# Die Hard questions and discussion **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 23, 2010, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/die-hard-questions-and-discussion/565175 "2010-12-23T12:16:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Edward\_The\_Head](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ce73a5/32.png) [@Edward\_The\_Head](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Edward_The_Head)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2010, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/die-hard-questions-and-discussion/565175/1 "2010-12-23T12:16:37Z")
Since it’s Christmas time that means it’s time for some Die Hard. And since I woke up at 3 am this morning and couldn’t leave for work until 6 what better time to watch? I have a question that I just can’t seem to figure out. There are two guys on the bottom floor, the guy who looks like Huey Lewis and the Asian guy with the mustache. Both of these guys are shooting at the cops coming in when John drops the C4 and blows the shit out of the bottom of the building. Yet later on they are both upstairs helping with the money. How the hell did they get up there and not get blown up? I must have missed something, I just don’t know what. This is still one of the best Christmas movies ever. Ever. And I wish I could find a copy of the book cheap. ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2010, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/die-hard-questions-and-discussion/565175/2 "2010-12-23T22:38:02Z")
I’m still peeved about that dispatcher woman who basically blows McCain off-you mean they aren’t trained to recognize gunfire when they hear something which sounds like it over the phone-and is fucking loud enough to make them reflexively take off their headphones? But no, we’ll just send in the overweight desk jockey who is at the end of a shift. ---
**Author:** ![Proudest\_Monkey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/proudest_monkey/32/13257_2.png) [@Proudest\_Monkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Proudest_Monkey)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2010, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/die-hard-questions-and-discussion/565175/3 "2010-12-23T23:07:55Z")
> [@Edward\_The\_Head](#): > > . . . the guy who looks like Huey Lewis . . . You mean it’s not actually Huey Lewis? What kind of a name is **Huey Lewis** anyway? ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2010, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/die-hard-questions-and-discussion/565175/4 "2010-12-23T23:47:52Z")
> [@John\_DiFool](#): > > I’m still peeved about that dispatcher woman who basically blows \*\*McCain \*\*off-you mean they aren’t trained to recognize gunfire when they hear something which sounds like it over the phone-and is fucking loud enough to make them reflexively take off their headphones? But no, we’ll just send in the overweight desk jockey who is at the end of a shift. I think you have your Johns mixed up! Unless Sarah Palin is the woman who basically blows him off: _Die Hard, You Betcha!_ ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2010, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/die-hard-questions-and-discussion/565175/5 "2010-12-24T00:30:38Z")
> [@Proudest\_Monkey](#): > > You mean it’s not actually Huey Lewis? > > What kind of a name is **Huey Lewis** anyway? Yeah, he did look like Huey Lewis, didn’t he? I was curious (and pretty sure it wasn’t Huey Lewis), so google is my friend: [This guy](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0370729/) was “Huey” in the film, although he no longer looks like Huey Lewis. Then again, [neither does the real Huey Lewis](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/29/Huey_Lewis_07-05-2009.jpg). ---
**Author:** ![outlierrn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/outlierrn/32/3005_2.png) [@outlierrn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/outlierrn)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2010, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/die-hard-questions-and-discussion/565175/6 "2010-12-24T00:38:44Z")
Well, they found some stairwell that was intact, unlikely perhaps, but handwaveable. My biggest peeve is why the hell didn’t McClain stash the detonators or throw them out the window or something so they couldn’t be recovered if he was taken. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2010, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/die-hard-questions-and-discussion/565175/7 "2010-12-24T00:44:50Z")
> [@Edward\_The\_Head](#): > > Since it’s Christmas time that means it’s time for some Die Hard. And since I woke up at 3 am this morning and couldn’t leave for work until 6 what better time to watch? > > I have a question that I just can’t seem to figure out. There are two guys on the bottom floor, the guy who looks like Huey Lewis and the Asian guy with the mustache. Both of these guys are shooting at the cops coming in when John drops the C4 and blows the shit out of the bottom of the building. Yet later on they are both upstairs helping with the money. How the hell did they get up there and not get blown up? I must have missed something, I just don’t know what. > > This is still one of the best Christmas movies ever. Ever. And I wish I could find a copy of the book cheap. Spousal unit says that the floor that got blown up was not the bottom floor, but he’ll have to watch it tonight to be sure. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2010, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/die-hard-questions-and-discussion/565175/8 "2010-12-24T00:47:58Z")
> [@outlierrn](#): > > My biggest peeve is why the hell didn’t McClain stash the detonators or throw them out the window or something so they couldn’t be recovered if he was taken. Perhaps he thought he could use them against the bad guys, or bait a trap with them. “Hello, Honey” Easter Seals is my favorite scene. 🙂 Edward: The movie bears little resemblance to the novel. ---
