Die Hard (4 Stars)

Do you know what's worse than having a pain in your leg that's so bad you can hardly walk? It's having a pain in your leg that's so bad you can hardly walk and not knowing why. This morning everything was fine. Then I lay down and had a nap after dinner. When I woke up I had a stabbing pain in my leg every time I tried to walk, on the inside of my left calf. After I watched this film tonight it still hurts, and it's even worse now.

You must think I'm a cry baby. John McClane has it much worse than me in "Die Hard". He had to walk barefoot on broken glass, so he had a reason for his pain. He didn't sit and moan about it to his friends on the Internet, so he's a bigger man than me.

Let me stop whining and tell you about the film. I'd never seen it before today. My good friend Michael McAuley mentioned on Facebook that it's a family tradition for him watch it at Christmas. I'd heard of the film, but I didn't even know it's a Christmas film. It's on Netflix, so I decided to ignore the pain and watch it tonight. I was pleased to see that the whole film takes place on December 24th, today's date, so it's appropriate.

The film was made in 1988, and we can assume that's when it takes place. Bruce Willis plays John McClane, a New York cop living in separation from his wife Holly. She was offered a top job in the Los Angeles office of a Japanese corporation, and she decided that her career was more important than her marriage. We can read between the lines that John's career was also more important than his marriage, or he would have gone with her. Maybe he was just too macho to ask for a transfer because of his wife's job. In our patriarchal society it's acceptable for women to move when their husbands find a new job, but men who move when their wives find a new job are considered to be weak and henpecked.

John flies to Los Angeles on December 24th. That evening there's a big Christmas party at Holly's place of work, a tower building belonging to the Nakatomi corporation. While he's cleaning himself up, having a wash after his long flight, the tower building is invaded by a group of terrorists under the leadership of a German called Hans Gruber. Even though they're terrorists, the intention of attacking the building isn't a terrorist plot. They merely want to steal $640 million worth in bonds stored in the building's safe. (That's $1,340 million in today's money).

As the only person not taken hostage John McClane fights against the terrorists, picking them off one by one.

As far as action films go, this is a pure popcorn movie. My heart was pumping with excitement from beginning to end. "Die Hard" is considered one of the best action movies ever made, and I can see why. I've rated it as a good film (4 Stars), but I don't think it's a film I want to watch again, or at least not for a long time. The four sequels are also on Netflix, and I've already added them to my watch list. It's just a question when I'll get round to them, among the dozens of films I intend to watch or re-watch over the next few months.

Success Rate:  + 3.0

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