Die Hard Reviews | RateItAll

Die Hard

1988 American action film directed by John McTiernan and written by Jeb Stuart and Steven E. de Souza Website

Approval Rate: 80%

80%Approval ratio

Reviews 46

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  • by

    edt4226d

    Wed Nov 25 2009

    The "Action/Thriller" movie really, really degenerated during the 1980's (as did most other aspects of American culture). Guys like Eastwood and Bronson may not have been great actors, but they often displayed a naturalistic charisma that usually carried the day in the movies they appeared in during the 1960's and 1970's. And the movies they appeared may not have been particularly realistic but compared to the stuff that guys like Chuck Norris and Stallone and Van Damme (and others) churned out during the 1980's, they qualified as gritty documentaries. "Die Hard" is arguably the best of the 1980's lot, probably because its main leads were Bruce Willis, Bonnie Bedelia, and Alan Rickman. I'm not a big fan of Bruce Willis (as a side note, when he was younger, he supposedly hung out a lot in the town where I went to high school, and I've heard that he did a ton of cocaine-oriented "partying"), but he's at least a competent actor, and seems to have that naturalistic charisma that made East... Read more

  • by

    queenbutterfly

    Sat Feb 21 2009

    I own the complete set...

  • by

    evildead

    Sat Feb 14 2009

    die hard is the greatest work of fiction of all time. humanity will never top this. ever.

  • by

    spike65

    Fri Jul 18 2008

    Set the standard for this genre. Willis' best of this type also. Good cast and performances all around.

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    karenmparan

    Fri Jun 22 2007

    THIS IS THE GREATEST ACTION MOVIE EVER! i like bruce willis and i like his line inthe movie, yippie-kaye-mother-fu#@*r!

  • by

    wheelerdr

    Tue May 22 2007

    A typical action story, many more that were before it better and many more after it that were better.

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    orangeapples

    Sun Feb 18 2007

    Die Hard has to be one of my favourite movie's especially when it comes to movie quotes. I mean can anyone top,"Ho-Ho-Ho now i have a machine gun," i don't think so!

  • by

    canadasucks

    Thu Feb 08 2007

    The Alan-Rickman-factor keeps it at 4-stars, but fans have to admit that "Die Hard" isn't aging particularly well. . .still watchable- especially with sly lines from the talented Rickman: "I must have missed 60 Minutes. . ."

  • by

    aenzhru

    Thu Feb 08 2007

    One of my favorite movies of all time and one which I'm glad to say I own on DVD. The acting (especially that of Bruce Willis) is very good and the movie perfectly combines intense action with sardonic humor and drama. Very entertaining and like most great movies, Die Hard never gets old no matter how many times you see it.

  • by

    supremecritic

    Thu Sep 14 2006

    one of the best action films ever made, its original, highly entertaining. the bad guy is very well performed by alan rickman

  • by

    djahuti

    Tue Apr 04 2006

    OOooh,another over the top More-macho-than-thou Bruce Willis flick,how ORIGINAL !

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    drumtool

    Tue Jan 03 2006

    best action flick ever,especially when it was released seen this movie so many times my old vhs tape literally wore out(no word of a lie)

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    limpin_trenchfoot

    Fri Dec 02 2005

    The daddy of the genre and still a million light years ahead of the pale imitations from Stallone, van Damme, Segal etc. Still works on TV even after the umpteenth viewing. That's the test of quality. Alan Rickman's villain has got to be one of the best bad guys.

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    jtm6d308

    Thu Nov 17 2005

    This was my favorite movie of all-time until Terminator 2: Judgment Day came out. Not bad for a runner-up.

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    kattwoman

    Sat May 14 2005

    one of the best action films ever. edge of your seat excitement. this is one of bruce willis' all time best

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    killerbudsfore_very1

    Mon Apr 11 2005

    If somebody woulda hired some marines to take care of that little a hole Bruce willis instead of stupid forigners he wouldnt be so hard to die! I wish bruce willis was my father

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    jenken47

    Fri Apr 08 2005

    My very favorite movie of all time!

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    ruffianfan4eve_r

    Sat Jan 29 2005

    My favorite action movie yet!

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    daccory

    Tue Oct 05 2004

    The first time I saw this was in a huge. packed cinema with surround sound etc..I left feeling exhausted, as if I had actually been involved in the scenario. Excellent, and you can watch it over and over again.

  • by

    warlordchampio_n

    Thu Sep 30 2004

    The greatest action movie ever made.

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    jamie_mcbain

    Thu Jun 24 2004

    Great film, Alan Rickman is one of my favorite things about this film.

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    pennyroyalty

    Sat Apr 03 2004

    I loved this movie! The action is great, and i like how Bruce Willis gets his butt kicked throughout the movie (unlike other i-can-kick-high-so-bullets-can't-hurt-me action movies.) Alan Rickman plays a great villain. Even though the movie is totally dated now, it's still fun brain candy!

  • by

    jon_andersen

    Sun Mar 14 2004

    A blast! Bought the DVD set. Great comic book escapism. Alan Rickman was terrific.

  • by

    redoedo

    Sat Feb 21 2004

    Along with Lethal Weapon, Die Hard easily makes my list of the top action films of the lasy 20 years. It's your typical shoot em' up flick with Willis playing the macho cop John McClane, who must face off terrorists in an office building 3,000 miles out of his jurisdiction. Solid performances by Willis and Reginald Veljohnson are the film's high points, but the biggest props have to go to Alan Rickman, a relatively unknown actor who played the role of Hans Gruber very convincingly. Overall, Die Hard is the film to watch if you're looking for some good action mixed with a little bit of comedy.

