Review of Die Hard (1988) by Russell G — 18 Aug 2015
Not only is this is a pure action movie classic; it is one of the best of all time. Countless movies over the next 20 years follow the Die Hard formula, but none of them come close to matching it. This was a springboard for Bruce Willis.
It took him from TV acting and playing small parts in movies to mega-stardom. Over the years, Willis goes on to star in numerous notable movies, but this is what people best remember him for. Bruce Willis is so great in this kind of role because he does not have to act.
His natural personality is charming, sarcastically humorous, expressive, and exemplifies absolute tough-guy. He is versatile in terms of what roles he fits into, but his characters inevitably become him, rather than an actor portraying a character.
While that may not define great acting, it does make him ideal for this movie. He is not over-analyzing a simple movie or forcing it to be more than it is; he is comfortable as himself. When the fit is right, like this, it adds intensity and authenticity to types of movies that are hard to validate.
Alan Rickman as the infamous terrorist, Hans Gruber is equally amazing. The movie is truly exciting and keeps you at the edge of your seat with excellent effects, camera work, fight scenes, memorable stunts, and gunfights.
The characters are simple but have enough depth and development to make them matter. As far as the gun firing, high-octane action genre goes this one stands above the rest.
This review of Die Hard (1988) was written by Russell G on 18 Aug 2015.
Die Hard has generally received very positive reviews.
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