**Author:** ![outlierrn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/outlierrn/32/3005_2.png) [@outlierrn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/outlierrn)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2010, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/die-hard-questions-and-discussion/565175/9 "2010-12-24T01:18:41Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > Perhaps he thought he could use them against the bad guys, or bait a trap with them. Well, I’m sure that’s what he’s thinking, and clearly he does use them, but it’s still a way bad tactical decision. Render all their plastic explosive useless, or carry the detonators around in case you need them and hope you don’t get caught. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2010, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/die-hard-questions-and-discussion/565175/10 "2010-12-24T01:22:35Z")
But if he managed to whack a guy with the explosives… “Now I have the detonators and explosives, Ho, Ho, Ho!” 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Grumman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/43a26b/32.png) [@Grumman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grumman)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2010, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/die-hard-questions-and-discussion/565175/11 "2010-12-24T01:25:17Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > Spousal unit says that the floor that got blown up was not the bottom floor, but he’ll have to watch it tonight to be sure. That’s correct. IIRC, he sent the elevator down to floor N, then dropped the bomb on top of the elevator to take out floor N+1. He didn’t want to kill the SWAT team, after all. ---
**Author:** ![Edward\_The\_Head](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ce73a5/32.png) [@Edward\_The\_Head](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Edward_The_Head)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2010, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/die-hard-questions-and-discussion/565175/12 "2010-12-24T01:30:45Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > Spousal unit says that the floor that got blown up was not the bottom floor, but he’ll have to watch it tonight to be sure. Well it sure looked like the whole bottom of the building got blown up. He doesn’t send the elevators down, they were turned off, they may have been on the bottom, but the lobby was huge and more then one elevator tall. I finished watching it tonight and Huey was the next to last guy to get killed, and the Asian guy got popped on the roof. ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2010, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/die-hard-questions-and-discussion/565175/13 "2010-12-24T01:37:22Z")
> [@Proudest\_Monkey](#): > > What kind of a name is **Huey Lewis** anyway? I always assumed his middle name was Dewey. ---
**Author:** ![Capitaine\_Zombie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e95f7d/32.png) [@Capitaine\_Zombie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capitaine_Zombie)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2010, 9:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/die-hard-questions-and-discussion/565175/14 "2010-12-24T09:30:01Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > Edward: The movie bears little resemblance to the novel. Really? What’s the diff? ---
**Author:** ![Edward\_The\_Head](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ce73a5/32.png) [@Edward\_The\_Head](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Edward_The_Head)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2010, 10:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/die-hard-questions-and-discussion/565175/15 "2010-12-24T10:55:02Z")
> [@Capitaine\_Zombie](#): > > Really? What’s the diff? It seems that the novel [Nothing Lasts Forever](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nothing_Lasts_Forever_%281979_novel%29), has different names and some other minor details. But Wiki says that a lot of the plot and dialog is similar or the same. I just wish I could find the book for less then $40. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2010, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/die-hard-questions-and-discussion/565175/16 "2010-12-24T15:01:25Z")
> [@Capitaine\_Zombie](#): > > Really? What’s the diff? It’s a big spoiler, so I sent you a message. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2010, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/die-hard-questions-and-discussion/565175/17 "2010-12-24T15:30:11Z")
> [@Edward\_The\_Head](#): > > I just wish I could find the book for less then $40. Try your local library. There’s a copy sitting on the shelf of mine, so I know where I’m heading the day after Christmas. ---
**Author:** ![Edward\_The\_Head](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ce73a5/32.png) [@Edward\_The\_Head](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Edward_The_Head)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2010, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/die-hard-questions-and-discussion/565175/18 "2010-12-24T18:25:14Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > Try your local library. There’s a copy sitting on the shelf of mine, so I know where I’m heading the day after Christmas. Nope, neither of two counties near me have it. They have Die Hard the movie though. ---
**Author:** ![JSexton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/96bed5/32.png) [@JSexton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JSexton)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2010, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/die-hard-questions-and-discussion/565175/19 "2010-12-24T19:07:59Z")
The floor he blew up was a few levels up. It was the one with the missile launcher, not the goons on the ground floor. ---
**Author:** ![Deereman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Deereman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Deereman)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2010, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/die-hard-questions-and-discussion/565175/20 "2010-12-25T01:00:03Z")
> [@JSexton](#): > > The floor he blew up was a few levels up. It was the one with the missile launcher, not the goons on the ground floor. Just saying Ditto to this [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/die-hard-questions-and-discussion/565175.md?page=2)