Is Die Hard a Western?

Last night, my wife and I watched the movie Die Hard for the first time. I know, I’m way behind the times. We enjoyed the pacing, the writing, the suspense, and the constant problem-solving exercises throughout the film. As a western author, though, it got me thinking, could it be considered a western?

Warning: There will be spoilers ahead for those few of you who haven’t seen the movie.

Now, I know that it’s missing a lot of hallmarks of the western genre. John McLane does not ride a horse through the whole movie, the film does not take place in an untamed version of the American West, and the time period is the 20th century rather than the 19th century.

Still, even with these common elements missing, Die Hard has a lot of elements one might expect from the western genre.

Let’s start at the beginning. John McLane is a policeman (a lawman) from New York who goes out west (to California) to reunite with his wife who moved out west seeking opportunity. One might say she’s not so different from the prospectors of the Old West, who went to California seeking gold. As western stories are often about redemption, John McLane must redeem himself in his wife’s eyes, making up for the fact that he previously failed to support her in her new career.

Then we’re introduced to the villains and their dastardly plot. They seize Nakatomi Plaza and take hostages, which is not much different from the classic bank robberies we see in so many westerns.

John McLane, therefore, becomes a lone lawman on the scene to fight against the outlaws, thwart their bank robbery, and save his beloved. The movie establishes early on that he cannot rely on the police to solve the problem, which plays into the western theme of being alone, secluded on a sort of “frontier,” where the outlaws have the upper hand. On those occasions when he tries to get the police to show up and help, he refers to them as “The Cavalry,” a clear reference to western tropes.

Of course, one cannot talk about this movie without bringing up the first conversation between John McLane and Hans Gruber over the radio. In it, Gruber accuses McLane of being an American who grew up watching too much television, deluding himself into thinking he’s John Wayne. McLane says he’s more of a Roy Rogers fan. When Gruber calls him a cowboy, McLane answers with the famous catch phrase that everyone knows and loves from this movie, “Yippee Ki Yay, Motherf***er.” While this is played for laughs, it’s also McLane establishing that, yes, he is a bit of a cowboy in this instance. Inspired by western heroes like Roy Rogers, he will stand up against evil even when outnumbered and outgunned.

Many of the best westerns are about what’s commonly called “The Dead Man’s Walk.” The hero knows his days are numbered, and that number may well be up soon, and this forces him to re-think his life choices and remember what’s really important. Similarly, McLane has a moment where he speaks with Sergeant Powell over the radio and tells him, “If I don’t make it out of this, apologize to my wife for me.” While McLane does not die at the end of the film, he is forced to face his mortality, and doing so causes him to grow. Though he comes out alive, he faces his Dead Man’s Walk (though, in the book Die Hard was based on, it’s hinted that the hero did not survive).

At the climax of the film, we even get an old-fashioned quickdraw showdown. Watch the scene where McLane limps into the room to confront Gruber while his wife is being held hostage and play over it the music from any western showdown scene, and you’ll see how well the two fit. We have two villains in the room and one hero. Both villains hold guns. The hero’s hand moves toward his pistol (only instead of it being in a holster at his hip, it’s taped to the back of his neck. In a flash, he outdraws both villains and shoots them before they have a chance to act. Yes, this movie even has a classic western climax.

So, is Die Hard a western? Well, it depends on how many essential elements we are willing to say aren’t necessary for something to be considered a western. If Die Hard is a western, perhaps so are The Man in the Iron Mask, The Last Samurai, The Mandalorian, and No Country for Old Men. In any event, Die Hard embraces western themes, and does so beautifully.