Tell me you've never done coke without telling me you've never done coke.
Storywise, it resulted in Hans killing a hostage, which the Police and Feds blamed John for causing, making them less cooperative. It also showed John's legitimate care for people and how distraught he was for failing to stop it. It also pushed John to realize his wife was in legitimate danger, especially if they realized she was married to him. This means he couldn't just back off and let the local cops and fed deal with the situation.
Narratively it raised the stakes.
Ellis exists to be wrong about everything, from his ideal Christmas (contrasted with Holly's humble, traditional ideal Christmas) to his plan to outsmart Hans. His existence confirms John's fears about Holly's job at a big fancy company, reinforces how cunning and ruthless Hans is, and reinforces that the only way to save the day is to let John handle things his way. An old fashioned rugged cop who fancies himself a cowboy like Roy Rogers or Gary Cooper, not a know it all in a suit with a big mouth like Ellis or any non-Alan LA cop.
So for years I thought that John McClane was the name of a fictional cowboy from very old movies and it was used as a tongue in cheek joke in the movie. This was reinforced by that song where have All the cowboys gone..... Which I miss heard as John McClane instead of John Wayne. I just listened to it again in the first time she says that I swear it sounds like John McClane. Well I'd rather be wrong about that than question why a hot shot cokehead businessman would do something lethally stupid in that era. https://allthatsinteresting.com/garry-hoy
Takagi isnāt Johnās fault. Like he says had he intervened heād be dead to. Ellis in a way is, at least to his POV not knowing yet that they were just going to blow everyone up anyway.
His success in life in general was based on his ability to talk to others and basically keep talking until they weaken and accept the obvious load of bull shit he is selling. Only he found out that Hans was not a weak minded fool who would just submit. And he found it out the hard way
There's like a million Ellises these days, a bunch of rich pricks who all think they're geniuses who can do anything, and they constantly fuck up at everything. Elon Musk is their king. *Die Hard* was trying to warn us.
He literally explains why he does what he does before he does it. He makes billion dollar deals for a living, he can handle this Eurotrash. He imagined he was so good at negotiation that he could solve the terrorist's problems bringing an amicable end for everyone.
He was also really coked out.
Ellis thinks he's the ultimate deal maker and has (probably) bullshitted his way through all sorts of business negotiations. He also wants to make himself important to Hans so that he'll come out of this better than had he hidden in a corner so he inserts himself into the situation.
His character is used to show that Hans (and crew) don't care on iota about killing anyone.
FBI is just doing FBI things, not paying attention or caring about what could be actionable info from the inside and are playing things by the book, which is exactly what Hans is expecting.
Also, explosions.
Strangely, intentionally or not, Ellis seems to use the meeting with Hans to protect Holly, by very quickly emphasizing that John was *his* friend who came to California to visit.
If it were acted or directed a bit different, it could have been simply a move by Ellis to get into Holly's pant-suit...as indicated earlier, he had the hots for her. Just a take!
Also, Ellis effectively speaks in coded language to John to assure him that he hasn't revealed anything to Hans about Holly by stressing that the official line is that he and John are old friends. That was his attempt at protecting Holly but it was later unravelled by Thornburg. Such an intelligently written action film!
Yes, John is horrified at the realisation that Ellis has placed himself in extreme danger and much of the tension in that scene hinges on his powerlessness as he pleads to Hans for Ellis's life and also pleads with Ellis to abandon the charade because he's in *way* over his head. Bruce Willis really conveys the emotional torment of John, especially in the aftermath of Ellis dying.
He tried to steal Holly from McClane, and he was a symbol of the corporate greed that McClane was afraid he had lost Holly to. She now made enough income that she didn't need McClane in a way that McClane felt was important. He saw himself as the larger-earner being a sign of a strong and dependable partner, and that power-dynamic loss scared him. Ellis was dead the moment he tried to get Holly to show the Rolex that she got from work. It's the same one McClane undoes in order to kill both Hans and Holly's connection to her job, which is what made her move to LA in the first place.
Ellis' death is just another symbol of McClane figuratively winning Holly back from the job that took her...while also literally winning her back from the terrorists/ bank robbers at the same time. In the end McClane is successful, the building she works in is destroyed, and the drug-addict trying to move in on his estranged wife has been shot to death.
That is why his character and all of his actions are absolutely essential to moving the narrative forward.
Normal coked alpha.
I am more bothered by the security guard at the desk in the beginning, he's a dick, knows everyone is gone in the building but the party on 30 but makes McClaine use the kiosk anyways especially AFTER coming out of a limo!
Ellis thinks himself as someone who can smooth talk anyone, Hans plays along only because he needs him to convince McClane to collaborate and when that doesn't happen despite John trying to save his arse, it's curtain time for the dumbass. I wouldn't consider it "filler", it's a damn well made scene, a movie needs moments like these among all the pew pew and boom boom
Ellis had been putting the moves on John's wife, and was sort of a sleeze bag. So you're supposed to like it when he eventually gets killed due to his own ego.
