MovieChat Forums > Die Hard (1988) Discussion > Most far-fetched moment in the film

Most far-fetched moment in the film

posted 9 years ago by blanketman77
26 replies | jump to latest

OK, I love DIE HARD, mostly because McClane's antics are mostly believable, and he bleeds, gets injured, shot... he's a regular guy. But there are a couple of eye-rolling moments where you do remember you're watching an action movie and not real life. To me, the moment requiring the biggest suspension of disbelief is when McClane is climbing down the elevator shaft and the gun strap snaps off. He somehow grabs on to one of the ventilation shaft holes to prevent falling to his death. That's implausible enough, but if you look at the height of the hole he grabs, can anyone explain how he pulls himself into it?!? It's maybe a foot tall, and he's hanging by his fingertips, so without something to grab on to further inside the hole, how does he manage to pull himself up and inside the tiny vent?!? Seems impossible! Think about it...

Too nitpicky? Anyone have even less-believable scenes that kind of take them out of the movie?

[–] keyser_soze_smokes 9 years ago

Worse to me is when we see the hose wheel falling right behind him and heavy as the whole thing must be he still finds time to saw the thing off with a glass shard... it would have been better if he took his pants off lol no time for that either.

Some time ago when I posted about that people said his backbone would have broken anyway to begin with...

=======================================
🐋 Doggy dolphins? 💅Erection?

[–] NightOfTheLivingBread 9 years ago

Nothing wrong with nit picking, it was pretty convenient at how long the strap was in the first place.

I guess the only way he could have pulled himself in was if he pushed his hands against the sides and sort of shimmied up and in..

[–] JumeirahSun 9 years ago

That is pretty hard to believe, but overall I think the reason the movie works so well is that it has a realistic vibe. I myself wondered when McClane dropped the explosives down the elevator shaft why he didn't get cooked, standing there as he did with the doors open.

[–] etsis 9 years ago

That is pretty hard to believe, but overall I think the reason the movie works so well is that it has a realistic vibe.

The action scenes did have a more realistic vibe than a lot of action films, especially those of a more recent vintage. My problem with this film has always been the characters. They're cartoonish, especially the cops. Deputy Chief Robinson was a buffoon, and the F.B.I. agents were super-macho idiots. In fact they were all idiots except for John and Al. It really took me out of the film - I couldn't suspend disbelief with those characters. How could they be so incredibly dumb? How could these morons have risen to positions of authority when they are obviously incompetent?

[–] lezardormeurgeant 9 years ago

Mr. etsis,

thank you for pointing out the real stink in this movie.

In order to pin-up-up-up the central characters, they had to debase
the figures of authority, namely the police and the FBI, and end up
ridiculizing themselves. But that's left-loving Hollywood.

( Let them just try to do that in Russia or China,
or any other police state for that matter )

I don't think that it's solely Mr. McTiernan's decision to give the movie such
a leftist bias.
The Hollywood world has a bottom as foggy as any shadowy business, but it's
also glamorous enough to make us forget its putrid emanations.
And the producers and their bankrollers must have kept their feet heavy on
the director's neck.

And look at the terrorists : all rightards.
(btw, one must not mention the Baader-Meinhof or the Tupamaros
or any other darlings of the left)

The time was 1988, there was an orchestrated virulent worldwide campaign
to "free" South Africa from the villainous "Apartheid", so the villains had
to look as much like Afrikaner rightwingextremistswhitesupremacists as possible.
And symbolically, the surviving white villain had to be shot by a non-white character.

Mel Gibson's 1989"Lethal Weapon 2" is of the same bunk.

[–] 9 years ago

[deleted]

[–] lezardormeurgeant 9 years ago

By the way, "Die Hard 2" is much better when the bias is
much more toned down.
The Lorenzo comical character is believable, and redeemed himself
in the end.
Thanks Renny Harlin !

I think the drug-trafficker general Esperanza character is inspired by
Grenada's real life general Hudson Austin, the killer of overthrown
PM Maurice Bishop just before the October 1983 U.S. invasion.

The episode shows that crooked international games can be played only by askew rules.

[–] blanketman77 8 years ago

Finally found the one person who thinks Die Hard 2 is much better than Die Hard. Do you also prefer Caddyshack 2 to the original?

