "a Timex watch in a digital age". However, it's [[InsultBackfire a borderline accidental compliment]] if you take Timex's slogan into account: "Takes a licking and keeps on ticking." It's also slight lampshading of the flaws in Gabriel's plans. The main roadblocks in his "fire sale" plan are the things that aren't online, the old-fashioned stuff. That's where the problems typically set in, because [=McClane=] is able to get there and slow him down. Gabriel doesn't seem to account for the low-tech stuff.

!!FridgeLogic

* Before TheReveal in ''With a Vengeance'', Simon claims that "all the gold in Fort Knox" couldn't make him stop. [[spoiler: Then he robs the Federal Reserve Bank, which contains a substantially larger amount of gold in it.]]
* In ''Film/DieHard,'' Gruber sees the model of the bridge outside Takagi's office and comments how he loved to put together models as a boy with adherence to exact details. This later is referred to when he says they planned for every conceivable scenario. Guess an estranged cop husband being at the party was inconceivable.

* In ''Live Free or Die Hard'', Gabriel insults [=McClane=] by calling him "a Timex watch in a digital age". However, it's [[InsultBackfire a borderline accidental compliment]] if you take Timex's slogan into account: "Takes a licking and keeps on ticking." It's also slight lampshading of the flaws in Gabriel's plans. The main roadblocks in his "fire sale" plan are the things that aren't online, the old-fashioned stuff. That's where the problems typically set in, because [=McClane=] is able to get there and slow him down. Gabriel doesn't seem to account for the low-tech stuff.

* WebVideo/CinemaSins points out how suspicious it would be if Hans' crew supposed to get out of the building from a locked garage in an ambulance, but the whole plan actually works out, once the roof blows, the police fire department would assume everyone is dead and open up the garage bringing in paramedics and ambulances to help the survivors/bag bodies, therefore enabling the crew to get out by blending in plain sight.

* WebVideo/CinemaSins points out how suspicious it would be if Hans' crew supposed to get out of the building from a locked garage in an ambulance, but the whole plan actually works out, once the roof blows, the police fire department would assume every is dead and open up the garage bringing in paramedics and ambulances to help the survivors/bag bodies, therefor enabling the crew to get out by blending in plain sight.

* CinemaSins points out how suspicious it would be if Hans' crew supposed to get out of the building from a locked garage in an ambulance, but the whole plan actually works out, once the roof blows, the police fire department would assume every is dead and open up the garage bringing in paramedics and ambulances to help the survivors/bag bodies, therefor enabling the crew to get out by blending in plain sight.

* The bad guys are German, and "Ode to Joy" is a German song.

* In ''Live Free or Die Hard'', Gabriel insults [=McClane=] by calling him "a Timex watch in a digital age". However, it's [[InsultBackfire a borderline accidental compliment]] if you take Timex's slogan into account: "Takes a licking and keeps on ticking." It's also slight lampshading of the flaws in Gabriel's plans. The main roadblocks in his "fire sale" plan are the things that aren't online, the old-fashioned stuff. That's where the problems typically set in, because [=McClane=] is able to get there and slow him down. Gabriel doesn't seem to account for the low-tech stuff.

-->'''McClane:''' I got invited to the Christmas party by mistake. Who knew?

** Hans is found near the roof, with the excuse that he escaped the terrorists and wanted to signal for help from the roof, somehow escaping armed terrorists that held everyone at gunpoint on the 30th floor, and made it up to the roof without any issues. His suit a

** Hans is found near the roof, with the excuse that he escaped the terrorists and wanted to signal for help from the roof, somehow escaping armed terrorists that held everyone at gunpoint on the 30th floor, and made it up to the roof without any issues.

* How does John know that "Bill Clay" is Hans? According to the screenwriter, John was supposed to notice that all of the robbers he comes across have the same watch. However, the scene that introduces this fact had to be cut because one of the shots reveals that their truck does not contain an ambulance (which was written into the movie after this scene was filmed). If you look very closely, you can see that the terrorists all have the same watch, and notice that John reacts to Hans' watch when he takes a cigarette, but it's never actually explained in the finished film.

-->'''McClane: I got invited to the Christmas party by mistake. Who knew?

* The fight between Holly and John at the start of the film causes Holly to putt down her family photo, which ironically keeps her husband's identity a secret long enough to shake things up and very satisfyingly sets up the climax.

