Common Sense Note
Parents should know that the film does include continued acts of violence. The film includes a bloody execution, many onscreen killings, and the holding of many innocent hostages. The film's sexual content is tame, but it does include a moderate amount of swearing.
Families may choose to use the opportunity to discuss stereotyping and vigilante justice. Are John's actions, blowing things up, killing, etc. warranted by the situation? Should he have taken alternate legal measures to deal with the situation? The film uses a number of stereotypes in the development of its villains. What characteristics unite individuals such as Hans and Karl? Are such generalizations problematic? How do films today approach this subject? All of the film's active characters, John, Al, Hans and his henchmen are men. Can you think of more recent action films that feature women as main characters?
Common Sense Review
Reviewed By: Kelly Kessler
New York police officer John McClane (Bruce Willis) hoped to spend a little Christmas celebration with his estranged wife and children in Los Angeles. What he got instead was a bone-crunching, foot-cutting, guns-blaring battle to the death with a band of German terrorists. Set to raid highly secure vaults with a high-tech/high-powered ambush, Hans Gruber (Alan Rickman) and his posse hijack his wife's company Christmas party. Despite the "help" of the LAPD and FBI, McClane must scrap his way through the melee, free the hostages, and in the process repair his troubled marriage.
After the mega-hit-success of this film, Bruce Willis, known mainly at this point for his work on television's Moonlighting was reborn as a bona fide action star. Although the film is quite entertaining, some might find the stereotypes dated and offensive. The cold war film takes full advantage of German stereotypes with its gigantic creepy Aryan villains. Some excellent supporting actors deserve kudos along with Willis and the film's special effects. Rickman's (Galaxy Quest, Harry Potter) slick evil portrayal of Hans is on the mark, and Reginald VelJohnson (Papa Winslow from television's Family Matters) gives an excellent performance as the only LAPD officer helpful to McLane. Viewers may also recognize traditional baddies Paul Gleason (The Breakfast Club) as the less than helpful Deputy Chief and William Atherton (Ghostbusters, Real Genius) as an opportunist news reporter.
If parents believe their children are mature enough to handle this type of film violence -- that largely happens to the bad guys -- then they should feel secure in allowing kids in their mid-teens to view this film.
Families that enjoy DIE HARD may want to check out its sequels and its predecessor Lethal Weapon.
Rate It!
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Sexual ContentBrief female nudity, randy partygoers, and a repeated image of girlie pictures hanging in the building (overall very tame). |
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ViolenceMultiple onscreen killings, graphic execution, some graphic gunfights. |
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LanguageBoth casual swearing and swearing out of frustration. |
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Social BehaviorThe film includes extremely violent individuals, both on the sides of good and evil. The German terrorists are clearly marked as the bad guys, but the film does not really interrogate the type of violence used by the film's hero. His role as savior for the innocent rationalizes his killings in the world of the film. |
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CommercialismTwinkies |
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Drug/Alcohol/TobaccoCocaine use. |
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