Most critics praise Die Hard for its tightly controlled action, dry humour and unusually personable hero. Bruce Willis’s resourceful, vulnerable John McClane and Alan Rickman’s poised, theatrical villain draw the most consistent approval, while John McTiernan’s direction earns credit for keeping the set pieces tense and legible. The reviews repeatedly connect the film’s lasting influence to that combination of forceful technique and performances that give the action a human centre.
The reservations concern the writing rather than the staging, though their severity varies considerably. RogerEbert.com praises the technical work but finds the deputy police chief an unnecessary distraction that weakens the second half. The New York Times accepts the flimsy story as a vehicle for effective escapist entertainment. The Los Angeles Times takes a harder line, admiring the cinematic technique while finding the human drama silly and objectionable: a substantial dissent from the prevailing enthusiasm.