Hardened NY cop "McClane" (Bruce Willis) arrives at the launch of the new building where his estranged wife "Holly" (Bonnie Bedelia) works, only to discover that she's now started using her maiden name. Humph!!! Luckily (for us) this is just the start of his woes as "Gruber" (Alan Rickman) turns up with his well equipped gang intent on robbing the place of millions of dollars worth of bearer bonds in a complex and meticulously planned heist. The best laid plans, though, and soon the secreted "McClane" realises the dangers to himself and his missus, and so has to clandestinely manoeuvre himself around the incomplete structure trying to nobble the baddies and keep himself alive long enough for the cops and/or the FBI to show up. When they do, he soon discovers that but for the savvy "Al" (Reginald VelJohnson) they are all rather gung-ho eedjits. It's now a battle of wits between the two men and what ensues is action packed, genuinely witty and yep - it's definitely a Christmas film. Sometimes it's not so easy to remember why Bruce ever became famous at all, but when you see his natural charisma partnered here with an on-form Rickman (even if his accent has moments of madness all of it's own) and some suitably beefcake Eastern European muscle and we get some entertaining banter and loads of pyrotechnics at the denouement of an engaging thriller. Great fun!
