Nakatomi Space

https://www.bldgblog.com/2010/01/nakatomi-space/

Interesting essay that compares Die Hard and the Bourne movies to Israeli Defense Force tactics of moving through cities/buildings without using the normal routes: streets, sidewalks, stairs.

The IDF techniques come from an essay called "Lethal Theory" by Eyal Weizman:

soldiers used none of the streets, roads, alleys, or courtyards that constitute the syntax of the city, and none of the external doors, internal stairwells, and windows that constitute the order of buildings, but rather moved horizontally through party walls, and vertically through holes blasted in ceilings and floors.

The author continues:

So why do I mention all this in the context of Die Hard? The majority of that film’s interest, I’d suggest, comes precisely through its depiction of architectural space: John McClane, a New York cop on his Christmas vacation, moves through a Los Angeles high-rise in basically every conceivable way but passing through its doors and hallways.

...What I find so interesting about Die Hard—in addition to unironically enjoying the film—is that it cinematically depicts what it means to bend space to your own particular navigational needs... Why not personally infest the spaces around you?

Short and worth reading