Bruce Willis, Reginald VelJohnson, Bonnie Bedelia

A New York City cop gets trapped in a Los Angeles high-rise occupied by terrorists on Christmas Eve.

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91% liked it

349,259 ratings

Critics

94% liked it

50 critics

R, 2 hrs. 11 min.

Directed by: John McTiernan

Release Date: July 15, 1988

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DVD Release Date: March 9, 1999

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Stats: 31,858 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (31,858)


  • January 22, 2008
    An adrenaline-fueled actioner that has completely reinvented the action-adventure genre for years to come. Pure escape entertainment at its best.
  • October 20, 2009
    Die Hard was probably the end all, be all of action movies 20 years ago, but by now the things that it helped make so popular have become genre staples. Someone who is seeing the movie for the first time in 2009 (like me) can't help but compare it to all the other action movies t...( read more)hat I've seen before.

    John McClain is certainly a unique character. It's not too often that you have a main character in an action movie running around with bare feet and talking to himself. But, who wouldn't be a little crazy in that kind of circumstances?

    The action scenes are about what I expected. A lot of shooting, a brutal fistfight or two, and some explosions. There's nothing about Die Hard that particularly irked me, I just wish I could have seen it earlier, when it would have had more of an effect on me.
  • September 17, 2009
    The original ?Man in a vest kicks ass? action movie. The difference with this film is that unlike action movies of its kind that came before, Bruce Willis wasn?t a muscle-bound moron with no acting abilities. He was a just a nice guy with a good sense of humour. Classic action mo...( read more)vie from the 80?s and great stuff.
  • August 15, 2009
    1988 and the undisputed number one action star was that Austrian body builder with the funny name with that monosylabic guy from ROCKY in second place . The thing I hated about Arnie and Sly is that their action movies were uninvolving with over blown battle scenes where the good...( read more) guys never seemed to be in danger of dying . I was also going to bring the James Bond franchise into the conversation but the series became a parody when Bond stopped speaking with a Scottish accent sometime in the early 70s

    DIE HARD is different to the other 80s action fests with John McLane being a fairly believable genre character . Okay he`s two dimensional but that`s got to be one dimension more than John Rambo who only exists to kill a lot of nasty commies so Americans can flock to the cinema . It`s also interesting to note that McLane`s wife is used in the plot which is slightly different from how most action films work out where the hero is normally single , but that`s probably because DIE HARD as more depth to it than many contemparies. Perhaps the biggest difference is that McClane is slightly flawed as we`re shown one scene where the hero gives the bad guys something they want , not something you`d see in a Arnie or Sly movie . I won`t mention the stunts or the tightly written set pieces or how compelling they are because everyone else has beat me to it , except to say that big explosions and gun fights often overwhelm an action movie (Bond movies are a good example ) but here they occur from the narrative instead of someone cramming them into the script in a vain attempt to thrill the audience .
  • May 22, 2009
    The granddaddy of all gun movies, coined the term 'Die Hard on a...'
    this rocks so much, the cast is superb, Rickman especially, and the action is truely pumpin. Like some Arnie flicks the dialog has also gone down in history, you really cant fault this.Mctiernan also made Predat...( read more)or, the man is or was god.
  • November 5, 2009
    One of the best action movies ever and without a doubt the best one bruce willis ever did, Die Hard is extremely bad ass. German terrorists take over a Japanese Company headquarters and New York Detective John Mcclane has to stop them. The lines in this movie are hilarious while ...( read more)the action scenes are literally to die for. A must see for any action movie lover.
  • November 4, 2009
    Modern audiences may not clearly distinguish the difference between films like Die Hard and Predator (1987), and modern mindless films of the same genre. The key word is originality, not to mention a predominant style. This film is John McTiernan's most influential action film wi...( read more)thin the genre, and the most explosive and intense. It has potential and talent while becoming a revolution in action filmmaking. We already miss those days.

