Really That Good: DIE HARD
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 4 ก.ย. 2024
- REALLY THAT GOOD is a new kind of film-criticism series, built around the radical premise that just because "everyone knows" a movie is a classic doesn't mean it stops being worth a deeper look.
Case in point: Who doesn't love DIE HARD, the 1988 action classic that rewrote the rules of its entire genre and made a megastar out of Bruce Willis? Few blockbuster shoot-em-ups are as sharp, well-made and just plain fun... but is fun all there is?
Maybe - but even the simplest rollercoasters are mini-marvels of engineering. Was DIE HARD simply the right movie at the right time, or has it stood the test of time with superior construction? If so, just what is it that makes that construction so superior?
If you enjoy this show and want to see more like it, please consider a donation to The MovieBob Patreon: / moviebob1
The quote that stuck in my head was Gruber telling Karl to "Shoot the glass". Killing hostages, blowing up buildings, sure, but shooting the glass because John is bare footed... that is just pure evil.
But effective!
It also shows Hans isn't all about killing John. It's not personal johns just in the way. Sure when given the opportunity Hans wouldn't hesitate like the famous scene when they first meet & john hands him the unloaded gun. From the beginning Hans just wanted him neutralized. He told Karl he just wanted them to trap him in the elevator shafts & reminds Karl of that later b/c Karl made it personal understandably b/c he killed his brother. Hand told him when he wanted blood he'd have it once they got the money they wanted. So shooting the glass was again about neutralizing John. Once Hans found the detonators he was happy & had moved on from getting John, Karl didn't as he trashes a beverage cart back upstairs b/c he's all about getting Even whereas hans just wants the loot & to make the authorities think they all died to get away w/ it.
I like how you focus on the good of the movies while almost all of the rest of movie/game critics only talk about how terrible everything is and have nothing but screaming. Good job Bob.
Phreaker1997 I think that's part of it, the other part is it's easy to pick on plot holes.
So, rest of the internet jump on this bandwagon and start to dig for plot holes even in great movies. Thus, this becomes the type of videos people expected to watch on TH-cam and TH-camrs have to conform to their audience.
Which is very interesting, even Nostalgia Critic and couple of big ones seem to talk about filmmakers pander to their audience to produce poor quality films, at the same time they pander to their audiences by trashing lots of movies instead of giving them a fair review.
While they may have good points on some of the stuff they said, but overall vast majority of these type of reviews are incredibly negative.
Kuanhung Chen Agreed! It's refreshing to have someone praise a thing they love instead of pissing on easy targets.
Phreaker1997 Well, it's as The Nostalgia Chick said; by the end of the day, online criticism is a business and most of the traffic comes from negative reviews. It's not that they don't have anything to say about it, it might just be they can't really get funny material out of good things, which is something that's important for drawing in an audience.
Sean Conner That's exactly what I don't like about those kind of videos.
On one hand their criticism about most of the movies is that they are unoriginal and panders to their audience. Meanwhile making a negative video that does nothing but attack a movie or game's plot hole is exactly like so everyone else, their negative criticisms are also unoriginal and pander to the crowd that want to watch people trashes movies and games. Yet, they don't see the irony in it.
TheDavoo Thanks for the suggestions, I can use some refresh change of attitude after all the negativities I have been watching.
27:49
I agree with the entire piece except that part. I mean, the tragedy IS that Powell shot a kid. That is exactly WHY he doesn't carry a gun anymore. His arc is rooted in his guilt for taking an innocent's life. That's just as relevant now as it was then.
RIP Alan Rickman
MovieBob, RTG is shaping up to be one of the best review shows on the internet. Keep up the good work!
Oh shit ... I'm the guy who calls it my favorite Christmas movie.
Jamie Chambers Don't feel bad. I've used that joke before but now I say it's Iron Man 3. :)
+Jamie Chambers It's not a joke or a big mystery, or something to be maligned. If this is the movie that really reminds you of Christmas, or feels right, then it's your favorite. Fuck moviebob if he thinks you can only have an opinion like that as a joke.
Die Hard is a great film, and if you want to watch it every holiday season like I do, then guess what, it's probably one of your favorite holiday movies.
Jamie Chambers We all do, we all do.
Five years later: It's great that this is your favorite Christmas movie.
The joke was directed at people who think that's still a clever thing to say.
I'm cool with you, and I'm sure Bob's cool with you.
@@MCXL1140 woah calm down spanky
I unironically love Die Hard as a great Christmas movie. Honestly, it ties with the original Miracle on 34th Street for my favorite movie to watch around the holidays.
