Die Hard (1988) Full Review

Film Scene Investigation

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00:00Hey everyone it's me Bo back again on the film scene investigation channel I hope everyone out

00:19there is doing good in today's video I'm gonna be reviewing the classic action movie Die Hard

00:28before we get into this review guys if you haven't already please do consider subscribing to the

00:35channel all the support is greatly appreciated so Die Hard from 1988 was directed by the talented

00:44John McTiernan and starred a young Bruce Willis in the lead role now as we're all aware this movie

00:52was a huge success at the box office and no doubt made a significant impact on pop culture from the

01:02amazing action sequences to the funny one-liners Die Hard remains universally loved among moviegoers

01:11now my first introduction to the Die Hard franchise came when I was about eight years old and I played

01:20the PS one game the Die Hard trilogy for the first time I was blown away by it and yeah totally fell

01:28in love with the game without knowing anything about the actual films themselves my cousin would

01:36later fill me in on how each singular game represented one of the three movies so yeah all I knew for a long

01:45time was that the first movie involved a skyscraper the second involved an airport and the third involved

01:55a New York taxi cab now I will admit I'm not a huge gamer I'm way more into films and music as you may

02:02have guessed but yeah you know when it came to the Die Hard trilogy I really did spend many hours trying to

02:09complete it I never did actually complete it but still got a lot of fond memories of playing the game

02:17it was only when I was like 14 or 15 did I finally get to see a Die Hard movie because I was so young

02:27at the time I couldn't just go down to blockbuster and rent it out so my only hope really was for the

02:35films to be aired on tv and because of this I actually ended up viewing the Die Hard movies backwards in

02:45reverse order so the first Die Hard that I saw was Die Hard with Vengeance the third installment in the

02:53franchise I love the movie I still love the movie and I think it's the best Die Hard sequel a few years

03:03after that I saw Die Hard 2 Die Harder when it was on tv not my favorite sequel but still a solid action movie

03:13and finally I saw the original Die Hard from 1988 when a friend lent me the dvd so in terms of the plot

03:25the movie followed the character John McClane played by Bruce Willis who traveled to Los Angeles

03:32to reunite with his wife after a difficult separation we saw McClane attend a Christmas party at the

03:42Nakatomi plaza where his wife worked but before they could reconcile their differences things turned ugly

03:51when a group of career criminals showed up and took everyone hostage the group who were led by the

03:58German Hans Gruber showed up ready to steal bearer bonds from the building's vault the guests were

04:06screaming they were panicking and in the midst of the chaos detective John McClane was able to slip away

04:15up a stairwell the movie then turned into this cat and mouse game between McClane and the criminals

04:24the group wanted the bearer bonds at all costs I mean there was no going back for them and so they

04:32decided to take on McClane first hand searching the building trying to find him now when it comes to Die Hard

04:41nobody can deny just how amazing the various action sequences were from the rooftop shootout to the

04:51C4 explosion down the elevator shaft I mean you know this was a extremely well made production and

05:01totally revitalized the action movie genre you know one of my favorite moments in the movie came when

05:08McClane got the fire hose and wrapped it around his waist like a rope I must say I'm not a big fan of heights

05:18so seeing McClane actually do that was um yeah quite difficult to watch for sure McClane had a lot more faith

05:29in that fire hose than I would have and talking of heights there was also that scene where McClane wedged

05:37his machine gun in the air vent as he lowered himself down the ventilator shaft McClane who had been

05:47surrounded by a group of men had no other choice but to climb down all of a sudden the strap broke

05:55leaving McClane to fall down the shaft in another nail biting moment in the film it was a very well

06:03directed sequence and kind of acted like a jump scare of sorts not only did McClane have to deal with

06:13Grouper's henchmen but he also had to battle against the conditions within the building it was almost like

06:20the Nakatomi Plaza acted like a character within the story rather than just a location but as I praised the

06:30film for its quality action sequences I must stress that Die Hard is definitely more than just an action

06:39film the film had something to say it definitely had a message for its audience so by looking at the

06:48narrative and seeing how the characters evolved throughout the story it's clear that Die Hard was

06:56actually a criticism of the corporate world in American society all of this centered around the character

07:06Holly McClane who was played by actress Bonnie Bedlier the film began with Holly who was a key figure

07:15in the Nakatomi corporation now separated from her husband due to her career decisions

07:23Holly was chasing the dream of becoming this high-flying businesswoman which obviously clashed with

07:31the normal traditions of family life she was gifted a Rolex watch from one of her colleagues as a thank you

07:41for her hard work the Nakatomi corporation was doing some great business and Holly was a key part of that success

07:51but you have to understand that the Rolex watch was more than just some throwaway product placement

07:59in actuality it was a symbolic representation of the corporate world Holly had chosen to work in

08:08she had attached herself to this world of corporations and corporate greed and was neglecting her family

08:17and you know let's not forget that Rolex watches are indeed a luxury item they're a statement for wealth and prosperity

08:28something that John McClane likely couldn't afford Holly had chosen this new life over her family and she was being

08:40being rewarded for it then fast forward to the final showdown between McClane and Gruber and the Rolex watch comes back into focus

