Die Hard (film series) reunite with separated wife Holly (Bonnie Bedelia) in Los Angeles at her company's Christmas party. Holly left to pursue her career with their two children, and uses her maiden name. At the fictional Nakatomi Plaza, East German terrorists break in and take the celebrants hostage. McClane escapes detection and hides throughout the building. He kills off the gang and learns their real plan, to steal $640 million in bearer bonds from the building's vault. In the finale, McClane shoots the terrorist leader, Hans Gruber (Alan Rickman), out the window to fall thirty stories. It was released on July 15, 1988
Die Hard (film series) great finesse... they don't add up to a taut, dread-ridden whole." James Berardinelli thought that the explosions and fights were "filmed with consummate skill, and were thrilling in their own right." Samuel L. Jackson also received praise for his role in the film. Desson Howe of "The Washington Post" thought that "the best thing about the movie was the relationship between McClane and Zeus," saying that Jackson was "almost as good as he was in "Pulp Fiction"." The fourth film, "Live Free or Die Hard", received highly positive reviews. Mick LaSalle of the "San Francisco Chronicle" claimed that the film