Die Hard is one of the best action movies ever made. Bruce Willis plays a cop who winds up single-handedly fighting a group of terrorists that take over his wife’s office building during their Christmas party. This also makes Die Hard the most awesome Christmas movie ever made.
Several things to know about this movie:
- Alan Rickman is a badass (don’t use that word). Hans Gruber is one of the best all-time movie villains.
- The movie was so successful, not only did it spawn its own franchise of sequels, but it gave rise to an entire genre of movies trying to replicate this theme. Examples: Speed (Die Hard on a bus), Under Siege (Die Hard on a boat), Executive Decision (Die Hard on an airplane), Titanic (Die Hard on an iceberg), etc. If you want to make your dad proud, come up with a new concept for a Die Hard ripoff- maybe Die Hard on a tricycle?
- Whenever you come across this movie playing on basic cable, which will be often, you have to watch however much is left all the way to the end. It’s a moral obligation and a matter of family honor.
- Die Hard *made* Bruce Willis. Before Die Hard, he was best known for a wise-cracking leading man on a show called Moonlighting with Cybil Shepard. Who is Cybil Shepard, you ask? Exactly. That’s why Die Hard is awesome. It saved Bruce Willis from Cybil Shepard-esque obscurity and made him an action movie god.
Fun bit of family trivia… My parents took me to see Die Hard when it first came out in movie theaters. I was way too young at the time to see an R-rated movie – this was my first. I’m so glad they did. It’s like a badge of honor now.