50 Reasons Why Die Hard Is The Greatest Action Movie Of All Time

45. It Has A Brilliant Main Villain

Die Hard Pic 5 7 minutes. That€™s how long it takes from us first seeing Alan Rickman€™s Hans Gruber unveiled in a truck, to his first line to the terrified workers at the Christmas party. That€™s the problem with movie villains these days, far too showy and chatty (blame Tarantino), but not our Hans. Gruber is calm, collected and always waiting for his moment. In a bunch of terrifying-looking psychos, he€™s the most chilling €“ because you really don€™t want to be around when a model of restraint like that loses it. Patient, well-spoken (I love the way he says €˜ladies and gentlemen€™ twice) and with the most murderous of smiles... and he€™s got the best looking evil facial hair since Ming the Merciless.

44. The Sex Scene Is Actually Quite Clever

Die Hard 8 Even the naughtiest bits of Die Hard are well thought out. Making full use of that 18 certificate, it wouldn€™t be an 80€™s action film without a bit of nudity. Thankfully, Die Hard manages to both include the stereotype and dispense of it almost immediately as two office workers are unceremoniously pulled out of an office. It€™s another moment, laden with symbolism with the excesses of the corporate lifestyle rudely interrupted by an even bigger set of mercenaries. Or it could just be a chance to flash some knockers of course. I guess you get from a film what you want to bring to it. Die Hard is very much aware of the time it was made, and what the upwardly mobile society had done to the American. It€™s a theme reflected in the character of Ellis all Rolex and cocaine. He€™s the ultimate yuppie: arrogant, self-centred and, as we discover, totally disposable.

43. Going Down... Going Up

Die Hard 9 Two lovely moments as Gruber makes his way down to get the password from Mr Takagi. Firstly, humming his own lift music as he heads down in the lift is just great. Funny, and scary, it€™s a gorgeous calm before the storm. Second, as he enters the meeting room, a lovely quick shot of Hans standing next to a model of the very building he€™s in. Lovely symbolism, he€™s like a big English/German Godzilla standing next to his prey. All he needs to be a perfect villain now is to show a bit of true nastiness...

42. Classic Dialogue #1

Die Hard 10 Frankly, I could probably have filled this list with just great lines from the film, but I€™m going to limit myself to just 10. While others came before, Die Hard feels like the first film to get the balance between serious action and one-liners right. It€™s not sledgehammer Arnold, or winking at the camera Roger Moore, this is just smart, sassy dialogue done at the right time. Plus the villains get some crackers too. So first up, one of my favourite exchanges as Gruber attempts to get the vault codes:
Hans: "I€™m going to count to three. There will not be a four. Give me the code. One. Two. Three..." Mr Takagi: "I don't know it, I'm telling you. Get on the jet to Tokyo and ask the chairman, I'm telling you. You're just going to have to kill me." Hans: "OK."
A gun shot, a head explodes and the glass is decorated in blood. Blimey, it really is an 18 certificate, huh?

41. A Ruddy Big Fight In Under 30 Seconds

Die Hard 11 OK, the villains have shown their credentials, it€™s time for John McClane to finally show us what he€™s made of, with the first terrorist battle against Tony. And the lack of technique in the fight emphasises for us again that John is just a normal guy - albeit a tough one. It€™s not about big muscles, kung fu or handy props to smash people over the head with. It€™s all about smashing into walls, clattering into steel pipes, falling down the stairs and finishing with a broken neck €“ all in the space of just a few seconds. Swift and brutal, it€™s the sort of fight you imagine could take place in a pub car park on a Friday night. But in this case it€™s the first of 12 terrorists down. As far as first impressions go, it€™s a doozy.
Contributor
Contributor

I'm a Westcountry exile now living in Yorkshire with lovely wife and cats (also lovely). I'm a big fan of films, robots, timetravel, and films about timetravelling robots, as well as lots of other action, sci-fi and comedy. I'm currently trying to write a sitcom that doesn't involve robots, and I also blog nonsense on timolsky.blogspot.com. Thanks for taking the time to read my stuff, and feel free to comment.