  • by

    phlip_tout

    Thu Jan 01 2004

    Classic action-film. I just saw it for the 4th or 5th time. Couldn't change the channel. The bad guy was just as good as, if not better than, Bruce Willis.

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    dheman

    Fri Nov 28 2003

    Innocent People were held hostage in a high rise building, and Bruce Willis saves the day. The storyline was easy to follow. The action was top notch even though the movie was made way back. It has lots of good gun fights similar to John Woo films, and Bruce Willis had the tough guy sort of look throughout the whole movie, he was perfect for the role. I would agree that this original one is the best of the trilogy.

  • by

    comedyfreek

    Tue Oct 07 2003

    this movie was the best of all the die hards..an amazin trilogy it has been..hopefully they make the fourth one..bruce willis is amazin...all the explosions in this movie were truly amazin..the dialogue was good even tho most of it was only abuses..this movie proves one thing..BRUCE WILLIS IS THE GOD OF ACTION MOVIES

  • by

    neolex

    Sat Aug 30 2003

    The movie has some kind of dumb charm to it, other than that its pretty stupid.

  • by

    alty6905

    Sun Aug 17 2003

    Best movie of all time. The only film I can watch over and over and not get tired of it.

  • by

    c546106

    Mon Aug 04 2003

    A genre defining film with a lead character that was tough but vulnerable. I still watch this film on a regular basis as it became the action picture by which most others are compared. Willis was perfectly cast for this role and Rickman gives a fantastic performance.

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    tommy91a

    Thu Jul 10 2003

    Exellent its one of the best action films of all time Dynomite

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    jason1972

    Fri Jan 17 2003

    A classic shoot-em-up, kill-the-bad-guys movie that should rank up there with Dirty Harry. It ranks #146 out of 250 films of all time on imdb.com -- The comedic one liners are skillfully written into a predominately violent movie. This was also a make-or-break movie for Bruce Willis to see if he could break out of the "Moonlighting" TV show mold. He did it flawlessly and became an A-list actor.

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    utvolusn

    Mon Apr 15 2002

    If you don't like this movie, you might be a German mercenary. One of the greatest bang for your buck action movies ever made. It's filled with non-stop explosions, gunfire, and an occasional laugh or two. Yippie kye yi yeah!!!!

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    oldpompous

    Mon Dec 03 2001

    Overrated, obvious and cheesy.

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    daf62757

    Fri Aug 24 2001

    This was just another dumb blow it up movie. Willis is a better actor than this and would have to wait many years to show it.

  • by

    boskodude

    Tue Jul 10 2001

    It's been rather difficult of late doing without any Bruce Willis "Die Hard" Movies. Realizing of course how John McClain is pretty much worn out...ca-poots-kah..! But who can blame the dude, after all those disgusting messes those Grueber Dudes put him through. Ya know what I'm sayin? Those guys had John climbin up elevator shafts and shootin at him then blowin things up all around John...and terrible stuff like that. Oh well, thanks for the memorys John McClain you were a shining example of courage in the NYPD...fer sure dude. Perhaps now that John's pretty much exhausted his role as super NY Cop...well, maybe John can get on as a rent a cop with some late night warehouse in the east side of NY. Best movies ever; those "Die Hard" Series. Yep, no doubt about it...fer sure. John was the best.

  • by

    milehijp

    Fri Jun 15 2001

    So adrenalizing yet so humorous. It sure is at the top of my list for action films.

  • by

    callmetootie

    Thu Apr 05 2001

    Die Hard is a fairly well made action thriller starring Bruce Willis. I liked the 2nd one better, but it's still a pretty good movie. Willis once again makes a fool of himself though.

  • by

    gfunkkid

    Sun Feb 25 2001

    Great movie. True, there are implausibilities; who was where when Sgt. Al first radioed for help? But there was great effort to tie different parts of the movie together; much of the movie is foreshadowed on the airplane; Bruce Willis is a soon to be barefoot cop.

  • by

    ronnie

    Mon Nov 27 2000

    The greatest ordinary superhero of all time fights terrorists and beats them starting with one gun and no shoes.

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    marcelo06

    Wed Nov 22 2000

    A great adrenaline rush, a real guy movie with buildings blowing up left and right. Die Hard two and three are not as good as the original. Bruce Willis was the man in the movie.

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    brucefan2000

    Tue Nov 21 2000

    This is a wonderful and excellent movie!!!!!

  • by

    ced1119d

    Mon Nov 20 2000

    The fighting scenes aren't so fake like in those Steven Segal movies. The only movie that I like of his.

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    al3164e1

    Mon Nov 20 2000

    A great action movie. Lots of great one-liners, cool explosions, and a good plot. Bruce Willis is the man.

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    kindtothepeopl_e

    Mon Nov 20 2000

    An explosive terrorist movie. The first of it's kind. I found this movie to be extremely well done and Bruce Willis was outstanding.

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    macavity4

    Fri Nov 17 2000

    Bruce Willis is at his good guy cop best. Funny moments punctuate the plausible storyline. Special effects are well done, but limited mostly to explosions. A good movie if you want something fun to watch, but don't want to think too hard about it.