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How others will see it. Bad guys must be stopped. Loner hero is on the job. This is a guy movie, and action film, and a suspense thriller. It's a box office smash. Joe Sixpack should love it.
How I felt about it. Bruce Willis saved his career with Die Hard, which kept him from having to list Moonlighting alone on his resume. Since we know Willis survives to make Die Harder, Die Hardest, and Still Not Dead Yet, it takes away some of the suspense. We suspect Willis will narrowly escape death more times than James Bond. We also suspect that all the bad guys will get theirs, one by one, courtesy of Mr. Willis, while proud and brave Bonnie Bedelia escapes without a scratch. Once we learn there are seven security levels, with the seventh the toughest, it's a lock the first six levels will taken down in a matter of time.
All goes according to schedule, although minor surprises emerge. The world's most patient, yet irresponsible, limo driver emerges from car phone and concert to punch out a bad guy, and the good guy cop takes down the most vicious and Lazarus-like villain. Nice touches include a centerfold in a men-only corridor, and a Vaughn Monroe Christmas song at the end of the film.
Of course, there are dumb things as well. An ambitious television anchorman becomes a minor subplot, and Bedelia risks jail on an assault and battery charge by punching him while she's on camera. (Of course, we're supposed to laugh. Punch him again! Ha ha!) The street cop, the assistant police chief, and the FBI quarrel over jurisdiction and manliness. Willis' limo driver spends the whole film waiting for Willis to call him. Bedelia tells Rickman how much she dislikes him (Such needless courage! Try that in real life). Bedelia has a pregnant co-worker, and a jerk would-be boyfriend, to add further drama. Willis outruns bullets on more than one occasion. Willis corners Rickman, strings him along, but doesn't kill him. The same happens when the bad guys have the drop on Willis.
The marvel is that it is as good as it is. The smell of action movie formula is strong. You can see events coming. The characters are exaggerated. But is is a good movie, and in fact, better than most films with promise to be good.
So, why does it work? Part of the unlikely magic is Willis, a comedian turned action hero who is clued in that his role is looking good (but tense) in a muscle shirt. Alan Rickman is a hissable villain, and his German henchmen really do look angry. (Aren't there medications for that now?) In other words, the magic is a freak of casting and competent direction.