Facebook 30 Day Movie Challenge

Day 7: Favorite Action Film-Die Hard
Numerous times on this blog I have defended my love of action films. I like films that are loud and explosive for the sake of being loud and explosive, but at the same time, to be my favorite film the movie has to be smart. There has to be a good story; it cannot just be pure entertainment. So while I like films like Transformers and The Day After Tomorrow for what they are worth, they will never rank higher than mere popcorn entertainment for me.
 Die Hard (1988) is more than just popcorn. It is one of my favorite Christmas movies; nothing gets you into the spirit of the holidays like Bruce Willis trying to save his wife from an evil Alan Rickman.

"Yippee-Ki-Yay, Motherfucker."

What I like about Die Hard is the dialogue. It is funny in a smart, sarcastic way (the way I like to think I am). Bruce Willis has some of the best one liners not to mention an awesome catchphrase. His interactions with Sgt. Powell are more than your average cop buddy relationship; the two men actually share a connection. When they finally meet at after speaking over walktalkies for the entire film, it is a heart warming scene of two men who have just been through hell together. Such scenes are rarely witnessed in your average action flicks.
Alan Rickman as Hans Gruber (who, if I haven't said it before is one of my all time favorite actors) is a great villain.(Shooting the glass when Bruce is not wearing any shoes? How could you Alan?) You think he is just plain bad until the very end when you discover his real treachery, then he is pure evil. He and Willis have some great interactions and witty banter. John McClane is the perfect American cowboy/cop to Rickman's foreign pseudo-terrorist.

Who said we were terrorists?

I haven't seen any other of the Die Hard films and frankly I don't really want to see Bruce Willis being rolled through an air vent in a wheelchair. I think they should quit while they are ahead so I can remember Bruce the way he is supposed to be: young, muscled, still with a head of hair, and not giving any...well you get the idea.
Honorable mentions for best action film go to The Professional, Terminator 2, and Transporter (or pretty much anything starring Jason Statham).