Die Hard

Movie review by Kelly Kessler, Common Sense Media
Die Hard Poster Image

Common Sense says

age 16+

Bruce Willis' breakout film has guns, violence, stereotypes.

R 1988 132 minutes
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Parents say

age 14+

Based on 37 reviews

Kids say

age 13+

Based on 216 reviews

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A Lot or a Little?

The parents' guide to what's in this movie.

What Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that Die Hard is an iconic 1980s action movie starring Bruce Willis as a rogue cop who must save a building full of hostages shortly before Christmas. It's packed with extreme acts of violence by both villains and the hero, including a bloody execution, many on-screen killings, and point-blank murder. A hanging poster briefly displays female nudity; a couple is interrupted during sex and shown out a door, partially naked (nothing sensitive is shown). Strong language includes "s--t," "a--hole," and frequent use of "f--k." The film deals in stereotypical portrayals of foreigners (German terrorists, Japanese capitalists) and a Latina maid/nanny.

Community Reviews

Nandini K.
Nandini K. Adult
June 2, 2018
age 13+

Fine for tweens if you fast forward a couple parts

Minute 23:30 to 23:40 and again roughly between minute 42 and 43 there is female nudity. If you can manage to skip those parts, I thought it was ok for my middle schooler though I’m not a huge fan of all the f-bombs (and he want either)

This title has:

Too much swearing
5 people found this helpful.
Eliwhoa
Eliwhoa Adult
December 24, 2019
age 12+

Great action movie!

This is a great action movie and while it does have some excessive violence and language, I let our teen watch it without a lot of worry. However, there is a scene where a lady runs out topless around 22 minutes and two more scenes around the 42 minute mark that show a poster with a topless woman. We easily just had him look away during these. The violence was a lot but it was mostly short and sporadic, nothing disturbing that couldn’t be handled by a mature 12-13 year old. They also use cuss words throughout the movie. This really doesn’t bother us at all but may others.
2 people found this helpful.
See all 37 parent reviews

What's the Story?

In DIE HARD, New York police officer John McClane (Bruce Willis) hoped to spend Christmas with his estranged wife and children in Los Angeles. What he gets instead is a bone-crunching, foot-cutting, guns-blaring battle to the death with a band of German terrorists. Planning to raid highly secure vaults with a high-tech, high-powered ambush, Hans Gruber (Alan Rickman) and his posse hijack John's 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 maybe even repair his troubled marriage.

Is It Any Good?

Although this iconic action movie is quite entertaining, some might find parts of it dated and offensive. Released near the end of Ronald Reagan's presidency of rah-rah Americanism, Die Hard takes full advantage of German stereotypes with gigantic, creepy Aryan villains and positioning good ol' American cops as unquestionable heroes. After the movie became a mega hit, Willis -- known mainly at this point for his work on television's Moonlighting -- was reborn as a bona fide action star.

Excellent supporting actors deserve kudos along with Willis and the film's special effects. Rickman's (Galaxy Quest, the Harry Potter movies) slickly evil portrayal of Hans is on the mark, and Reginald VelJohnson (Papa Winslow from Family Matters) gives an excellent performance as the only LAPD officer who's helpful to McLane. Viewers may also recognize 1980s baddies Paul Gleason (The Breakfast Club) as the less-than-helpful Deputy Chief, and William Atherton (Ghostbusters, Real Genius) as an opportunist news reporter.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about stereotyping and vigilante justice in Die Hard. Are John's actions -- blowing things up, killing, etc. -- warranted by the situation? Should he have taken alternate measures to deal with the situation?

  • The film uses a number of stereotypes in the development of its villains. What characteristics unite people like 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 helpers -- are men. Can you think of more recent action films that feature women as main characters?

  • Talk about cops using violence as a means to an end. With news stories about cops using violence against Black citizens, how does this portrayal affect the way we look at the effectiveness of violence?

Movie Details

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    age 14+

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