I've never thought of that as an "edgy" opinion. I just think that re-watching Die Hard helps me relax and makes me excited to celebrate Christmas, just like re-watching Miracle on 34th Street does.
This is great, and an excellent idea for a series. If I may suggest, could you Do:
-The Godfather
-Jurassic Park
-The Terminator
-Terminator 2: Judgement Day
-Star Wars(Or, A New Hope, as it seems to be called now)
-Jaws
-Halloween
-The Texas Chain Saw Massacre(74)
-Alien
-Aliens
-Predator
-Conan the Barbarian
-The Lord of the Rings
Thanks so much for reading and continuing to put out such great content. See ya next time!
Boy, would there be so much to talk about with Lord of the Rings trilogy. A bit too much probably, may be as long as the Batman V. Superman videos.
Indiana Jones and The Thing
Aliens, Predator, and the Thing
Well he already did Star Wars and teased Lord of the Rings so there's two to look forward to...
The Texas chainsaw massacre remake is also good.
Dude, when I say that Die hard is my favorite Christmas movie I'm not saying it to be cynical, or edgy or crass. I genuinely feel it is the ultimate Christmas movie. It's all about getting home for the holidays and Christmas uniting an estranged couple once more.
And it has Yuletide Carols! Can't get more Christmas than that!
Also, the reason WHY Hans has one of the best deaths ever? That look on Alan Rickman's face is real. They were supposed to stunt drop him on a count of 5, but did it on 3 instead, so McTiernan could get a "oh crap" look from him.
Jon Ericson Wow, never knew that. I heard the same thing happened to Heath Ledger's reaction in "The Dark Knight" when the Joker blew up the hospital.
I've heard it said as "on 5" then dropped at "3" but also that it was meant to be "on 3" and they dropped him at the count of 1. Not sure which is true but either way, Rickman was bad about it in the moment, but forgave it because he realised later that it had *more than* worked to sell the reaction.
19:03 Look at those fucking prices
In CALIFORNIA
David Curry Wow!! Good eye.
it really is my favorite christmas movie though, i'm not trying to be funny, it's my favorite movie that takes place on christmas
I watched it around christmas time every year, it's tradition.
Me too.
Same here. Christmas just isn't Christmas without it for me. I need it to sort of take me away from the whole atmosphere of Christmas for just a moment without removing me completely from it, since it does take place during Christmas, but the action scenes are as anti-Christmas as it can get. I love Die Hard.
It’s a lot of ours - the ironic thing about Bob’s bit at the beginning is that now the “edgy” stance is to deny that Die Hard is a Christmas movie.
Die hard has its firm place in the pantheon of greatest movies of all time. I watch it several times a year, and there are few movies that will ever hold up and be as timeless as the first Die Hard.
I watched Die Hard for the first time about a year ago, and so I had no nostalgia feeling that would influence my viewing. While I don't want to spend time pinpointing down my favorite action movies and place Die Hard somewhere on that scale, I can tell you right now that it is one of my favorites and definitely one of the best action movies to ever come out.
The mistaking toy guns for a real gun was something that was based on the time period as well, and was meant to be just as sobering then as it is now, though for different reasons. A toy company created a line of toy guns called Entertech whose primary marketing angle was their realism. Multiple officers shot children carrying these guns, leading to the addition of an orange tip in 1987. But by then the damage had already been done, and the idea of a cop shooting a kid with a toy gun was firmly entrenched in the parental horror stories we were all subjected to.
I remember being told not to play with my toy guns in the front yard specifically because cops might see it and confuse it for a real gun.
Having the tragedy being Al losing his nerve was less about the tragedy itself and more about exploring the other side of the story, the one that wasn't ever explored in a media obsessed with mourning youth and denigrating the police force. We get to see that NO those cops weren't bad people, and YES it did affect them. It doesn't make the kids' deaths any less important, but it makes what seems to be a simple situation (a shooting) much more complex by allowing us to sympathize with a person we normally wouldn't.
...and because of that, it serves as a large analogy for the narrative as a whole. McClane is a murderer, and he actually enjoys shooting people, but we sympathize with him in the face of the impossible odds he has to face. After all, what other option does he have? Al's story is a microcosm of that: a police officer put into an impossible situation who nonetheless is human... for better or for worse.
+Nick Fox
Sorry, but I'm with the TH-camr on this. With 20/20 hindsight and the advent of the video-taking phone, we can see that many of the police who shoot kids are not good guys and ARE bad people. So maybe we had better stop saying things like "a media obsessed with mourning youth and denigrating the police force" because it's a great blind for racist, unfeeling police officers to hide behind. Not 10 years ago, all of these police officers who are currently under investigation or charged would have gotten away scott-free with their killings, and you know it. The media would have posted nice pics of the policeman and reported on what lovely family men they were--obsessed as the media was at the time with the image of a shiny, honorable, and friendly police force.
