When is the first action sequence in Die Hard? Think back
Show this thread
I don't understand why every action movie has to start with a big action sequence these days. You've got their ticket money already, they're in the seat. They're going to go and ask for a refund if you spend a little while establishing character, atmosphere?
-
-
-
The first shot fired in Die Hard is not until 17:52 (!!), at least in the version in front of me
Show this thread -
There's a brief lobby shootout and some hostage-taking. A lot of tense moments, some isolated violence. Not until 37:05 does John McClane actually fight someone
Show this thread -
Of course, a huge part of this is that Die Hard doesn't always draw a clear line between action sequences and "other". It doesn't stop and start in that way. It ebbs and flows. Tension rises as a potential shootout looms, then falls as McClane barely scrapes away undetected
Show this thread -
This means that when the back half hour of the movie is almost relentless action, it actually feels like the movie, you know, rose to a climax. It went somewhere, organically
Show this thread -
Here's a scene Die Hard gets right which everybody gets wrong. McClane is in the vent. The terrorist (Karl?) is in the room below and suspects that the vent above him is where McClane is hidden. Karl prods each section of vent from below with the tip of his machine gun...pic.twitter.com/F7LXOZEy0y
Show this thread -
Karl is getting closer and closer to finding McClane. When he finds him, McClane is toast. Will he find him? Or will pure happenstance cause Karl to get distracted and give up, just short? So tense! Except, no! That's NOT tense, nor is it what's happening in the scene
Show this thread -
The reason this ~classic bit~ is not tense is that there's nothing which can distract the hunter except pure, dumb luck. In other words, something *introduced by the script writer*. The hunter is not easily distracted; the quarry has no options. No character agency. Who cares?
Show this thread -
The reason Die Hard's implementation of this ~classic bit~ works is that McClane is not without options. He pulls a gun and points it right back at Karl. Now, it's a terrible angle, a stupid place to start a gunfight from
Show this thread -
So the point of tension is: who's going to shoot first? How long will McClane wait? *Is* he actually toast if Karl finds him first? Will he have to start a firefight while stuck in the ceiling? And so when Karl is distracted... it still feels like it could have gone either way
Show this thread
End of conversation
New conversation -
Loading seems to be taking a while.
Twitter may be over capacity or experiencing a momentary hiccup. Try again or visit Twitter Status for more information.