* How does John know Bill Clay is a LineOfSightName? Because Clay, WM is from the 29th floor, in a blink and you miss it moment, it's mentioned by the receptionist that the only people in the building are all from the 30th.
** Technically, the receptionist said everyone was ''at the party'' on the 30th floor. No reason someone from the 29th floor couldn't have come upstairs to the party, considering they all work for the same company and Holly's assistant was welcome to attend, so it wasn't just for top-floor executives.
** Also, "Bill" takes the empty cigarette pack and calmly puts it into his pocket. Someone in that situation would probably dropped the piece of trash on the (unfinished) floor, since he'd be too nervous to worry about littering.
** He didn't have to know that "Bill Clay" was an assumed identity a priori. Handing him an unloaded weapon would have been a prudent test regardless of any suspicious clues.
** Not to mention that someone who probably insisted on having his first name abbreviated Wm for William is then kind of unlikely to be introducing himself to someone he's never met before as Bill.
* It just occurred to me that Argyle's being oblivious of what's going on for half the movie might be a bit of a subtle joke; in the early scenes he's actually remarkably ''observant''; he immediately figures out John's marital situation despite John's reluctance to talk about it. John, a detective, actually compliments him on this.
** He was also talking to his girlfriend, trying to get her to meet up with him, ''and'' raiding the mini-bar.

* After the events of ''Die Hard 2'' [=McClane=] very likely is suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, fueling not only the breakdown of his marriage, descent into alcoholism, estrangement from his children, and continued risk-taking behavior. John isn't a implaccable badass, he's a broken man trying and failing to kill himself.

** Had Holly been using her married name, the bad guys would have known about John beforehand.
** Even more brilliant was the fight between Holly and John at the start of the film. Holly putting down her family photo in what was originally a reflection of her strained marriage ultimately keeps her husband safe long enough to shake things up and very satisfyingly sets up the climax.
* In ''Live Free or Die Hard'', Gabriel insults [=McClane=] by calling him "a Timex watch in a digital age". However, it's [[InsultBackfire a borderline accidental compliment]] if you take Timex's slogan into account: "Takes a licking and keeps on ticking."
** It's also slight lampshading of the flaws in Gabriel's plans. The main roadblocks in his "fire sale" plan are the things that aren't online, the old-fashioned stuff. That's where the problems typically set in, because [=McClane=] is able to get there and slow him down. Gabriel doesn't seem to account for the low-tech stuff.