    81/100
  • November 3, 2009
    This series put Willis on the map, well done action scenes.
  • November 1, 2009
    i love this word .death.
  • November 1, 2009
    Yippee-Ki-Yay,Motherfucker.-John McClane

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    Director:John McTiernan
    Cast:Bruce Willis,Alan Rickman,Bonnie Bedelia,Alexander Godunov
    Genre:Action,Thriller
    Year of release:1988
    Running Time:127 minutes

    Plot:
    John McClane is a cop from New York City who is on his way to Los Angeles to see his kids and his wife Holly, who moved to LA because of a job at the Nakatomi Corporation. When he arrives at Nakatomi Plaza, he meets Holly's boss Joe Takagi and her co-worker Harry Ellis. He and Holly go into a private bathroom and get into an argument. When Holly leaves to give a speech, thirteen armed terrorists lead by Hans Gruber seize control of the building and take the occupants of the 30th floor, who are the only ones left in the building, hostage. Luckily, they missed John since he was in the bathroom. He sneaks out and witnesses Gruber kill Takagi. He goes to floor 32 and pulls the fire alarm, but the terrorists cancel the alarm and send someone up to kill John. However, he kills the terrorist and steals his machine gun. Now he has to kill the rest of the terrorists and save the hostages before the terrorists get their way.

    Review:
    What a amazing movie and one of my personal favorites of all time.Die Hard is definelty a masterpiece and a explosive adrenaline rush masterpiece that grabs you every second of it.20 years later,it still kicks butt and is a lot better than those CGI craps of today.Die Hard is such a thrilling ride and the sequels may good but this is in my opiinion the grandaddy of action movies.

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    Bruce Willis delivers an oustanding perfomance as John McClane and he s not your regular killing machine like Schwarzenegger or Stallone.McClane is a regular guy like everybody and nothing goes right in his life.He s scared of flying,his marriage has collapsed and he s not dressed for the christimas party at the Nakatomi Plaza.I love Willis as McClane because he makes him such a nice guy but at same time heroic and a complete badass.Even in the moments of tension,John maintains his sarcasm and sense of humour aswell,which will be his trademark along the series.McClane will wish to spend a nice Christmas at home.Alan Rickman dominates the entire movie as Hans Gruber.I had no idea that was him when i first saw the movie but wow Rickman was phenomenal.Hans Gruber isn t the typical villain actually.He s just a guy with ambitions and he also has a sinister sense of humour.Rickman will go down to history as one of the greatest cinematic villains of all time.

    John McTiernan directed the film with brilliance and control,estabilshing a great revolution in action movies.Die Hard gives a great balance between the action and comedy and few movies weren´t able to do it.

    If you want a good example of an excellent action movie,Die Hard is the one.The greatest action movie of all time and also a classic of it´s own,Die Hard sets a new generation of action movies and deserves to be at the list as one of my all time favorite movies.

Critic Reviews


January 1, 2000
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

Inappropriate and wrongheaded interruptions reveal the fragile nature of the plot and prevent it from working. full review

View more Die Hard reviews at RottenTomatoes.com

Comments


  • hanyfaky
    October 13, 2008
    I watched this movie many many times & evry time i feel my body shaking from this movie
    Bruce willis in all the four parts is amaizing.
  • hanyfaky
    October 13, 2008
    I watched this movie many many times & evry time i feel my body shaking fro this movie
    Bruce willis in all the four parts is amaizing.
  • xhorek
    October 5, 2008
    die hard
  • xhorek
    October 5, 2008
    Credit to Alan Rickman, for bringing the villain Hans Gruber to life. 'Die Hard' easily outshines director John McTiernan's other great efforts in 'Predator', 'Hunt for Red October' and 'Last Action Hero'. I found more videoclips - http://loadingvault.com
  • SkywalkerJones
    September 26, 2008
    i love this movie since i watched it 4 years ago.no other action flick will beat Die Hard.
  • mariefuller80
    July 22, 2008
    My favourite Die Hard film out of the 4. Brilliant one-liners from Bruce Willis, brilliant special-effects and plenty of action.
  • scarface130
    July 17, 2008
    best family christmas movie ever
  • vincentstjohn
    April 14, 2008
    Hans Gruber is so evil!!
    "Now I have a machine gun, HO HO HO..."
  • SkywalkerJones
    April 9, 2008
    I love John McClane.who doesn´t like this guy?
  • SkywalkerJones
    February 29, 2008
    20 years of exciting action and the birth of our favorite tough cop John McClane.Happy Birthday Die Hard.

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

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Die Hard Trivia


  • Which "Die Hard" movie was directed by Renny Harlin?  Answer »
  • John McClane and his new best friend have to find out who the 21st President was. Which Die Hard movie is this in?  Answer »
  • in which die hard film where there many bombs to defuse  Answer »
  • Which movie in the Die Hard saga is about a techno-terrorist hacker that launches as attack on on the USA's computer systems over the 4th of July weekend.  Answer »

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