Die Hard

The best action movie ever. An avalanche of catchphrases, inventive set-pieces and witty interactions between the characters that we immediately find our way to. Compared to John Woo's equally crammed shakes, Die Hard has the benefit of being more physically painful, more motivationally compelling and, despite the necessary overkill, more believable. Bruce Willis in the role of a lifetime to which he has devoted his soul. A delight. (04/27/2011)

The film has an ingenious script, whose basic storyline axis has been done a thousand times, but which has never quite lived up to its quality. Then there’s McTiernan's inventive direction that has drive that is so uncompromising that he actually set the bar so high that no one (including himself) has ever surpassed it. There’s also the Christmas Eve atmosphere when it all went to shit, and Bruce Willis in the role of a lifetime as a tired and determined cop who spouts plenty of catchphrases. All of the aforementioned are the cornerstones of not only this film but of the action genre as a whole, which has never been better on screen since Die Hard. Two hours of ecstasy in the most luxurious packaging that only a dull ignoramus can't love! (09/24/2006)

A classic of the action genre. It’s brilliant, but it’s undeniable it was the first. Even Bruce Willis as the main hero was something new at that time and basically defined a new era of modern action heroes. From that moment on, there was no longer a 100-ton machine with machine guns in both hands eliminating hundreds of villains without a scratch. Now he had to be a cool likeable character who often paid for his recklessness with a drop of blood. John McTiernan, the director, was probably under the influence of some drugs because later (especially now), he would make one trash after another and he will probably never be able to return to the quality of his first films, neither in terms of form nor content (a genre pioneer). (04/20/2007)

Die Hard is the ultimate action blockbuster. I saw it when I was just a little kid and I remember thinking how cool Bruce was. And then I didn’t watch it again until fifteen years later, forgetting quite a lot of scenes. I thought that this wouldn’t do, so I came back to this movie. When I was little, I couldn’t fully grasp my own emotions, but now I know that I fell in love with John McClane back then. (02/02/2013)

Text: The textbook example of a high-quality and entertaining action spectacle. John McClane is quite possibly the most stylish American action hero ever. He detonates explosives, goes through ammo magazines like on a conveyor belt, runs barefoot on broken glass, crawls through ventilation shafts, rescues hostages, smokes one cigarette after another, throws lifeless bodies of villains onto police cars, dresses up corpses in Santa Claus suits - and yet through it all, he never loses his sense of humor and always adds a witty line to lighten the mood. Bruce Willis rightfully belongs among the fundamental action archetypes of the last century. He is natural, charismatic, and within two hours, he bombards you with a torrent of legendary lines that would make for a pretty long YouTube compilation. But Die Hard is not just about Willis' one-man show - not at all. The other supporting characters here fulfill their roles excellently, especially the absolutely brilliant Alan Rickman in the role of Hans Gruber. This is exactly how a textbook main villain for this type of film should look like. I have never been a hardcore fan of action movies, and I probably never will be, but I definitely enjoy films like Die Hard. It is truly one of the most cult films of all time. (01/08/2020)