"Die Hard" is an utterly compelling mix of exciting action and some particularly bruising violence and some surprisingly quieter character moments (the wonderfully written and performed radio conversations between McClane and Sergeant Al Powell are a memorable highlight). The chief villain Hans Gruber is especially well written and he is so familiar with police and FBI procedures he has been able to draw up his plans accordingly and this means he is always one step ahead of everyone else. The best thing of all about "Die Hard" is that it is actually a good film and not just another noisy and generally brainless time filler and this fact alone must surely single it out in this particularly competitive genre.