We have seen with our own eyes on TH-cam that policemen will throw down a weapon next to someone they've cold bloodedly shot in the back in order to give them a plausible excuse for the murder. In other news, the police officer who drove up to that 12 year old in the park and shot the kid point blank is likewise not a good person, he did not do what he should have been trained to do and a child died because of it -- according to policemen in my family, he should have been thrown off the force for not following proper protocol alone, which is to park a few yards away and approach a possible gunman slowly, assessing the situation as you approach and engaging the gunman in talk (which is what they seem to do fine when the guy waving the gun is a white person.) I was told by people who are on the job that that cop in question was a hot-dogger and self-described "maverick" who had drawn many reprimands for his supposedly "cool" behavior flouting the rules. He thought he was in a movie, apparently.
So let's approach each instant of a police officer killing someone without assuming guilt on the part of the dead person and innocence on the part of the officer, or vice-versa. Let's have someone NOT the cops investigate these occurrences to determine if they are crimes. They police have the citizens' lives in their hands and should be held to a higher standard of behavior rather than a lower one, and should be trained accordingly... and fired if they can't keep up. And I'm entirely on board with a good cop being wracked with guilt over accidentally killing a child. That makes him or her human, unlike the idiots who go on Facebook and insult their victims.
+Nick Fox Well said except for McClane is a murderer.
He is not shedding innocent blood but the blood of evil terrorists. It is self defense.
Except looking at this issue with 20/20 hindsight from our own perspective at this point in time misses the point. How exactly do you take a movie to task for not accurately predicting and centering all of its messages around something that won't happen or be widely understood for more than 25 years after the film is made? There weren't a bunch of videos of cops shooting people down without cause, but there were cases in which cops accidentally shot kids because they mistook a toy for the real thing. That actually happened, and yes the toys used to look much more realistic. Showing a good cop suffering the emotional and psychological drama of having been involved in such a shooting doesn't diminish the tragedy of the child's death. If anything, it's clear that the writer and director believed it was pretty universally understood how horrible such a thing was. What's better story telling: showing the same thing over and over again, or giving you a different perspective on a well known topic? Every indication is that Powell is a good cop and an even better person. So, his shooting isn't a vicious act. It's a both honest and horribly tragic accident.
Btw, the recent shootings that you're referring to are completely inexcusable, but that doesn't mean that they're as clear cut as some seem to want to make them. I highly doubt that the vast majority of these cases involves someone who simply gets off on killing. I'd be willing to wager that it more likely demonstrates that the psychological makeup necessary for being a good cop is less prevalent than we want to believe it is. A cop needs to be able to remain calm and rational even under the most stressful circumstances. Most people are simply incapable of this. Our fears and anxieties inform are decision making and our actions. Toss in stereotypes and the perception that some people are inherently more prone to violent criminal behavior, and you have a recipe for disaster. Does that make them flawed? Yes, especially when it comes to being a cop. Does that make them sinister individuals who get off on hurting or killing others? No. Don't get me wrong, I have no doubt that such people exist, or that some of them wear badges. Assuming that anyone involved in a questionable or down right bad shooting fits into that group, however, is an oversimplification that does nothing to fix the actual problem.
I think another thing to consider is that Al in terms of his character gains further character development when he finally kills the terrorist in the end and saves John's life. He picks up his gun after not wanting to use it ever again. This shows he finally understands the true duty of a police officer, and it makes us gain faith in the police force after we leave the theatre. If anything its a pro-police message that is delivered exceptionally well.
The company who made the realistic toy weapons was L.J.N.
I love this series so far Bob. Lots of great comments and analysis that I've never heard of and never thought of. I just hope you never run out of movies for this series!
When you were naming off the robbers from 4:46-4:51 I think you forgot about Eddie, the guy who pretends to be a security guard, guards the Nakatomi entrance, and gets shot in the head during the "Happy trails, Hans" scene. But, you remembered that Kristoff actually existed because he's often forgotten about. Pretty awesome video, by the way.
I'm really loving this series so far. I'm not very good at critical analysis, and all of your shows help, but I'm fascinated by the stuff that you show when you really dig deep into these movies.
Are you taking suggestions? I'd be really interested to see The Princess Bride on here. I've always found it to be a movie that tries to look like it's "so bad it's good", when I think it really is legitimately good.
dementeddr I'll second that one.
dementeddr Thirded. Princess Bride is a fantastic film that manages to be a flat-out comedy while managing romance, action, adventure and heart in equal measure.
