review by Colin the dude
Die Hard 1988
Rewatched Dec 19, 2012
Colin the dude’s review:
A simple fact: action movies have been neutered, half-baked, half-written and served cold for children with Attention Deficit Disorder. Die Hard has aged into a lost art. It has a wholly original, unpredictable screenplay, crisp with sharp dialogue matched with badass line delivery through the mouths of believable human characters (This sentence alone cannot be attributed to a single modern action film). There is a tight plot that gradually escalates, accumulating ZERO gaps in logic equaling to not a single moment of frustration for the viewer.
If that wasn't enough, there is a seamless camera. The lighting is impeccable. The editing is celestial. The Christmas theme ingenious. The music is thunderous joy. The pacing is a genre blueprint. The f/x are ageless, tangible and earth-shattering in HD, and it still gets better. The acting is adult, down-to-earth, menacing when appropriate and god forbid, humanizing. The setting is grand, expressive and claustrophobic. The mapping of action is never once confusing and always challenges the hero with something different with each sequence. It never gets out of control or ludicrous, and climaxes with class. The sum of these qualities equal the closest to perfection that the action formula can achieve. Sadness and frustration only amplifies at the aggressive dumbness of modern action (See: most comic book adaptations, remakes, commercial directors stuck halfway up their asses, who increasingly rely on unreal environments, plot holes, dehumanizing traits, flying debris, "always at 11" stakes, plot holes, incessant yelling, uncharismatic leads, plot holes, CGI clusterfucks and did I mention plot holes?).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TylvUGJIi_w&hl=nl&gl=NL
I don't trust people that don't like Die Hard. It's just one of those things.
@Dirk, thanks man! The movie speaks for itself, it's far too easy to point out all that it does right.
@ Cinebro, you and me both.
The funny thing is, I once wrote a silly one sentence review of this film and we're both completely saying the same thing.
You're just being fantastically articulate about it.
Gorgeous writing, Colin.
Colin, great review.
You guys are too kind!!
You really hit the nail on the head. This is one of my favorite films for the reasons illustrated in your review.
This has to be one of the best christmas films ever.
Die Hard is an excellent film. Nice review.
But your berating of modern action films is grievous. There are plenty of excellent counter-examples to your opening claims.
Sure, I'd namecheck District 9 or Rise of the Planet of the Apes and a few others, but the overwhelming majority of action films I find personally insulting. This is all a matter of opinion in the end.
The best modern action film is peanuts compared to a film as perfect as Die Hard.
Yep every year my appreciation for this film goes up & up...the perfect action movie!
This review is quality, there's one line here which really stands out for me and what I was trying to get across in my review of The Raid.
"There is a tight plot that gradually escalates, accumulating ZERO gaps in logic equaling to not a single moment of frustration for the viewer."
Die Hard does this perfectly, unfortunately the oft compared The Raid doesn't. Good stuff!
One of my favourite action films, great stuff.
Well said, Die Hard is the perfect model for an action flick.