* If Sgt. Al Powell is assigned to a desk job, why is he driving around in a patrol vehicle and responding to calls?
** The impression I got was he was on his way home at the end of the shift, happened to be in the area for what was pitched to him as a milk-run, and decided to check it out real quick and head home.
*** Powell says that this is ''exactly'' what happens. Did you watch the movie?
*** Although the question has to be asked : why is he driving home at the end of his shift in a marked police car? Doesn't he have his own vehicle?
* In ''Die Hard With a Vengeance'', [=McClane=] and Zeus defuse a bomb in a park, and then carry it with them because some kids might be hurt. When they hand it over to the bad guys' {{Mooks}}, posing as cops, one starts to leave it behind when they're called back to base, [[EvenEvilHasStandards only for his partner to berate him for leaving it where it could hurt some kids]]. [[spoiler:When it later turns out the bomb planted in a school was a distraction, Simon points out that he could never hurt children, as he's not a monster.]]--{{Tropers.Jonn}}
** Also note that the bombs he *does* set off are in a storefront before business hours and in the subway station under Wall Street, neither of which would likely have any kids in it on a work day.
** However, when the first fake cop is finished berating his friend for considering leaving it, they take it with them. They later [[spoiler:use this bomb to blow up the dam, flooding the aqueduct. It was a live bomb. Simon may be a monster after all.]] That said, he may have anticipated the Good Samaritan's actions.
*** Think of Simon's plan: he '''wants''' [=McClane=] to [[spoiler:succeed all the way, only failing at the near impossible task of cutting across town to reach the destination train station. As part of this plan,]] the bomb's not going to go off, is it? -- Tropers/{{wkz}}
* Why does the electromagnetic lock from the first movie open when the power is cut? It would make a lot more sense to design it to remain closed unless power is applied to it.
** Electromagnets are only magnetic ''because'' of electricity, so if you cut off the power, then there ''is'' nothing to keep the electromagnet sealed.
** The electromagnetic lock was the only lock that was still working. Theo had gotten through or past all the rest of them. So when the power stops going to the electromagnetic lock, that means ''all'' the locks are open, so they can get through.
** I think the original poster's question is more, why did it ''withdraw'' when the power was cut? Nobody was pushing it aside, it slid open on its own. Which ought to require power for whatever motor normally moves the thing. If there's enough backup power for that motor (not to mention the alarms and flashing lights), the vault's designers really should've directed it to keeping the electromagnets ''on'' during a blackout.
*** Could be a safety backup. If there was no power, someone could get trapped in it.
* If Hans is able to effortlessly speak English with a perfect American accent, why does he bother speaking in a German accent at all? No one I know prefers to sound accented in any non-native language.
** Speaking in an American accent takes effort, speaking with his normal accent does not.
** He's also posing as a political terrorist, and in that time period, many of them were Marxist, including East German and sympathetic West German. The accent is part of the 'sell.'
** Why didn't they get Alan Rickman to do a German accent properly anyhow (he's obviously good with accents?) It's really distracting to have Hans Gruber sound so British, even if it is handwaved with him going to school in England.
*** He actually sounds a lot like most Germans who learn to speak English well without much of a German accent do.
** Hans criticizes American culture and society numerous times throughout the movie. Why would he use the accent of a country he clearly doesn't like too much?
*** That's an easy one - when he speaks in his American accent, it is for the sole purpose of trying to make [=McClane=] think he works there.
* How are Hans & co planning to exchange all the (let alone one) 100 000 $ papers without people noticing?
** Easy, Hans stated in the movie the true "treasure" they are looking behind Nakatomi´s safe is not money in regular paper, they are after the $640 millions in '''bearer''' bonds. This is an economic issue: bearer bonds are different from "normal" (registered) bonds since no records are kept of the buyer/owner, or the transactions made with them (like if you sell one of them to another private investor, even in a dark backalley), and they must be honored (paid) by the issuer up-front cash with no further questions. A smart move from Hans... (and this is why now bearer bonds are prohibited in most countries in the world, and all transactions with bonds and similar papers need to be registered, also as an anti-money laundering measure)
** To add to this, bearer bonds were only issued in sums of $10,000 or less.
*** As brought up by WebVideo/CinemaSins, this actually implies a different form of fridge logic - the film is set after America's Fiscal Responsibility Act came into enforcement. So what sort of shady dealings was Nakatomi involved in to be carrying that much untraceable currency?
* So in ''Good Day to Die Hard'', the bad guys have a seemingly magical chemical that can somehow eliminate radiation in an area to the point of being able to breathe and walk around without gas masks or protective suits. If that sort of chemical existed, whoever invented it should get the Nobel prize because that would eliminate all the nuclear waste and contamination problems in the world ever.
** There IS a gas called Brown's Gas that is capable of accelerating the rate at which radiation decays, reducing the amount of time before the area is safe to be outside of a hazmat suit, but it does not work NEARLY the same way as was shown in the movie. scientists estimate that it will be 20,000 years before the area around chernobyl becomes habitable again, and if Brown's Gas were used then it would reduce that time... to a few hundred or a few thousand years, This Troper is not sure how much it would accelerate the decay. And even if it DID work the way it was shown in the movie, they would need to spray ALL of Chernobyl and the entire surrounding area with that spray, not just the small area we were shown, an operation that would take weeks or months without a crop duster and a huge crew of people.
*** Also, the claims that Brown's Gas can even do this are somewhat disputed, after looking a few things up on google, I found that it's wikipedia page lists this under "Fringe Science." There were several sites that said the gas CAN be used this way, but none of them looked like trustworthy sites.
** Even if we are generous with our WillingSuspensionOfDisbelief and just accept that such a wonder-chemical exists in the ''Die Hard'' universe - why then wasn't that chemical already used years ago by the official authorities to decontaminate Chernobyl?
* As pointed out by ''WebVideo/CinemaSins'': "Nakatomi has $640 MILLION in bearer bonds? After the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tax_Equity_and_Fiscal_Responsibility_Act_of_1982 Fiscal Responsibility Act]] was passed in 1982? After this revelation I'm not sure John [=McClane=] is killing the right people in this movie. I mean sure, Hans Gruber aand his crew are a bunch of murderous thieves, but what kind of shit is Nakatomi involved with?"
** If you listen to Gruber when he is talking to Takagi, he mentions that the amount represents only 3 or 4 ''days'' working capital for the corporation. Why they would keep it in bearer bonds, which is as good as cash, is what's a ''really'' bad decision.
** The bearer bonds are probably a holdover from the original novel the film is based on, where the terrorists are sincere rather than just pretending to be terrorists, and the corporation involved was profiting from arms dealing. In the movie itself the only hints that anything isn't on the up and up with Nakatomi are th scene where Hans admires the model, which is apparently a model of a Natatomi facility being built somewhere in the world that Takagi is possibly a little too quick to protest is all being built legally and without exploitation, and the bearer bonds themselves. At best, it hints at some sort of corporate tax dodging or embezzlement of some kind. At worst, it's trying to hide some kind of ill gotten profits by using an untraceable currency.

** Easy, Hans stated in the movie the true "treasure" they are looking behind Nakatomi´s safe is not money in regular paper nor the samurai armor and other japanese relics from Takagi´s personal collection XD, they are after the $640 millions in '''bearer''' bonds. This is an economic issue: bearer bonds are different from "normal" (registered) bonds since no records are kept of the buyer/owner, or the transactions made with them (like if you sell one of them to another private investor, even in a dark backalley), and they must be honored (paid) by the issuer up-front cash with no further questions. A smart move from Hans... (and this is why now bearer bonds are prohibited in most countries in the world, and all transactions with bonds and similar papers need to be registered, also as an anti-money laundering measure)