Die Hard launched Bruce Willis to action stardom; it changed the way action heroes were depicted. Prior to Die Hard action stars were full of muscle and detached from real people. The character of John McClane fundamentally altered this; he was almost a normal person (aside from being a cop), and his reaction to the terrorist siege of the Nakatomi Plaza saw him shout, scream and look disturbed by the level of violence. There have now been 5 films, spanning 25 years; the franchise has avoided continuity errors and pandering to profiteering demands, but has turned McClane into a quasi-Bond figure. Willis has hinted that he would portray the character a sixth time, but the franchise has gone from a heroic figure thwarting a robbery into one where he has prevented a crippling cyber attack and global terror threats with weapons-grade uranium. The absurd plots and extensions to McClane have seen the franchise go from almost believable to utterly unrealistic. Die Hard II pushed the limits, with McClane being the victim of a second terrorist plot at Christmas time, but Die Hard III and IV were simply generic and unnecessary; the character was not developed any further, and aside from the joy of hearing Yippee-Ki-Yay accompanied by some kind of explosion, nothing much changes. The franchise has turned McClane into the very essence that the character had opposed; he is no longer an ordinary man, he is the archetypal hero, determined to save the world with as many gunshots, car chases, explosions and punches as he can get.
A 21 year old History graduate looking for someone to listen to his ramblings. Lover of comic books, movies and all other superhero related things. Published in The Independent, always looking for interesting things to write about...Follow me on Twitter at @samclements1993, and check out my blog: http://samuelclements.wordpress.com/