Fourthed?
dementeddr Fithed, mainly because Princess Bride is my favorite movie of all time.
Billy Weed The princess bride is indeed a joy to watch. I remember being a little boy and secretly watching and loving it, but I didnt admit it because I thought I was girly and lame for liking it.
I'm loving these Really That Good so far but I feel like the next film you tackle should be from outside of the 80's if anything for some variation
Athavan Rajasingham I'd love to see him do something with some sharper themes like Breaking Bad or Orphan Black. Actually, shows like that probably deserve a Season-by-Season analysis.
dorsk188 I agree though I would probably wait for at least a year or so after Orphan Black finishes its run
Athavan Rajasingham I think it would be controversial to say that newer movies are going to become classics because you just don't know for sure yet. Of course there's the obvious movies from the 90s that he has to do like Matric, Good Will Hunting, Silence of the Lambs and maybe Clerks? And then some 2000s movies like Harry Potter, Raimi's spider-man , The Dark Knight maybe. But the movies after the 2010s are hard to pull off because they're so fresh and it's uncertain whether it'll become a classic. I do expect him to do one of The Avengers since it's his schtick to be that nerdy guy.
Ultimately I think he'll take on easy movies at the beginning. Those movies that came out in his childhood, I'd expect a Star Wars or maybe a Jaws or E.T. I think he first wants to get some viewers and subscribers before venturing into the controversial. But then again maybe controversial will get him more views.
yehbe
As far as new movies go, I think Avengers has earned the instant classic title, and moreover is worthy of this kind of in-depth analysis due to how unique an idea it was, and it's financial and cultural success.
On the other hand, you're right that distance and time allow us to get some genuine perspective and recover from the initial hype. Plus, if he did (for example) do an analysis of Orphan Black's first season, you never know how the third, fourth, or fifth season may shake out. TH-cam is forever, and you really don't want to be the guy singing high praises of the first season of Lost.
yehbe Clerks? The Moviebob I know is not a fan of Kevin Smith.
I think the reason that this Die Hard's "meta references" are good are because they are done more naturally than Scream. It's an insult you could see someone actually throw at someone else.
In scream, well, nobody talks like that.
@suny123boy1 Cabin in The Woods is a better Scream movie than Scream!
Fantastic review, though I think you were a little hard on Holly. My nine year old son (who has cut his teeth on Marvel and Disney - actually the same thing, now, isn't it?) freaking loves this film and I love watching it with him. One thing you didn't hit on in relation to the "everyman" quality of Bruce Willis' character: the swearing. Seeing this in the theater in '88, I was so impressed with Willis' fight scene swearing, something that never really caught on in subsequent movies. There was something so real about his desperate cursing, the way it reflected the character's need to sort of psych himself up into becoming a badass, that few movies have had the guts to do.
Ikr!
It's like a more adult version of Spiderman making quips to psyche himself to deal with the intense situations and confrontations!
I would like to see episodes on Alien, Speed, Back to the Future, Toy Story, and Ferris Bueller's Day Off.
Oh man, an Alien RLG would be awesome.
I don't think Bob thinks Ferris Bueller is actually good. Or maybe I read that into his Vacation episode because I don't think it's very good.
toy story 2
Speed aka Diehard on a bus is amazing Keanu Reeves is just like Bruis
Before I watch, Bob I would just like to say that I really enjoyed your Ghost Busters video and look forward to any more videos from you. I don't ever comment really but the content you create on your own channel, and what you produced for the escapist, is very enjoyable to watch. Keep on keeping on, Bob.
Hey Bob, here are some suggestions.
- Original Raimi SpiderMan for another episode?
- Shawshank Redemption
- Memento
- Predator
- Total Recall (original)
- Rambo
- Goodfellas
- The God Father pt 1
- The Dark Knight
Just to list a few
Alex K Never saw Momento but I think Bruce Lee's Enter the Dragon would make a great episode.
Alex K I'm gonna add a few and replace Spiderman 2 with Evil Dead II (If you have to pick only one Raimi film, and I know Bob's only going to pick one of anything for this series, it's *got* to be Evil Dead II)
-The Matrix
-Fight Club
-Blade Runner
-Mr Smith Goes to Washington
-The Third Man
-Drunken Master II-The Good, The Bad & The Ugly
-Dawn of the Dead (Original)
-The Fly (Cronenberg)
-Jurassic Park
-Raiders of the Lost Ark
There are a lot more but those would keep Bob busy for a year.
Geahk Burchill Dang that's a good list. We did forget a couple classics though.
