Die hard
Language : English / German
Year of release : 1988
Run time : 2h12m
Genre : Action / Thriller
Cast : Bruce Willis, Alan Rickman
The movie is based on the 1979 novel 'Nothing lasts forever' by Roderick Thorp, and has 4 sequels, video games, comics and other merchandise .
John McClane is landing in Los Angeles the day before Christmas, visiting his estranged wife, who's not wearing his name anymore, and 2 children. Her boss hired him a limousine driver for the evening to take him to their firm's Christmas party.
After meeting her boss and colleague, he decides to clean up a bit to join the party.
Just then, outside, a group of terr0rists take over the building, looking for his wife's boss, in order to get from him the code they need to unlock his safe.
Seeing what's going on, John decides to hide inside the building, trying to call the police, who at first don't believe him, and starts fighting the bad guys on his own.
I personally didn't get the hype around this movie, as it kinda bored me. Most of the characters were unlikeable, like the detective and the FBI agents, who think they know best, but really don't, as they are incompetent, John's wife's c0kehead colleague, and the reporter and his team.
The villains seem to be European, speaking mostly German, but also a bit of Italian and French. They were a letdown as I thought they wanted something more than somebody else's money..
Bruce Willis' role was turned down by Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone. Bruce Willis was paid 5 million dollars at the time for the part, becoming one of the best paid actors in Hollywood, attracting controversy as the industry pros thought the movie would do poorly with Willis attached to it. Some marketing materials even took Willis out of it.
Ironically, the movie made more than 141 million dollars at the box office against a budget of 35 million,being the highest grossing action movie and 10th grossing movie of 1988, elevating Willis to the leading man status and Rickman to a celebrity, getting 4 Oscar nominations!
The movie is considered one of the best Christmas movies of all time, although it was released in July.
The movie is preserved in the National Film Registry since 2017, as it was deemed significant by the USA Library Of Congress.
The actors were good.
The soundtrack was so and so, at times I liked it - like when they played music based on Christmas carols, and when they played 'Ode to Joy' (fragment from his IXth symphony) by Beethoven, when the villains opened the safe.
The movie is free on FXNow, 30 days free on Amazon Prime and Prime Video with Ads, 7 days free on FuboTv, on YouTubeTv with subscription, and for rent / sale on Amazon, AppleTv, Fandango at Home.
Rating : Worth a watch !