 | ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids. |
 | OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | NOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age. |
Die Hard
- Review Date: November 29, 2005
- R
- Genre: Action/Adventure
- 1988
Common Sense Media says
Original Bruce Willis violent actioner.
Parents say
QUALITY
Kids say
QUALITY
What parents need to know
Parents need to 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.
What's the story?
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.
Is it any good?
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.
What families can talk about
Families can talk about 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?
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AGE
good flm
it is violent but good action. Suitable for all over 9.
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AGE
Die Hard-An exellent film I only see at Christmas-older people
As you can see, there are issues with the film that make the film un-suitable for little kids. Vilence, swearing, injuries, death...
I excpect you're thinking 'what a lovely film' ( NOT ) but to me and my family, it's just special. We only watch it at Christmas!!!
The plot is about a cop battling enimes to save the people taken
hostage by the terroists and his wife. It's funny in a twisted way alot of the time! :) :0
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AGE
Killer Action...But Adults Only!
DIE HARD is described by some as the most entertaining action movie ever made. Though I would be hesitant to heap that much praise on it, I do heartily recommend it to fans of the genre. Though it's plot points have since become conventions of almost every action movie and the social enviornment of the movie is completely outdated, this movie's thrills haven't let up in the twenty three years since it was made. That's the good news. The bad: neither has its inappropriate content.
Parents: this movie is probably more graphic than you remember, and I would recommend perusing it yourself first before putting your teens in front of it. Though its tone is adventurous and more like an Indiana Jones film, the movie still contains nudity, harsh profanity, and explicit violence. Teens who see the movie will see numerous people shot and killed graphically (with spurting blood and brain matter). One man has his knees shot through (heaps of blood) before crashing his head through a glass window. Another falls from a skyscraper window with a resounding crunch. Several civilians are executed on-screen. A running joke in the film is a recurring topless poster of a woman, and though the nudity is clear, it is in a humorous context and not a sexual one. In addition, you briefly see a topless woman from a distance being herded away at gunpoint by terrorists (apparently interrupted during a tryst). Lastly, language is constantly severe, with more than 100 "f" words and all variations, including numerous "motherf***er"s. Milder language, like "s**t", "godd**n", and "a*s", is also pervasive.
In short, this movie is a lot of fun to watch, and it has the potential to make a great movie night flick. However, its content can readily be described as excessive, and best geared towards adults.
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AGE
Great Action Movie!
I just watched this movie. It is a great action movie! There was pretty cool gun fights, and great one-liners by Bruce Willis! VIOLENCE: This is a violent movie. There is a lot of shooting, and lots of bleeding when people are shot. A character cuts their foot on glass, and their feet are bleeding like crazy.This is very bloody! NUDITY AND SEX: There is no sex in this movie. Jerk-off is said two or three times. You see a girl's breast for about five seconds. There is a poster of a topless girl that is shown three times I think. The first time it is shown for a couple of seconds, then shown again for a second or two, and a third time for a couple of seconds. This is all the nudity. DRUGS: A guy is seen snorting cocaine for about a second. He stops when others enter the room. LANGUAGE: There is a ton of cussing in this movie. They say the F-word at least 60 times, and some other words as well. Overall, this movie contains about twenty seconds total of breast-shots, bloody violence, and cussing. Once a kid knows that girls have breasts, knows the F-word and can handle bloody, but not gory, violence, then they should be able to watch this movie.
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AGE
Great suspensful action flick for adult moviegoers. Language is way way explicit eg. Yippee Ki Yay Mother F-cker. Older Kids should be able to handle it.
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Kid, 12 years old
December 30, 2010
AGE
one of my faveorite movies
a lot of swearing but it is hard to here over gun fire so that is not really a problem John is risking his life to save countless lives.when john runs through the elevater shaft a girl in a swim suit is shown (in a photo very hard to see)
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AGE
Awesome
This movie is as awesome as it was in 88', and i still love it (I have only seen it once but sticks in my mind). Could of done without the exscessive language.
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AGE
Definitely a must see
Old movie that shouldn't be rated R. Great role model of John McClain!
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Kid, 12 years old
July 9, 2010
AGE
the best action series
great movie. theres a ton of bloody violence and language theres over at least 40 f-bombs. a man is shot in the head blood splats onto a door its seen a few times later in the movie. two men are beaten to death(intense). a man is shot a bunch of time around his legs theres some blood a round the bullet wounds. maclane drags his leg on the floor theres a trail of blood. a man is shot in the head(off screen) his body is later seen beging dragged away (its blurie). a man is shot and falls out of an 88 storie building. a man is shot in the head blood flys out.
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| Studio: | Twentieth Century Fox |
| Director: | John McTiernan |
| Cast: | Alan Rickman, Bruce Willis, Reginald VelJohnson |
| Genre: | Action/Adventure |
| Run time: | 132 minutes |
| Theatrical release date: | July 15, 1988 |
| DVD release date: | March 9, 1999 |
| MPAA rating: | R |
| MPAA explanation: | strong violence and pervasive strong language |
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