- Citizen Kane
- Gone with the Wind
- Casa Blanca
Alex K I thought about all those but I don't think they are what RTG is about. (From Bob's description) All of the movies Bob has expressed interest for in this show have a real 'Cool Factor' Casablanca has some of it but not at the level I think Bob would want for a show that is a bit more pop-culture driven and for Gen X-ers primarily.
I picked The Third Man and Mr Smith as classics because the do have a bad-ass quality about them. They are classics with some grit and fun that something like The Sound of Music lacks.
I forgot to mention Back to the Future as a candidate for the list
Alex KI'd love to see an Evil Dead episode.
A very high quality review!! You did this film such justice. I love all the detail, you left no stone unturned! I can't wait to watch the sequels.
One of the best quotes in all movies ever: "Sir, this line is for emergency purposes only" to which Mclane says "No fucking shit lady, does it sound like I'm ordering a pizza!!!!" Fucking classic.
love the opening and thanks for the anti thinker cameo, its kinda suprising just how much Al Rickman has done, he could been the whole 30 mins.
ForNoGoodReason it flows really well as well
ForNoGoodReason I feel dumb for not realizing this was the same guy from potter.
ForNoGoodReason ha picturing snape opposite of frank Sinatra.
ForNoGoodReason I hope he doesn't retire "bro suff" entirely.
ForNoGoodReason why shouldn't really that good include spots on actors?
This is much improved on the first one! It felt much smoother and far more polished than RTG Ghostbusters, and I look forward to even more of these. Thanks, Bob!
I'm hoping for an eventual True Lies RTG.
Loving the new series!
Wow, I wasn't actually expecting to see another episode of this series at least for another week, considering the amount of effort and time that must go into making these. Props to you Bob, and thanks for another great episode.
Thank you, MovieBob. Die Hard is NOT a Christmas movie!!! Christmas is just the plot device used to get McClane inside Nakatomi Plaza!
Scott Grohs I agree I don't think they even have a tree in the background at any point. Makes sense as it's a Jappanese owned building.
Batman Returns is more a Christmas movie at least that has the right tat and kitsch in the sets.
This is a *brilliant* video, Bob. I haven't heard someone talk about Die Hard with such passion since forever.
Oh, and while that's a _really_ good quote by the late, great Roger Ebert, it's also kinda funny to remember that the man didn't really like Die Hard when it came out. (I miss reading Ebert's reviews.)
Love it. Cannot wait for what's next, and cannot wait until you get to "Transformers" (1986).
I love Bob when he does this sort of stuff. He really is the best at it.
Not only is this video fantastic, but the aside about Reagan helped me with an AP test today. Thanks MovieBob for all you do, keep it up.
Still my favorite Christmas movie
I'll see myself out, thank you
Loved this. Would love to see your take on the first two Terminator movies too.
Is it weird that now I kinda want to know why you think Scream sucks?
He did a review on scream 4 where he explains it. Basically he felt it was lazy in how it used the lampshade hanging but still use all the cliches and didn't really have anything to say about the genre other than "lol why don't they ever call the police, or the victims are always dumb girls, ect
Mariaalicia Barraza Never saw that one. Is it over on his Escapist page?
Yes
I can see where he's coming from, but it don't think that just because the movies don't really have anything profound to say about the genre makes them bad movies. I basically point to the reviews Welshy did on them for why they're great even beyond the whole meta thing which is really more of a gimmick than a focal point.
Nicholas Moore I think the problem he has with Scream is that it thinks it has a lot to say, and thinks it's profound. I actually love Scream, but I don't think it's very smart. The "horror movie satire" always felt like first draft stuff, like Williamson just wrote all the tropes out, crafted a few dialogue scenes around them, and that was about it. Scream doesn't do any deconstruction of the tropes it's pointing out, but instead revels in them. Like I said, I love Scream, but I don't think it has a lot to say.
Moviebob is over here, tickling the nostalgia bone of every 80's kid ever with this series
Found your video through Polygon, really enjoyed this break down! Nice work!
Really enjoying these.
Great work.
Bob, I don't comment on too many videos, but I like you man.
Your keen eye when it comes to film, your ability to draw thematic comparison, and your constant attempt to give meaning to ideas through context have all made you one of my favorite minds on the internet.
So you know, I wouldn't make a comment like that lightly.
Rock on, my man.
Should do an episode about LA Confidential 👌👌👌
yessss
"let us first acknowledge these splendid nuts" is now my ringtone
Bob, you better be doing Robocop soon!
TheKingMgee He kind of already did though.
Would love to see his take on Robocop. Another classic.
I know it's not going to happen because you seem focused on movies primarily from your youth, but I would be so happy to see an episode of Really That Good about Hot Fuzz, which is easily one of the best action comedy's ever made.
