die hard be the prototype type for the modern action film . since it also one of the best action film ever make and that happen to be a very good thing . die hard be lean and mean and and doesn not contain a single second of wasted screen time . the direction and the action and the story and the acting . . . every aspect of this film come close to big budget action movie perfection . since die hard be first release in 1988 and it difficult to think of a blockbuster action film that doesn not follow the basic structure and format of die hard . . . or and for that matter and be well than die hard . die hard be about john mcclane ( bruce willis and in one of his all time best film performance ) and a basically good and honest new york cop with a penchant for annoy authority figure . travel to los angeles in a last ditch attempt to patch thing up with his estranged wife holly ( bonnie bedelia ) and john mcclane suddenly find himself involve in a hostage situation . terrorist and lead by the enigmatic han gruber ( alan rickman ) and have take over the office building in which holly be work and and with gruber hold the upper hand over the lapd and fbi force in los angeles and it up to john mcclane to save the day . . . . kudos should be give to both director john mctiernan and screenwriter jeb stuart and steven desouza the film be tight and electrify and and clever and which be something few action film can ever claim . the story isn not completely believable and but it believable enough and and it manage to move along at a quick enough pace to where the most glaring plotholes can easily be gloss over . there also enough twist and wrinkle throw into the story to keep the audience guessing a to what go to happen next . . . and the surprise do not come out of left field and but be actually clever and well think out . ( the fact that mcclane often rely on his brain instead of his bullet to get out of his predicament be also a big plus . ) simply put and die hard be one of the smart and savviest action screenplays ever write . mctiernan hold up his end of the film admirably as well he use the claustrophobic nature of the office building to great effect ( particularly in any scene involve an elevator shaft ) and and he keep the film roll at a rollercoaster pace and building up the anticipation of the audience before unleash the action . a lot of recent action film just fly along at a mindless and breakneck pace and without ever allow the story to breathe or the suspense to build . . . unlike those film and die hard know how to maximize the impact of each and every scene and and that why it stand out so clearly from them all . with die hard and john mctiernan put on a perfect clinic a to how to pace an action movie . a for the acting and it darn near close to perfect . bruce willis be awesome a john mcclane . a play by willis and mcclane a smartass with a distinct disdain for be give order . . . but mcclane also clever and and know how to keep cool under pressure . there more to mcclane than the stereotypical tough guy hero . fortunately and the role be give to bruce willis and who infuse mcclane with the perfect mix of cocky arrogance and stone cold heroism . the fact that willis play mcclane a a man often in disbelief of his own situation and and who struggle in his fight against bad guy instead of just kill bad guy with ease and like most stereotypical action hero well and not only do it make the character much more believable and it darn brilliant . ( the fact that willis also know how to deliver a deadpan one liner good than anybody else in hollywood make the character all the good . ) there only a handful of movie where both character and actor be a completely perfect match while bruce willis a john mcclane be one such perfect match . also worthy of mention be alan rickman performance a the villain hans gruber . the machiavellian gruber would have be an easy villain to turn into little more than a scenery chew bond villain . . . fortunately and rickman doesn not travel the easy route . gruber and a play by rickman and be cold and calculating and and actually act smart and instead of merely claim to be smart and then be thoroughly outwit by the hero . he always appear to have an ace hide up his sleeve and and be so convincing at give this impression and it hard to tell throughout the film whether he or mcclane truly have the upper hand . other actor probably could have play gruber fairly well and but rickman make gruber one of the all time great villain . a for the rest of the cast and theyre all pretty good . bonnie bedelia do a nice job a john soon to be ex wife holly she play her with enough smart and feistiness to break the usual damsel in distress mold . it also worth mention that paul gleason and who play the obstinate police chief robinson and pretty much set up the modern action movie stereotype of the authority figure who refuse to heed the advice of the maverick hero . the character be stupid to a fault and and he wonderful because of it . die hard be a terrific example of what happen when all the piece of a film fall together perfectly . there simply be no weak spot or dull moment in the film . be die hard one of the best overall movie ever make . probably not . but it undeniably one of the best action movie ever make and and it just might well be the perfect modern action film . grade represent a .