Groundbreaking Action Cinema - Part 1 - DIE HARD

 Die Hard: Urban Heroics on a Grand Scale




A blockbuster-holiday classic that defined the contemporary (American) action-thriller, where a determined everyman is pitted against ruthless (if slightly cartoony) terrorists. Aside from its many descendants (Speed, Cliffhanger, Under Siege, even Paul Blart: Mall Cop), it is also notable for its claustrophobic handling of a high-stakes scenario, wherein the hero, villains, and bystanders occupy the same building, and action can play out as anything from a standard shootout to a complex evasion of fiery chaos.

 Made towards the end of a divisive decade of action (by 1988, most films like it could only be described as good, dumb fun), Die Hard had the distinction of taut direction and editing, as well as an above-average script and memorable characters. Even if a few moments might seem dated or campy to a modern audience (giant teddy-bares, some of the outfits, and some rather cheesy authority figures), the film's masterful pacing and overall structure makes for suspenseful build-up and oh-so-satisfying payoff.

A Look at the 80's Action Movie

*the following article was originally published on junie.net under the title "Brain Spew: Thoughts on 80's Action" in
In the wake of movies like Jaws and Star Wars, the movie industry began to change its strategy of scoring at the box office. Studios came to a realization that high-concept spectacle could attract a much broader audience than the stark melodramas of the seventies. Such was proven further with the success of films like Raiders of the Lost Ark, a rough-and-tough throwback to genre pictures of the 30′s and 40′s, and First Blood, a Stallone vehicle that took the lone gunman/anti-hero trend of the fifties and sixties and put it in a post-Vietnam context.

However, rather than perceiving this spike in the box office as a result of well-thought-out thrill-seeking and ingenuity, the suits of Hollywood developed an internal philosophy that would continue into the blockbusters of today: The bigger the budget, the bigger the bombast, the bigger the profit.
For better or for worse, action films of the eighties could often be summed up in one word: EXCESS. This was the period in which American audiences started developing a taste (perhaps even an expectation) for big guns, bigger explosions, and amazingly cheesy dialogue at the movies.
Action heroes like Stallone and Schwarzenegger were in their prime in both physicality and popularity.  Bare bones storytelling deep fried in testosterone, with a particular amount of glistening polish that only the eighties could pull off.
Being the film snob that I am, I’ve seen enough movies to understand that not many of the films from this era of action cinema could be considered “good “. You simply can’t put something like Rambo: First Blood part II next to its predecessor and say  “Oh yes. That second one is a far superior cinematic experience.”