ALL SCI-FI

[Bud Brewster]

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The Die Hard movies still remain some of the best action/adventure films in Hollywood history.

Bruce Willis has starred in five movies over a 25 year period — an impressive feat! (Not to mention his impressive feet in the first one! )

I submit that the series has treated us to an amazing amount imagination and originality, especially for a group of films which remained true to a simple premise — a lone hero who faces terrible odds to defeat ruthless enemies that completely outnumber and outgun him.

Admittedly, John McClane's police-issued automatic seems to rarely need reloading — and when it does, we're never quite sure where the new clip come from. McClane just seems to "pulls them out of his ass" (so to speak) and keep right on blasting away!

To be fair, however, McClane never misses a chance to pick up a weapon from a bad guy he's just killed and use it until it needs reloading . . . at which time he kills another bad guy and gets a new weapon. (Fortunately the bad guys always seem to die while holding weapons with full clips. )

Anyway, here's a brief refresher course on each of the Die Hard movies so you can make an "informed choice" in the poll above. Please do your civic duty and vote!

(And remember, tax evasion is a serious crime. Just a semi-related thought, guys . . . )
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Die Hard (1988) hasn't aged a bit in 32 years! It still delivers a slam-bang action story which keeps the audience on the edge of their seats.

The basic premise is brilliant. John McClane is trapped in a high-rise office builder and pitted against a band of ruthless mercenaries while desperately trying to rescue his beloved wife.

Bruce Willis' heroic character combines bravery, intelligence, and a rye sense of humor while suffering frequent injuries . . . including bare feet sliced up by broken glass.

Reginald VelJohnson's portrayal of the supportive beat cop who understands what McClane is going through (even though his clueless superiors do not) is a brilliant way to give the audience a second hero to admire.

As good as the four sequels which followed are, the original movie sets the bar so high that all the rest can only hope to be "as good" or just "pretty close".

_____________________ Die Hard - Trailer #1


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The first sequel did two very smart things: it boldly repeated certain elements of the original, but it also dialed up the drama with a larger group of villains . . . some of whom start out as apparent "good guys" but suddenly turn out to be yet another group of treasonous terrorist!

____________ DIE HARD 2: Die Harder - TRAILER


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The second sequel opens up the stage considerably and sends McClane off on a "scavenger hunt" all over New York City, aided by a reluctant companion who is compelled to join McClane only because he shares John's commitment to save the lives being threatened by the terrorist villains.

Despite the fact that this installment is highly enjoyable, it has (in my opinion) a climax which falls short of the ones we get in the first two movies.

__________ Die Hard 3: With A Vengeance Trailer


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Justin Long is perfectly cast as John McClane's brilliant-but-nervous young companion, a computer whiz that John needs to save the world from cyber-terrorists who plan to destroy civilization, despite the best efforts of the FBI's Cyber Crime Division.

The plot is packed with fascinating (but troubling) facts about how dependent we are on computers and how vulnerable the world is to disaster if the internet is controlled by a ruthless group who can manipulate it.

_____________ Die Hard 4: Live Free Or Die Hard


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I haven't seen this one in quite a while, so I had to borrow the synopsis from IMDB.

IMDB: John McClane travels to Russia to help out his seemingly wayward son, Jack — only to discover that Jack is a CIA operative working undercover, causing the father and son to team up against underworld forces.

__________________ Die Hard 5 Official Trailer


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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[ralfy]

‘Die Hard isn’t just a Christmas movie — it’s the best ever, according to its Hollywood distributor"

[Bud Brewster]

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Well, I prefer to watch White Christmas each December . . . .

. . . but I must admit, guys, that a double feature of Die Hard and Die Hard 2 fills me with Christmas cheer each year and reminds me that Peace on Earth and Good Will Towards Men can only be achieved if guys like John McClane blow the hell out of evil bastards and allows us to toast our chestnuts over an open fire without worrying about terrorist who want to spoil the holidays by killing us.
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[Krel]

"Die Hard" was originally suppose to be a sequel to "The Detective", both the novel and movie. The part was offered to Frank Sinatra, as he starred in "The Detective", but he was 70 years old, and turned the part down. If they had made the movie ten years earlier, then maybe he might have accepted the role.

Other stars offered the part were Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone, Richard Gere, Clint Eastwood, Harrison Ford, Burt Reynolds, Nick Nolte, Mel Gibson, Don Johnson, Richard Dean Anderson, and Paul Newman. At the time Bruce Willis was riding high on "Moonlighting", and the show was on hiatus due to Cybil Shepherd's pregnancy. This allowed him to accept the role, where he was paid FIVE MILLION DOLLARS! That was unheard of for an actor that had starred in just one other movie. It was also wondered why, after paying such a large salary, Bruce Willis's name wasn't used in any of the advertising.

To get the look of shock on Alan Rickman, they dropped him from the top of the soundstage onto an airbag. They told him that they would drop him on a count of three. The dropped him on one.

Much as I like Samuel Jackson in "Die Hard With A Vengeance", I wish that they'd had McClane partnered with William Atherton's reporter character from the first two films.

David.

[Bud Brewster]

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David, I admire your ability to think outside-the-box — but in this case, the box (for you) seems to be somewhere in the next state!

The idea of having hero John McClane and total jackass Richard Thornburg somehow bond as "brothers in arms" is — to put it mildly — a misguided idea!

Add to this the fact that the important racial tension between the two character would be eliminated — to the story's detriment.

The racial tension between McClane and Zues (Mr. Jackson) was beautifully done.

But your substitution of a white, clueless, egotistical reporter (which we all loved-to-hate in the first two movies) as McClane's heroic partner in this great adventure frankly makes no sense at all!

I'm sorry, David, but you don't seem to get this movie at all.
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)