The connection between Die Hard and Reagan (well spotted!) makes it an interesting coincidence that Reagan had his offices in Fox Plaza (the building used as Nakatomi Plaza for the film) after he left the White House. (See www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/inside-ronald-reagans-die-hard-635440)
I just found out about this series a few days ago and have become an instant fan. You've provided thoughtful, circumspect, and positive analysis that makes me want to see these movies again. Keep up the great work!
iron man 3 is the new hipster answer for favorite christmas movie
Someone needs to do a "Really That Good" on Really that good. This show makes me love things I loved even more, or discover nuances in art that I loved viscerally but couldn't put into words. Well done. Slow clap.
When I was a kid, my mom showed me this movie that she really liked called Die Hard. Secretly, I thought it was gonna be some “boring old people movie”... I’ve loved this movie ever since.
480p is good enough for me.
Better watch it quick, before it gets taken down or something.
I like the new perspective and trivia you provide on these.
to me nothing will be as good as the 'does it sound like i'm ordering a fucking pizza?!'
Die Hard is, unironically, my favorite Christmas movie. My dad and I used to watch when I was a kid, and it brings me back home. So, screw you, not everyone who says that is a post-irony hipster whose too cool for everyone.
Yeah, Die Hard 4 is a LOT different to the previous installments, but I like it a lot. Maybe even more than the first Die Hard. They just should've called it something else.
Ianuarius85 Die Hard 4 does get unnecessary flak. It's not a bad movie at all.
+jed52 Agreed with both of you. I think the movie is actually very misunderstood, and is actually a pretty solid movie.
+jed52 Die hard 4 is better then die hard 2
Thank you for this well done piece of informative entertainment : ) I am not an action movie fan at all, but this is one of the few action movies, i still enjoy. it's the kind of movie i'd watch with my dad.
Keep up the good work, Bob. You've found your niche, and I cannot wait to see how this series evolves when you improve the editing.
Some of what Bob mentions here can also be found in McTiernan's previous movie, Predator.
Can't say I agree with you on Holly entirely. The movie placed her as the more successful and less irrational parent of the two. Painting John as a bit of a dinosaur expecting his wife to fail and come back to him in New York. But instead she succeeds greatly at her job and shows that she doesn't really need him.
Even John himself admits to being the one who's being childish after they had an argument about why they don't live together anymore at the start of the movie.
So Holly I don't feel is as hollow as you claim. I always thought of her as being portrayed as self assertive and intelligent.
And in the sequel she's still working for Nakatomi, and in between films John do move from New York to live with her, rather than the other way around.
"Let us first acknowledge these splendid nuts"
Bob Chipman, 2015
Great episode! I really enjoy the format for this series and it's really enjoyble to hear you talk so passionately about movies
in the intro/anouncement video for Really That Good there where clips from the 1986 animated Transformers movie. I hope that wasnt a tease. That movie is my heart and soul and would really appreciate you giving it that critical eye. Love all your work. keep it up.
Scream does NOT suck, Bob. You are wrong about that one, but agree to disagree.
One thing I will say is that I always had this weird head canon that Winslow was a LA cop before moving to Chicago, like he was this hidden bad-ass, who wanted to raise his family someplace not tied up with his past, because of the confluence of Family matters and Die hard.
My mind was blown from that Sinatra trivia fact. I'm telling everyone that!
I've have made the exact claim you mock, "Die Hard is my favorite Christmas movie." You have shamed me sir, I'll show myself out.
I'm a little confused as to why he said 'Live Free or Die Hard' was godawful, when in his review he said it was a good movie. Granted, it's been eight years since he wrote that, but I'm wondering if he is remembering it wrong, or if something has changed his assessment of the movie.
+WookieFragger There have been a few times where he has an initially positive review of something but then it sours for him in a major way over the following weeks, months, or years. He was somewhat infamous for a while for saying that Man of Steel was nearly perfect but then slagging it off as a side comment in almost every video he made for the next few months.
He's probably better at reviewing things that he's had a long time to think about. Unless it's awful. Then you get the freshly burned fury that seems to have done well for him lately with stuff like Pixels.
+WookieFragger Movie is shit, franchise killer
+tltar253 A Good Day to Die Hard killed the franchise, not Live Free or Die Hard.
It's hard to stop thinking about KSP with that music there, Bob.
I'm loving RTG, Moviebob, you are brilliant.
"Really That Good" really is really that good!
Good work Bob, really.
Jurassic Park
Nice cameo appearance for the anti-thinker. Though I never really minded people saying ironically that this was their favorite christmas film as a joke. After all, my favorite christmas film is Lethal Weapon.
