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The original was posted on /r/movies by /u/jeremyRdio on 2023-08-28 20:51:06+00:00.

Die Hard rules. I think many would agree that Die Hard rules.

I’ve loved this movie since I was a kid, but the apparent meaninglessness to the title always kinda bothered me. I mean, it’s cool sounding, but I always felt that the title was just… generic-cool-word-title.

I’ve even heard the theory (this might be in an episode of How I Met Your Mother; maybe it was never meant to be taken seriously) that the movie is named after Hans because he dies the hardest.

But, on a recent rewatch, I began wondering if the title is intended to allude to the idiom “old habits die hard”. And, if that’s the case, if the title is actually a lot more meaningful than I was ever giving it credit for?

Like, the walkie-talkie scene while John is removing the glass from his foot. That scene is the emotional high point of the film (arguably the only emotional scene in the film). And it’s also John reckoning with him having been stubborn towards Holly.

I don’t know if I’m right about this, but I went from thinking that the title was just '80s machismo awesome shlock, to now actually thinking that the title has a good amount of subtlety and substance.

What do you think?