John Chuckman
COMMENT POSTED TO AN ARTICLE BY ED POWER IN THE INDEPENDENT
“Die Hard at 30: How the every-dude action movie defied expectations and turned Bruce Willis into a star
“Despite gambling on a cast of relative unknowns, Die Hard used wit, style and dangerous stunts to become”
Die Hard is what I like to call a comic book movie, but it is likely the best comic book movie ever made.
I think the key to its success is the casting. Every character is well cast.
Significant portions of the film are completely unbelievable, as when Bruce Willis proves to have a gun taped to his back in a big encounter.
It seems unlikely that you could tape a heavy gun to a sweaty body. And why would Willis have prepared this surprise anyway?
Well, it just doesn’t matter. We are caught up in the action, and the characters are enjoyable to watch.
We also enjoy some poking at American officialdom, not typical of this kind of movie. The FBI, usually treated as able to walk on water in Hollywood, is made good fun of.