I'm just going to call it before I watch it.
Misogyny and the patriarchy will probably come up at some point in this review.
***** You were not too far off with that comment.
*****
Movie tailored for men gets whinny about female characters.
Its like complaining about the notebook or dear John didn't have enough war action for the boyfriend and husbands in the audience.
***** How's treating the female character essentially like useless background filler the same thing as what you described?
For the record, I do think people need to calm down slightly even if their complaints are justified, I just think your comparison is off the mark.
***** As Jim Sterling says, the people who claim not to be interested in social justice issues seem remarkably eager to talk about them at every opportunity.
***** As a guy i find the idea that movies tailored for men can't have interesting or strong or even...you know,,,,actually personality having women incredibly insulting. You're also saying by extension that men essentially want women to be whiny, weak, personality less background decoration which means that....feminist pop culture analysis is right?
I can't say enough how much I appreciate you keeping the politics conceptual and not getting into it. It is increasingly difficult to find entertainment without someone using their moment of attention to make their opinion known and that just ruins the experience. The purpose of entertainment is to let us forget about those views for a moment. Die Hard works because even if you were against Regan, it let you experience the hype that he claimed to represent. It stuck to the broad, less political, ideology of the times. Seriously, keeping politics at arms legth is a must for entertainment these days
Great video would love to see your style of analysis on Unforgiven
28:58 "and then there's the tacky symbolism of Hans holding onto her Nakatomi watch... literally being pulled to her death by the token of her choosing a career over having a traditional family role..."
Wow. Can't a prop just be a prop?
SERIOUS QUESTION: When is something just a thing and not a deeper symbol of something you do or don't like? For example: I could claim I really didn't like how Argyle was used as a symbolic message that slavery wasn't all that bad. Even though the black man was the servant of a white man, and spent most of the movie in the basement alone while the master was up having a good time at the part with other masters, Argyle was enjoying his master's luxuries and was also having a good time despite being segregated from the whites. Thus, giving the distinct impression serving the white master is actually a positive experience. It would've been so much better had the role been played by a white man. Then, it would've only meant Argyle had chosen that job, and was free to advance to better jobs when the opportunity arose, and no pro-slavery message would be there.
I'm sure none of you ever thought of that, just as I never saw any symbolism in the watch. At what point can someone say "You're goofy and wrong. No symbolism is present"?
(I guess I just get annoyed with people reading stuff into things and then complaining about them.)
Ever hear of "Chekov's Gun?" It's a trope that says "If the movie makes a point to show you a gun hanging on the wall, at some point later in the film, someone is going to shoot that gun".
She's given that watch in the opening scenes of the film as a very explicit reward for all of the hard work that she's done. It is absolutely, undeniably, a symbol of her putting her career ahead of John (made even more clear by the fact that they fight about it not 5 minutes later in the film). Taking off that same way is, in the same way, very clearly undoing that order of preference.
He definitely isn't reading into things. That was very overtly the whole point of the watch.
Never heard of it. I'm a noob when it comes to movie philosophy/critiques.
Ok. I get that the film made a point to mention the watch, but nothing became of removing the watch at the end other than the obvious saving her from the bad guy. If it was also shown she quit Nakatomi, went back to being a housewife, and was happier for it, then I think your point would be much stronger. (But like I said, I'm a noob at this. Just using what seems like common sense to me.)
Perhaps I wouldn't be so annoyed at people reading symbolism into stuff if it wasn't always followed by a complaint. I never hear anyone compliment any symbolism. In fact, I just heard there's a couple that object to the Christmas song "Baby it's cold outside" because they claim it's about date rape. So stupid. It seems like people are just looking for stuff to be annoyed at.
We interpret symbols (subtext) in light of the surrounding context. The context could be a scene, some dialogue, or the actual culture that the movie was made in (which Bob loves to examine a lot). Your joke critique on Argyle doesn't have any overt signifiers to draw a comparison to slavery, but the fact that he's a black guy subservient to white society is definitely true (the limo driver could have been white or Asian or a woman or not shown at all). Did they make him black because it's an indictment of the west-coast world? Possibly, but we'd need more evidence of its intentionality. Is he black because it's just true to life? Black people really do often work jobs where they're subservient to white people. In that case your symbol is actually a critique on society. You're just seeing how an actual social problem is manifesting in art.
+goldenheartOh, You should take a gander at some of the myriad "The Shining" interpretive vids if you want to see when a prop is not just a prop. There are leagues of inane, imaginative youtubers mining every speck and tittle of The Shining for some deeper meaning. For instance, I saw someone making a connection between Danny's shine friend Tony and boxes of Frosted Flakes (with Tony the Tiger) glanced by the camera in the kitchen storage room of the Overlook. The Nakatomi watch symbolism may be off-target, but no where near as absurd as some of what you'll find on the Intertubes.
