John McClane is a New York cop visiting his estranged wife at a Christmas party in Los Angeles. Bad timing. The building is taken over by Hans Gruber, a sleek and sophisticated thief and his motley crew of associates, who hope to steal its 640, 000, 000 dollars in bearer bonds. Unlike the stereotypical action hero of the 80s, John McClane desperately hopes that the police arrive and only reluctantly works to thwart Gruber’s plans. Easily one of the better action flicks ever produced, Die Hard is deftly directed and intellectually rewarding. It satirizes authority, criticizes masculinity, and deconstructs the action and western genres, becoming a kind of commentary on American consumer culture and capitalism.

Bo and Ben praise it, criticize some of its sins, and lament that this was the apogee of McTiernan’s career.

Roger Ebert’s review: https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/die-hard-1988

A celebration of Hans Gruber: https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2016/01/alan-rickman-hans-gruber

Academic literature: https://www.jstor.org/stable/737639?seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents

Richard Brody’s account of watching for first time: https://www.newyorker.com/culture/richard-brody/i-watched-die-hard-for-the-first-time