As Bruce Willis returns to the iconic role of John McClane in “A Good Day to Die Hard” it’s helpful to look back at what has brought this all American action hero to the forefront of the popcorn genre. Once an every-man cop from New York City, Willis/McClane has become a minor superhero whose action feats are every bit as massive and unbelievable as those of Superman or Iron Man without the need for a costume, beyond a preternatural smirk.
Here’s a look back at the action scenes that have defined the hero that is John McClane
The Roof Leap – “Die Hard”
Having just survived a brutal hand to hand battle with Alexander Gudonov’s Karl, John McClane made his way to the roof knowing that it was rigged to blow. After clearing the roof the hostages whom were set to die in the massive blast to come, McClane plots an amazing escape. Tying a fire hose around his waist, McClane leaps off the side of the Nakatomi Plaza with only the hose tethering him to the side of the high rise just as Hans Gruber (Alan Rickman) blows the roof off the joint. McClane’s harrowing leap wasn’t the end however, as once he’s on the side of the building, his jerry-rigged escape rope begins to fail. With seconds to spare, McClane uses his already bloodied bare feet to break a window and swings himself back inside the building just as the fire hose holder breaks from the side of the building.
“The Ejector Seat” – “Diehard 2: Die Harder”
It seemed impossible that John McClane would find himself in the midst of a second terrorist plot yet in 1990 with his wife high above New York state, John must thwart terrorists intent on crashing her plane and several others until a terror leader held by the United States is released. Just as the terrorists are getting their leader back McClane makes a move to capture them. The ensuing fight finds McClane aboard the terrorist getaway plane. Cornered, McClane looks like a dead man after the bad guys exhaust their supply of bullets into the plane and then start tossing grenades. The ever resourceful McClane, noticing the plane has an ejection seat, straps himself in for the ride of a lifetime, just as the plane blows sky high.
“The Boat Escape” – “Diehard with a Vengeance”
Years of happening upon terrorist plots finally caught up to John McClane in 1995’s “Diehard with a Vengeance.” A terrorist (Jeremy Irons) intent on getting revenge against John for the killing of Hans Gruber (original ‘Diehard’ villain, Alan Rickman) announces that he will blow up a school unless McClane performs a series of challenges. The wild goose chase is merely cover for a massive heist but it does lead to a major action scene as McClane and his unlikely partner Zeus Carter (Samuel L. Jackson), find themselves aboard a tanker ship filled with the very explosives that were thought to be in the school. Locked to the bomb, McClane and Zeus use a piece of steel stuck in McClane’s arm and a fire ax, put to painful use, to break their chains and then must survive a chilling dive from the tanker as it explodes behind them in classic action movie fashion.
“Car vs. Helicopter” – “Live Free or Diehard”
A fourth time? Four times John McClane has become embroiled in a terror plot? It stretches credulity but if you bought into it three times before, why not a fourth time. In “Live Free or Diehard” McClane must team with a computer nerd (Justin Long) to foil cyber-terrorists. However, just because these are cyber-terrorists don’t think that there aren’t bullets flying and stuff blowing up real good. In fact, “Live Free or Diehard” features a pair of the biggest explosions in the ‘Diehard’ franchise.
Explosion number one finds McClane in a car being chased by baddies in a helicopter. Trapped in a tunnel with helicopters on either side, McClane comes up with a bizarre yet clever plan. Using a tollbooth as a launch pad, McClane throws his car into gear, puts a piece of steel on the gas pedal, and aims the car at the tollbooth. Naturally, the car hits just the right angle to fly right at the low-flying copter causing a spectacular explosion.
The second, climactic explosion is even crazier than the first. Having tracked down the terror leader, played by ‘Justified’ star Timothy Olyphant, McClane commandeers a fighter jet and takes aim on the bad guy’s mobile headquarters. The sight of our blue collar cop hero under the canopy of a fighter jet is certainly comical but the fun, excitement and explosions that ensue more than make up for the goofball idea.
