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Die Hard

1/12/2016

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Picture

Genre: Action
Rating: 18
​Warnings: Gore

A Christmas film; this isn't obvious before you see it, but it's set at Christmas and the festive time of year does play a part in the plot and in the dialogue. It balances that gap between the completely unrelated to Christmas Bond films and kids films that play every December and the highly Christmassy twee films that have no un-Christmas themes.

I have been waiting all year to see this, and despite my excitement for the action, it was the plot that really made it exceed my expectations.

Yes, I did say plot. Despite all the hyper-action fans and their descriptions of the explosions, this is an intelligent action film. The silly over the top action doesn't happen from the beginning, and builds up over time for maximum enjoyment. The hyper-action is a release from the tension of the first half.
Bruce Willis is a fantastic action actor, and leads us through the film with his shooting and scheming as the smart and scrappy cop John McClane. He stays a step ahead of the criminals and unafraid to blow up a lift shaft and throw a dead criminal out of a window, but we also see some of his home life. He loves his wife but has been having some trouble with her career, he loves his kids, and he is truly upset by every innocent death. Willis gives us violence and the deadpan "yippee ki-yay, motherfucker" but also gives us subtle facial expressions.

The late, great acting sensation Alan Rickman graces the screen with him as the completely evil villain, Hans Gruber. He brings his well crafted lack of emotion and creates an ice cold portrayal of villainy for a character who kills without thought and fakes a massive terrorist hostage situation to steal six million dollars. His sheer talent is clear in every film he's in, but this was his most well known role before, and possibly the reason he was chosen for, Severus Snape in the Harry Potter films.

The 18 rating comes mostly from the swearing and shooting, though there are some moments of gore. As the action ramps up, McClane shoots one of the criminals legs out from under him, his knees turned into basic gunshot wounds in a painful looking moment. There's something about joints that makes even bad guy film injuries give you that ouch flinch.

There's also an intense moment where, after Gruber meets the barefoot McClane and so shoots out the windows surrounding the hidden cop, Willis stumbles into a bathroom with a trail of bloody footprint behind him. It only gets worse as we actually see his foot onscreen as he pulls glass from his skin. You'll know when to look away if you're squeamish and it doesn't cut back to his foot, although his bloody bandaged feet are present from then on.

Merry Christmas and Bah Humbug; however you feel, it's Christmas in the Nagatomi building and it's nearly Christmas in real life. Time to watch Die Hard, especially if you're like I was and had never seen this utter phenomenon of a film before.
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