Review of Krepkiy Oreshek (1968) by Xgary X — 08 Jul 2013

When terrorists take the staff of a hi tec skyscraper hostage during a Christmas Eve party, a lone New York cop trapped in the building with them fights for survival while trying to foil their plans. Die Hard was a watershed moment in the evolution of the action movie, and was genre defying in that the heroes usually tended to have everything under control in action movies previous to this, while a blood soaked and desperate John McClane always seems one step away from defeat.

This makes for some very suspenseful action and Willis' charismatic performance rightly elevated him to mega stardom. It has its faults, namely in the soapy back story of he and his wife and especially the ridiculous nonsense about his would be partner Al and his holstered pistol.

These are minor points however as the quips are funny, the action beautifully choreographed and its a thrill ride that has dated surprisingly well. One of THE classic action movies.