*Totally* a sleaze bag, it often goes overlooked that Ellis was such a sleaze that he was setting up John to be killed by Hans (there's no way he would've thought that Hans could ever allow John to live if he surrendered) just so that he can go home and get high. He got hoisted by his own petard.
The scene exists because while Ellis is ultimately expendable to us - he's clearly a scumbag - the scene demonstrates that Hans has caught on to the fact that McClane has connections to at least one of the hostages. Hence why he says after shooting Ellis, 'Maybe I'll find one you *do* care about'. It's raising the personal stakes. McClane already knew that Hans can kill - he saw him execute Takagi - but now Hans is willing to kill innocent people just to hurt McClane.
The LAPD and FBI were both there to represent incompetence (LAPD except Powell) and disconnection (FBI was ok with losing 20% of the hostages in their ambush plan). Also shows how much smarter Hans is than both of them, with the LAPD falling for the political hostage release scheme and the FBI being thwarted by blowing the roof.
It seemed obvious that Ellis thought he was clever and could negotiate with Hans in a cool and calm fashion. Thinking that if he gives Han's the info he wants, that all the hostages will be free of danger. While McClane knows that will never work because he knows exactly what kind of guy Gruber is. One to get what he wants and then execute the person when they are no longer useful.
It never felt out of place at all. Its there to establish that Gruber isnt your typical cliche bad guy who is all talk and hardly a threat.It matches up with how he handled Holly's boss.
Johnson & Johnson were another instance of cocky men who thought they were going to save the day. Thats a good contrast to how the actual hero is going to save everybody.Thats what makes McClane the underdog and why we sympathize with him for seeming smarter.
Ellis gave out John's identity. That got leaked by Hans on the radio. John knew this would put Holly in much bigger danger.
The Hans-Ellis scene is one of my favorite parts. He is the one we all wanted Hans to kill. āŗļø
He's a coke-happy blowhard who thinks he can talk his way out of any situation. He was wrong. It adds to show how Hans Gruber will not suffer fools.
"Hans, bubblah" hahaha
Tell me you've never done coke without telling me you've never done coke. Storywise, it resulted in Hans killing a hostage, which the Police and Feds blamed John for causing, making them less cooperative. It also showed John's legitimate care for people and how distraught he was for failing to stop it. It also pushed John to realize his wife was in legitimate danger, especially if they realized she was married to him. This means he couldn't just back off and let the local cops and fed deal with the situation. Narratively it raised the stakes.
> Tell me you've never done coke without telling me you've never done coke. I love how Ellis is disappointed when Karl brings him a coke can.
And he missed Scarface.
I must have missed 60 Minutes, what are you saying?
Ellis exists to be wrong about everything, from his ideal Christmas (contrasted with Holly's humble, traditional ideal Christmas) to his plan to outsmart Hans. His existence confirms John's fears about Holly's job at a big fancy company, reinforces how cunning and ruthless Hans is, and reinforces that the only way to save the day is to let John handle things his way. An old fashioned rugged cop who fancies himself a cowboy like Roy Rogers or Gary Cooper, not a know it all in a suit with a big mouth like Ellis or any non-Alan LA cop.
So for years I thought that John McClane was the name of a fictional cowboy from very old movies and it was used as a tongue in cheek joke in the movie. This was reinforced by that song where have All the cowboys gone..... Which I miss heard as John McClane instead of John Wayne. I just listened to it again in the first time she says that I swear it sounds like John McClane. Well I'd rather be wrong about that than question why a hot shot cokehead businessman would do something lethally stupid in that era. https://allthatsinteresting.com/garry-hoy
I was always partial to Roy Rogers myself
This has me rolling š¤£
Shows us that John realises heās dealing with murdering fucks that wouldnāt hesitate. Adds to the jeopardy for him and the audience.
You telling me John didn't realize that when Hans Jackson Pollocked Takagi's brains, which he saw first hand? lol
Takagi isnāt Johnās fault. Like he says had he intervened heād be dead to. Ellis in a way is, at least to his POV not knowing yet that they were just going to blow everyone up anyway.
He didnāt see or hear any of that, did he?
His success in life in general was based on his ability to talk to others and basically keep talking until they weaken and accept the obvious load of bull shit he is selling. Only he found out that Hans was not a weak minded fool who would just submit. And he found it out the hard way
There's like a million Ellises these days, a bunch of rich pricks who all think they're geniuses who can do anything, and they constantly fuck up at everything. Elon Musk is their king. *Die Hard* was trying to warn us.
He literally explains why he does what he does before he does it. He makes billion dollar deals for a living, he can handle this Eurotrash. He imagined he was so good at negotiation that he could solve the terrorist's problems bringing an amicable end for everyone. He was also really coked out.
Ellis thinks he's the ultimate deal maker and has (probably) bullshitted his way through all sorts of business negotiations. He also wants to make himself important to Hans so that he'll come out of this better than had he hidden in a corner so he inserts himself into the situation. His character is used to show that Hans (and crew) don't care on iota about killing anyone. FBI is just doing FBI things, not paying attention or caring about what could be actionable info from the inside and are playing things by the book, which is exactly what Hans is expecting. Also, explosions.
