When your first proper action film is Die Hard, with all the thrills and wit and violence and swearing that you ever could possibly ask for, what hope does any other action film ever have?
I was a purely horror and science fiction kid, and didn't think of action as its own thing. The high-octane excitement of Terminator was still sci-fi, and anything that could happen in the mundane world was always going to be of less interest. But then I saw Bruce Willis jump off that roof Die Hard and it changed fucking everything.
I didn't see it in the theatre - just a bit young for that - but watched it dozens and dozens of times on video, and the whole film is etched into my soul. After years and years of homages and rip-offs, it's easy to underestimate the impact it had, but it really was something special, with its cop/disaster flick amalgam; the best possible main villain; the greatest hero, and the greatest henchmen.
And that entire rooftop explosion sequence is so well timed and so well-paced, it still stands up well, especially with the immortal wonder of the 'we're going to need some more FBI guys, I guess' line to cap it off.
So it ruined me for all other action films ever since. Nothing topped it, and I tried fucking everything. There were awesome new delights in Hong Kong action films, where you could see things that nobody else is doing in the world, but nothing hit me in the fucking face like Die Hard.
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