Die Hard

Bullseyes:  ④ (out of 5)

My wife couldn’t believe I’d never seen this ‘classic’.  And, seeing as though cinemaclock reviewers gave it a 9.1 and it was the middle of the Xmas vacation where there’s nothing else to do, I pretty much had to go. And, Yippee Ki Ay - I’m glad I did!

It’s been 26 years since Die Hard was released so a plot summary should be superfluous - right?  If not I’ll just borrow my 11 year old daughter’s brief summation:

‘It’s like Towering Inferno meets Taken.  With Bruce Willis’.

The best part of movies like Die Hard is that they don’t take themselves too seriously.  First off the terrorists are mostly white and European – as if! These are folks you’re more likely to meet in a boardroom, on a beach or in a weight room.  And the cops are all bumbling idiots, which is always fun to see.  And there are many classic comedy moments.  Like the gun toting hoodlum stealing a candy bar as he prepares to mow down the incoming special forces.  Or the on-going references to Twinkies.

Bruce Willis might be mostly B-Movie bound these days but he always seems to be giving a wink to the camera and that’s fine by me.

Yippee Ki Yay Mother *****!