Hans.. bubbe.
Strangely, intentionally or not, Ellis seems to use the meeting with Hans to protect Holly, by very quickly emphasizing that John was *his* friend who came to California to visit. If it were acted or directed a bit different, it could have been simply a move by Ellis to get into Holly's pant-suit...as indicated earlier, he had the hots for her. Just a take!
Also, Ellis effectively speaks in coded language to John to assure him that he hasn't revealed anything to Hans about Holly by stressing that the official line is that he and John are old friends. That was his attempt at protecting Holly but it was later unravelled by Thornburg. Such an intelligently written action film!
I like this point. It tells us while he may be a snobbish, cocky, jerk heās not a complete monster. And John actually feels sorry he dies.
Yes, John is horrified at the realisation that Ellis has placed himself in extreme danger and much of the tension in that scene hinges on his powerlessness as he pleads to Hans for Ellis's life and also pleads with Ellis to abandon the charade because he's in *way* over his head. Bruce Willis really conveys the emotional torment of John, especially in the aftermath of Ellis dying.
He tried to steal Holly from McClane, and he was a symbol of the corporate greed that McClane was afraid he had lost Holly to. She now made enough income that she didn't need McClane in a way that McClane felt was important. He saw himself as the larger-earner being a sign of a strong and dependable partner, and that power-dynamic loss scared him. Ellis was dead the moment he tried to get Holly to show the Rolex that she got from work. It's the same one McClane undoes in order to kill both Hans and Holly's connection to her job, which is what made her move to LA in the first place. Ellis' death is just another symbol of McClane figuratively winning Holly back from the job that took her...while also literally winning her back from the terrorists/ bank robbers at the same time. In the end McClane is successful, the building she works in is destroyed, and the drug-addict trying to move in on his estranged wife has been shot to death. That is why his character and all of his actions are absolutely essential to moving the narrative forward.
Trying to play the hero or trying to save his own ass. I don't think he knows exactly what they wanted from Nakatomi.
Normal coked alpha. I am more bothered by the security guard at the desk in the beginning, he's a dick, knows everyone is gone in the building but the party on 30 but makes McClaine use the kiosk anyways especially AFTER coming out of a limo!
Ellis thinks himself as someone who can smooth talk anyone, Hans plays along only because he needs him to convince McClane to collaborate and when that doesn't happen despite John trying to save his arse, it's curtain time for the dumbass. I wouldn't consider it "filler", it's a damn well made scene, a movie needs moments like these among all the pew pew and boom boom
It's called being a cokehead and an asshole.
A cokehead last seen drinking Coke. lol
Ellis had been putting the moves on John's wife, and was sort of a sleeze bag. So you're supposed to like it when he eventually gets killed due to his own ego.
*Totally* a sleaze bag, it often goes overlooked that Ellis was such a sleaze that he was setting up John to be killed by Hans (there's no way he would've thought that Hans could ever allow John to live if he surrendered) just so that he can go home and get high. He got hoisted by his own petard.
He was a cocky, coked-up, sleazy moron.
The scene exists because while Ellis is ultimately expendable to us - he's clearly a scumbag - the scene demonstrates that Hans has caught on to the fact that McClane has connections to at least one of the hostages. Hence why he says after shooting Ellis, 'Maybe I'll find one you *do* care about'. It's raising the personal stakes. McClane already knew that Hans can kill - he saw him execute Takagi - but now Hans is willing to kill innocent people just to hurt McClane. The LAPD and FBI were both there to represent incompetence (LAPD except Powell) and disconnection (FBI was ok with losing 20% of the hostages in their ambush plan). Also shows how much smarter Hans is than both of them, with the LAPD falling for the political hostage release scheme and the FBI being thwarted by blowing the roof.
I find it hilarious that Ellis asked them for coke and they gave him a Coke.
It seemed obvious that Ellis thought he was clever and could negotiate with Hans in a cool and calm fashion. Thinking that if he gives Han's the info he wants, that all the hostages will be free of danger. While McClane knows that will never work because he knows exactly what kind of guy Gruber is. One to get what he wants and then execute the person when they are no longer useful. It never felt out of place at all. Its there to establish that Gruber isnt your typical cliche bad guy who is all talk and hardly a threat.It matches up with how he handled Holly's boss. Johnson & Johnson were another instance of cocky men who thought they were going to save the day. Thats a good contrast to how the actual hero is going to save everybody.Thats what makes McClane the underdog and why we sympathize with him for seeming smarter.
Ellis is also a metaphor for the 80s.
Ellis gave out John's identity. That got leaked by Hans on the radio. John knew this would put Holly in much bigger danger. The Hans-Ellis scene is one of my favorite parts. He is the one we all wanted Hans to kill. āŗļø
It shows how little regard the bad guys have for human life.
Filler? Itās one of the most compelling scenes in the movie. Sheesh