With Die Hard 4.0’s arrival on the big screen, I thought it would be a good idea to review the earlier Die Hard movies.
Die Hard (1988),
Die Harder (1990), and
Die Hard with a Vengeance (1995) are available in any number of different DVD editions: how have they stood the test of time?
It’s very odd to see the way that terrorists are portrayed in a pre-September-11 world. In the first movie, there’s a touch-screen kiosk, smoking is allowed indoors, and at airports, but the sense of fear is absent. Even when there’s an attack on a subway in a major American city, everyone quickly moves on to the next crisis.
The special effects – especially the green screen effects – are much easier to spot, and yet there are a lot of effects that look more authentic than the kind of shots you see today.
In general, the action movies are still as good as they’ve ever been: the tension, the complex plans are still as watchable as ever, though I tend to remember them as being a little move complex than they really are.
i agree totally. after having seen 4.0 i can say it’s a very worthy sequel, better than 2 and 3 but the original is still the best. almost two decades on it still stands the test of time. the astor theatre is showing die hard 4.0 and die hard together in october – something i’ll DEFINITELY be going to see, given the last time i saw die hard on the big screen was with my father!