08:51so Gruber was shot and fell through a glass panel

08:56but before he could fall to his death he grabbed hold of Holly's Rolex in a bid to bring her down with him

09:03but as we know McClane saved the day by unclasping the Rolex watch and freeing Holly

09:11you have to understand that McClane wasn't just physically freeing his wife from Gruber

09:19he was metaphorically freeing his wife from the corporate world she had been working in

09:25you know just look at Holly's priorities from the start and at the end of the film

09:31she wanted to be with her kids and her husband she didn't care about her job

09:38McClane didn't just save the day but the

09:43traditional family unit had been restored and

09:47yeah it was great to see

09:50over the years

09:52various media outlets have

09:55pushed this idea that

09:57women should choose careers over starting families

10:02while women should absolutely have the choice in what they want to do with their lives

10:09i don't feel that media institutions should push such

10:14detrimental lifestyle choices onto women that go against the nuclear family model

10:21luckily though a lot of those toxic media institutions are on their knees

10:28and they no longer hold the importance they once had

10:32when it comes to performances

10:35i thought Bruce Willis was a major highlight for the film

10:40with all of the praise and credit that Bruce Willis has received over the years

10:47i think it's totally deserved

10:51it was a very commanding role playing John McClane

10:54and Willis nailed the part perfectly

10:58from his natural charismatic charm

11:02to his tough guy sensibilities

11:04the John McClane character became an iconic figure in the action movie genre

11:12so getting into Willis's mindset

11:15he knew that this was his big opportunity

11:18and that he couldn't fail

11:21so he worked extremely hard in making the film the success it later became

11:27the only downside to all of this was that Bruce Willis's performance as John McClane

11:35in the subsequent sequels definitely declined in quality

11:40especially the later films Die Hard 405

11:45which in my eyes should never have been made

11:49the English actor Alan Rigman also was rather brilliant in his role as the villain Hans Gruber

11:57he was the perfect counterpart for McClane

12:01a smartly dressed man

12:04well educated and ruthless

12:07i really like the fact that Gruber never lost his cool

12:12he was always kind of in control

12:14even when McClane was spoiling his plans

12:18when the police and FBI eventually showed up outside the tower

12:23Gruber

12:24Gruber skillfully manipulated them all into believing that the siege

12:29was some sort of political communist movement

12:34he totally fooled them and yeah it was great to see

12:39Rickman of course went on to have a stellar career in the industry

12:45before passing away in 2016

12:48while the actor has had many memorable roles

12:52for me his performance as Hans Gruber is my favourite

12:57now this movie spawned the phrase yippie-ki-yay

13:02which of course was John McClane's catchphrase that he used throughout the series

13:07and while it's a good line for McClane to say

13:11i've always thought that Hans Gruber's yippie-ki-yay was far superior

13:17at the end of the movie

13:19Gruber said the line to McClane before attempting to shoot him

13:23and yeah it was uh the perfect delivery

13:27it went something like

13:30yippie-ki-yay

13:32motherfucker

13:34yeah the best yippie-ki-yay in a series for me

13:38and um it was just a shame that Gruber's brother didn't say it in the sequel Die Hard of Vengeance

13:45and you know when I think about it

13:48the whole film consisted of a brilliant ensemble cast of actors

13:55from Paul Gleeson to Robert Davie

13:59all of the actors brought their a-game to the project

14:03which no doubt strengthened the film's overall quality

14:08massive praise to the casting director Jackie Birch

14:13for her amazing contributions to the film

14:17and so dislikes for Die Hard from 1988

14:24my biggest dislike for the film would have to be the killing of the henchman Kyle

14:32so in the final moments just when you thought the danger had ended

14:38Kyle appeared with a machine gun ready to shoot McClane

14:43but before Kyle could execute McClane in front of everyone

14:48he was shot by Sergeant Powell who was played by actor Reggie Vell Johnson

14:54it was a dramatic moment for sure seeing Powell come to the rescue

14:59but I just didn't think it was needed

15:03it was a little too on the nose for me you know everyone just standing around as Kyle

15:09pointed the machine gun and you know where did he come from anyway

15:13you know I thought he was dead when he got hung up by McClane earlier

15:17so uh yeah I just thought the whole thing was um a little too much

15:22honestly it just wasn't needed and I wish they had removed that whole scene from the final cut

15:32and so ratings for Die Hard from 1988

15:37I'm going to be rating this movie a strong 8 out of 10

15:42Die Hard without a doubt is one of the very best action movies American cinema has ever produced

15:50it paved the way for the action movies from the 90s

15:56and it was considered the greatest action film before Terminator 2 was released in 1991

16:03like I mentioned earlier the movie deserved all the hype and success it received

16:10sometimes I've come across popular movies that I thought have been awful

16:16but not the case with Die Hard Bruce Willis's strong performance as the down-to-earth cop who gets caught up in this crazy hostage situation

16:31made for some gripping drama and while the stunt work and spectacular pyrotechnics were very impressive

16:40it never overshadowed the narrative everything served its purpose

16:46so

16:50if that's what I do

17:00I've heard about the story

17:01I've heard about the story

17:03that you can change as the true story

17:06I can't remember the story

17:09I can't remember the story

17:11but I'm not sure

17:13I've heard about the story

17:14You

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