The watch moment came from the books as well, and was mentioned as something she bought after screwing a latin american republic, there is a series of vids about comparisions of the books and movies. But yeah something to note.
Awesome review! I love the perspective on how the culture of the time a movie Is produced in is vitla to understanding it, and it provided an interesting contrast to the cold war paranoia and fallout-esque bomb shelter radioctivity signs plastered over alarmist leaflets and warnings I normally associated with the fictionalized mythology of the time period.
Don't agree on Scream, but I'd love an episode where you try to convince me otherwise pleaseeee
So you resolved the claim that was blocking this in the UK?
This is turning out to be one of Bob's greatest shows!
This is great. You're causing great discussions while being both positive and intelligent
My favourite christmas movie is still Die hard, ain't nothing going to change that.
I could listen to this guy all day, great observation after great observation.
Really enjoying these videos Bob - keep up the good work!
Watch it every Christmas, watching it today made think the thing really stands out isn’t any of the action, and not even even the dialogue, which are both exceptional. Just that every character always feels like they’re breathing. No one is really just in a shot doing nothing, especially the henchmen. Grabbing candy, sliding down the railing, dicking around with each other, not locking John up when they could’ve because Karl wanted revenge. Everyone just feels so human
I've actually still never seen all of Die Hard.
Even so, I'm really liking this show. Best show you've created so far, I think.
Bob, I have to say that I had my doubts when you left Escapist. Big Picture was a fun series when it was about pop culture oddities, and surprisingly levelheaded when it was about politics. I might have not agreed with everything, but I can appriciate a honest, well formed argument. Escape to the movies made me refer to you as my "go-to movie reviewer" when talking about movies with my friends.
But then both shows ended and what was left was Game OverThinker, a show I never really could get on board with. When it comes to video games, your focus on the golden days of late 80's early 90's console games just simply do not gel with my personal preference of modern indie/mid-budget PC games. Our opinions just didn't seem to meet, and I was sad about it, because I really enjoyed your previous content.
But this series, this is good stuff. I love the idea of looking at a classic film from a positive yet honest viewpoint. It's refreshing and great food for thought. It's really easy to simply point out the things that do not work, and much harder to actually find why the things that DO work are so good.
Anyhow, waiting for your next video. Good luck man, hope you keep making these.
I saw Die Hard for the 1st time on TNT Classics in 1995. I am not American nor have I ever been to the US and Die Hard is on my all time fav films list.
Bob! I'm so glad you're still doing videos. These are really very good and I enjoy how long they are. If you're taking suggestions I'd like to see you do a video over Bob's Burgers. You've mentioned it before as a hidden gem and I started watching it after hearing you say that. I think it deserves some recognition, and I think you're the man to give it.
moviebob Could you feature Saving Private Ryan in a Really That Good episode?
It's my favorite movie, and I'd love to hear your opinions.
Another great video, this series is really starting to become special. Id just suggest something different for the next video (assuming you haven't already started making it). The first two have both been big 80's blockbusters, and maybe some other kinds of classics would freshen up the series.
Suggestion: A new series called "Really That Bad". You could go into great detail why a certain movie is so horrible
MovieBob, praising Alan Rickman before it was cool. Though, with all due respect, RIP Mr Rickman.
I think a good analogy for choosing Bruce Willis for Jon Mclain could be get Heath Ledger for the Joker. It was a massive risk for the movie not being taken seriously, but he did an incredible job and shaped the image of the Joker today.
I've always thought that you should do a show called Comics are Weird, those were always my favorite episodes of The Big Picture, since I am familiar with many comic book characters but have never really read comics, finding out about the weird and kinda awesome history they come from was entertaining to me. Just a thought.
Good analysis as usual, you're making them really fast... I like that, keep up the good work (perhaps something from the 70s next time though)
I like the scene where Hans is asking Theo if he can break into the vault system and Theo replies: "You did not take me with you for my charming personality, did you?" And this movie was made in the late 1980s. Already by that time there was the tendency to hire people because of their "personality" instead of their qualifications and competence.
Die Hard and Rambo were two series that had great first movies...
and the rest just becomes "Generic Action Hero" movies.
This film is a master class in making an action movie.
Still think you should do pulp fiction
kindaawkwardbro Don't get me wrong, I love that movie but it's pretty widely acknowledged as a masterpiece. I think this show is best utilized defending movies from the internet snark machine, which seems fairly content to leave Tarantino alone.
who gets snarky about ghost busters or die hard?