I caught the first 15 minutes or so of Die Hard today before I had to come in to work and was reminded that there are two things that happen right at the beginning of the movie that puzzle the heck out of me, even after the two dozen or so times I’ve seen it.
Thing One
John comes into the Nakatomi building, walks up to the desk, tells the guy he’s looking for his wife, and the guy says “Just type it in there,” indicating the touch-screen computer directory thingy. A few seconds of screen time are consumed while we learn that Holly is now going by her maiden name instead of her married name, then John says to the guy “30th floor?” The guy responds: “They’re the only ones left in the building.”
Now, my first reaction is “So why make me look it up, Desk Jockey?,” but my more thought-out reaction is “Okay, we just got some important exposition out of the way.” Holly’s using her maiden name (tells us something about the relationship) and the folks on the 30th floor are the only ones in the building (which is important later). But is this the best way to accomplish it? Compared to what is otherwise a very tight screenplay, this seems to be a very skittish bit of writing.
Thing Two
Moments later, John is headed for the elevators and glances over to see what I assume is a security guard dicking around with something in his hand. They exchange what I can only assume the director intended to be meaningful nods and he goes about his business.
What the hell is that guy doing? Winding his watch? Separating his stems and seeds? Cleaning his nails? I’m at a complete loss on this one.
Anybody have any thoughts on these items? Even if not, I feel better for having gotten them off my chest.
As far as your questions go, I really have no idea, but I would like to add a related observation.
When he looks up Holly’s name on the computer, it’s spelled correctly-Gennaro. However, when it’s highlighted, the computer misspells it-Gennero.
That has always bothered me to no end. Continuity problems are not uncommon, but that one was so glaringly obvious that I caught it the first time I saw the movie. Couldn’t they have noticed it beforehand and fixed it, or didn’t they really care one way or the other?
Ah, this isn’t too difficult to explain. The guy walks in off the street, says “My wife works here,” and the guard just says, “Thirtierh floor, go right on up!” Nah. He makes Willis put the name in the computer. If he’s a thief or a party crasher, he won’t know the name of anyone who works there. Once the computer recognizes his wife’s name, the guard feels free to divulge that the building is otherwise empty.
The other funny thing about this scene is that the screen shows only about a dozen people whose last names start with G. Right – in a ~30-story building. There were probably that many people whose names started with G just at the party.
The desk jockey is sitting at his station, 2 bad guys (the computer guy and the ballet dancer) pull up leaving their car in front. come in and shoot the desk jockey, kick over his body, monkey around with the computers, kicking them etc. and the security guy still is just standing by the elevators???
I thought so, too, but keep in mind a good part of the building was still under construction, and thus unoccupied. Still, that directory did seem awfully small (only a page and a half of "M"s?)
It’s still parked there when Al the cop drives up to check on the building.
I don’t have the film in front of me, but I always read the scene this way- It’s a good way to set up McClane’s competence (in contrast to the security guards) and his observant, suspicious nature. He looks around and sees (presumably) hidden security cameras, motion sensors, etc. He then sees this slightly hapless guard. I don’t remember what the guard was doing, and I don’t think it matters. I guess I always saw him messing with his walkie-talkie. The point is that the guard is a fumbling, harmless guy, and McClane is not. The exchange of glances is ironic on McClane’s part. The guard’s glance says “Um, hey, there.” McClane’s glance says, “Hello there, you goof.” It makes it inevitable and easier to digest when the security team is bypassed so easily. My take.
Y’all come to Charlotte, let’s go have beers (or maybe vodkas?) some time, miller and stolichnaya. Those are excellent explanations: they fit the details of the scene and improve my appreciation of the storytelling.
