A line that needs no introduction, surely, for it, like the bloodied bare feet, ze German bad guys, and Nakatomi Plaza’s 40 stories of terror, is just another well-greased cog in the singular action machine of DIE HARD. Considering it takes place on Christmas eve, it’s also a pretty good Christmas movie, I guess.
Directed by John McTiernan and released in 1988, the film pits Bruce Willis‘s lone-wolf-yet-John-Every-Man cop against a sinister German terror squad headed by the ever-enigmatic Alan Rickman. Rather than set the scene in the sprawling, gray “Europe” that the hundreds of movies featuring heavily accented terrorists seem to haunt, however, DIE HARD plays out in just one modern day (well, close enough) office building. While a lesser movie might have buckled under such close examination, the tight acting and claustrophobic cinematography means that the decrease in space only cranks up the heat.
If at this point you find yourself thinking, “well, you know, action films just aren’t for me,” and you have seen DIE HARD, OK, that’s fine. BUT if you’re thinking that and you HAVEN’T, well you best shut that mouth and get your ass over to the Somerville Theatre at midnight on 8/23 (technically 8/24), where it will be screening. Now hear me out, Ye high brow’d reader. I’m a dude who doesn’t like action movies. They’re dumb, they’re lazy, and they’re cheap in all the wrong ways. In fact, I can’t even remember the last action movie I saw. Oh wait, yes I can. It was DIE HARD. For the (probably) tenth time. Why? Because it’s smart, it’s not that lazy, and it is anything but cheap. It’s not just any action movie – it is THE action movie.
See for yourself this weekend.
DIEHARD (1988) DIR. JOHN MCTIERNAN
8/23 – 11:59PM
$10
Somerville Theatre
55 Davis Square
Somerville, MA 02144
