TTPOC #3: Movie Review: Die Hard (1988) (Recut)

When her company expands to the west coast, working mother Holly McClane makes a decision that ends up tearing her family apart. Chasing a promotion into the California wilds, with her children in tow, Holly leaves New York and her husband to the icy draft of her exit. Months pass. The separation wears their marriage to a fine dust. Between all of the arguments and painful bursts of truth, Holly begins to doubt if they can ever rekindle what was.


Christmas Eve comes. Arrives in California with a cool breeze: A man, a stuffed bear, and the unease of doing what's right. The cards are stacked. Will the hero sweep her off her feet? Or will his foot and mouth reconnect to ruin the only chance he has left? Has too much time elapsed? Has she found someone new? Is there any hope at all?

Die Hard (1988) is the heartwarming story of a police detective from New York City traveling three thousand miles to rejoin his family for the holiday season. Tested by an active Christmas Eve evening, filled with all the glamor and horror of a holiday business party, one father, one husband, one man, must walk through the shards of hell to save what matters most.


Bruce Willis stars as John McClane, a tough-talking cop who will stop at nothing to see his family brought back together. Filled with enough emotional highs and lows to fill a roomful of stockings, Die Hard is the Christmas gift that won't quit. Whether it is the look in Holly's eyes as she sees him for the first time in months, or the look on John's face as an inferno rush of heat comes to blush his cheeks at a fleeting moment of triumph, it's hard to keep from melting to the wonder and majesty of this Romantic fantasy.

With an outstanding supporting cast, including Bonnie Bedelia as Holly, Reginald VelJohnson as the likable angel on John's shoulder, and Alan Rickman as the chief rival to the lover's reunion, Die Hard is much more than your run-of-the-mill romantic dramas. It is an all-time classic of the genre.

Directed by John McTiernan, who packs every second with the right blend of warmth and tension, the film plays every note to perfection, even the surprise ending (that really can't be explained rationally), and keeps the screen packed with all the elements that made Hollywood great.

While some may throw about the term "chick-flick" or just label it as just another Christmas movie, let it be known that it is so much more than that. Die Hard is the very definition of the Christmas spirit. It's about family coming together. It's about finding all the joy missing from life, and it comes neatly packaged in two hours of bliss.


The film reminds us of the good in the world. It reminds us of the strength it sometimes takes to get what we need most in life. It reminds us that in the end, through hard work and the right attitude, we may be victorious.

Die Hard is a must-see for the season.


For Its Genre: Awesome.
Overall: Awesome.