DIE HARD, the classic 1988 audience rousing actioner, fulfilled its mission in several ways. Considered a risk, with an unproven star in the lead and over $30,000,000 invested, it defeated sneering critics and became the year’s 7th biggest hit, grossing $83,000,000 in the hero-thirsting homeland and $57,700,000 more internationally, the outer world acknowledging that America could always be relied upon to kick cinematic keister. Its technical prowess earned Oscar nominations for Film Editing, Visual Effects, Sound and Sound Effects Editing. Though the holiday setting and jokes didn’t start the Anti/Alternate Christmas Movie category it pretty much set the thematic idea in cold cash stone, allowing people to both embrace and smirk at traditional family Yuletide viewing. And for the previously dismissed lead, 32-year-old Bruce Willis, it served as a career linchpin, propelling him into front rank status and securing him a four sequel slice of Franchiseland, and while they didn’t measure up to the opener, they at least were more fun than the retreads for Superman, Rambo, Lethal Weapon and Beverly Hills Cop. *

“Who’s driving this car, Stevie Wonder?’

A Christmas party held at the Los Angeles skyscraper headquarters of the ‘Nakatomi Corporation’ is lethally interrupted by radical-turned-ripoff ‘Hans Gruber’ (Alan Rickman), and a select team of eleven ruthless, heavily armed associates. Demanding $640,000,000 in bearer bonds they’re calmly ready to off hostages. To their decimating detriment (or extreme prejudice) one of those taken happens to be the wife of a veteran NYPD detective named ‘John McClane’ (Willis), who has shown up to try and mend fences with ‘Holly’ (Bonnie Bedelia), his now captive spouse. Though the local police, the FBI and the press arrive, it’s McClane who faces off against the terror team. He’s alone, wounded and outgunned, but Holly’s in there: smug Hans and his mean pals will feel the pain of ‘One Man’.

HANS: “Mr. Mystery Guest? Are you still there?”   JOHN: “Yeah, I’m still here. Unless you wanna open the front door for me.”  HANS: “Uh, no, I’m afraid not. But, you have me at a loss. You know my name but who are you? Just another American who saw too many movies as a child? Another orphan of a bankrupt culture who thinks he’s John Wayne? Rambo? Marshal Dillon?”  JOHN: “Was always kinda partial to Roy Rogers actually. I really like those sequined shirts.”  HANS: “Do you really think you have a chance against us, Mr. Cowboy?”  JOHN: “Yippee-ki-yay, motherfucker.”

John McTiernan (Predator, The Hunt For Red October) directed, keeping the 132 minutes cruising for bruises with bare pauses for breath, the exciting action sequences and special effects balanced by snappy quipping and vivid characterizations. The script by Jeb Stuart (The Fugitive) and Steven E. de Souza (48 Hours) freely adapted the 256 page novel “Nothing Lasts Forever”, published nine years earlier by Roderick Thorp, a sequel to his “The Detective” which made a hit flick for Frank Sinatra back in 1967. Though 20th Century Fox was contractually obligated to Sinatra, Frank at 72 was too old to holster up as a viable action hero and wisely declined. Nearly every male star in town turned down the part before Willis was selected, the suits taking a gamble (and paying him a record five million smacks); known for TVs jokey Moonlighting, his first two features (Blind Date and Sunset) were duds. Instinct (and maybe some desperation) paid off, as he was the perfect choice for the character, not a Arnold/Sylvester uber-hulk type but instead a brawny but mortal common man; vulnerable, worried, cynical enough to be funny with wisecracks but ferocious enough to convince during the fights. **

“Nine million terrorists in the world and I gotta kill one with feet smaller than my sister.”

TV and stage actor Rickman, 41, made his feature debut here: his dryly sophisticated, Euro-chilly Hans Gruber (once more Germany gets tagged) is a classic villain and his film career surged with essential parts in Robin Hood: Prince Of Thieves, Galaxy Quest, the Harry Potter octet, Love Actually and Bottle Shock. And he almost turned down the role! Nailing enjoyable work in support are Reginald VelJohnson (‘Sgt. Al Powell, the LA cop who pitches in), Paul Gleason (smarmy deputy chief ‘Dwayne Robinson’), William Atherton (jerk reporter ‘Thornburg’), De’voreaux White (‘Argyle’, freewheeling limo driver) and Alexander Godunov (‘Karl’, Hans surly #2 man).

As with so many movies, the initial critical reaction showed just how little many supposed experts really get about what they’re seeing: time has been much better to Die Hard than to their reputations. Likewise, since it did so well with the masses, it’s also been over-analyzed to death, with every aspect of the screenplay parsed to discern what it ‘really meant’ about—take your pick—identity, men, redemption, violence, America, Christmas, yadda yadda…jeez, just can the blather and drop the guilt over the spectacular explosions, wild stunts, clobbering of bad guys, and ask yourself if you would scamper barefoot over glass and come up with a one-liner to suit?

“Alas, your Mr. Takagi did not see it that way… so he won’t be joining us for the rest of his life.”

With Hart Bochner (coked-up “Bubby” spewer), Clarence Gilyard Jr., James Shigeta (the unfortunate ‘Mr. Takagi’), Dennis Hayden, Al Leong and Robert Davi.

* Sons of a Bruce—Die Hard 2 (1990), Die Hard With A Vengeance (1995), Live Free Or Die Hard (2007) and A Good Day To Die Hard (2013).  Kicking Cousins—the 90s unloaded Under Siege (“Die Hard on a battleship”), Cliffhanger (“Die Hard on a mountain”), Speed (“Die Hard on a bus”), and Con Air and Air Force One (“Die Hard on a plane”).

** McTiernan—“My principle concern going into this was that it was a story that concerned terrorists, and terrorist movies are usually mean, filled with all sorts of mean, nasty acts. And I didn’t say yes to this project until we figured out some ways to put, in essence, some joy in it. A number of decisions that show up over and over again, were all on that basic theme of: how do we take the meanness out of a terrorist story and turn it into something that is essentially summer entertainment?”

Let Bruce Do It/Suffering For Your Art—when loud blank ammo charges went off too close to his ear, Willis received permanent hearing loss. Though his career had its share of clunkers and ultimately came to a sad finish, after this winner he showed ample amounts of The Right Stuff in, among others, Pulp Fiction, 12 Monkeys, The Sixth Sense, Unbreakable, Bandits, The Siege, Tears Of The Sun and Sin City.