Die Hard (15)

It doesn’t matter if there are carollers outside, or if

it’s slap bang in the middle of the hottest summer,

there’s always time for Die Hard. The quintessential

action movie of well, ever, sees Bruce Willis trade in

his sitcom origins for a dirty vest and a Beretta.

New York cop John Mcclane’s (Willis), holiday

season is about to get a whole lot worse. When

Alan Rickman and his band of not-so-merry men

shoot their way into an LA skyscraper and hold the

partying office workers hostage, Mcclane happens

to find himself in the wrong place at the right time.

Leader of this German ‘terrorist’ group, Hans Gruber,

is not just my favourite Rickman role (dodgy accent

aside) but perhaps the greatest villain in Hollywood

history.

Director John McTiernan, fresh off of the surprise

hit Predator, delivers this masterclass in tension

and set-piece action only a year later, making Willis

a household name in the process. A myriad of

copycats, including four sequels(!), over the years

did little to dilute the impact the original had, and

still has to this day, thirty years later. (Jack Whiting)