[–] 8 years ago

[deleted]

[–] lisardo79 7 years ago

My problem with this film has always been the characters. They're cartoonish, especially the cops. Deputy Chief Robinson was a buffoon, and the F.B.I. agents were super-macho idiots. In fact they were all idiots except for John and Al. It really took me out of the film - I couldn't suspend disbelief with those characters. How could they be so incredibly dumb? How could these morons have risen to positions of authority when they are obviously incompetent?

Also the emergency dispatch chick towards the beginning...."No *beep* lady, do you think I'm ordering a pizza?!!" In real life no emergency response dispatch would act that careless. I get that right beforehand the police were called off, as the bad guys made it sound like a false alarm, so they were being cautious. But com'n...it's an emergency dispatch for God's sake! Noone emergency dispatch would act the way like she did! That definitely wasn't very realistic.

[–] liscarkat (16524) 2 years ago

"How could these morons have risen to positions of authority when they are obviously incompetent?"

In the real world, positions of authority are often populated by people who are obviously incompetent. They are not there because of intelligence or competence, but because of ambition and love of power.

[–] GreenGoblinsOckVenom86 9 years ago

You may appreciate this video then.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PnHKv2G0wCw

Green Goblin is great! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t1L4ZuaVvaw

[–] JumeirahSun 9 years ago

I still like this movie, but thanks for the link. That was probably pretty accurate.

[–] medal5 8 years ago

The one for me is when Karl pops up at the end with an assault rifle and gets killed by Powell. What moron puts a dead body (supposedly) on a gurney and then tucks an assault rifle in with him? Karl was left hanging by the chains, so he had to be taken down by somebody. Did that idiot then say, "hey, here's his assault rifle, I'll just tuck it in here with him"? I know they wanted Powell to draw his gun again after saying he could never do it after what happened, but that was pretty far fetched.

[–] ericn2274 8 years ago

Also, Karl tracks McClane to one of the ventilation shafts by seeing a light apparently given off by the cigarette lighter McClane is using as a flashlight. It's very hard to believe that a cigarette lighter could produce that much light even with McClane's body in the way.

[–] Hendry_William_French 8 years ago

I think the film would've been more believable if McClane was an ex-special forces dude who had become a cop. All the things he pulls off in this movie are Commando/Rambo territory, despite Die Hard being famous for its 'regular guy in a extraordinary situation' mantra. I mean, he weaves in and out of the ducts and elevator shafts of a skyscraper like he's been trained to do so his whole life haha. Caps terrorists in his stride. When are cops that skilled?

Did you engage hostiles? I *vaporized* hostiles.

[–] GreenGoblinsOckVenom86 7 years ago

I think the film would've been more believable if McClane was an ex-special forces dude who had become a cop. All the things he pulls off in this movie are Commando/Rambo territory, despite Die Hard being famous for its 'regular guy in a extraordinary situation' mantra. I mean, he weaves in and out of the ducts and elevator shafts of a skyscraper like he's been trained to do so his whole life haha. Caps terrorists in his stride. When are cops that skilled?

To be fair, it is said he is a New York City cop so it's possible he might have been on a swat team and had to deal with similar situations at some point. Though it's never stated that he didn't have military training. He could've been in a war. We don't know.

1, 2 Freddy's coming for you. 3, 4 better lock your door.

[–] Hendry_William_French 7 years ago

He could've been in a war. We don't know.

I'd bet he was probably a former Marine or Army Ranger. In Die Hard 2 he's even more adept so no doubt McClane has military experience.

My name is Hendry William French

[–] ericn2274 8 years ago

Near the end when John McClane confronts Hans, he has a gun taped to his back that he uses to kill Hans and Eddie. It would have been nearly impossible for him to tape a gun to his upper back like the way it was pictured in the movie. Plus, the tape would not have stuck because John was so sweaty.

[–] melrosebeach 8 years ago

When the cop comes in to check the building the bad guy in the lobby is watching the USC-ND game, and yet it's a few days before Christmas. If anything, even in the 80's it would be bowl season. USC-ND wouldn't be playing that late in the year.

-stay thirsty my friends