In Joseph Campbell’s hero journey model, the hero finds himself being transformed from his emotional, physical and psychological experiences. In the movie Die Hard, John McClain, a New York police officer who came to visit his wife in L.A., faces extreme physical and emotional problems while trying to overcome a band of terrorists in his hero journey. Another important element in the hero journey that is portrayed in Die Hard is the ordeal in the innermost cave. In this ordeal, John McClain is inside a ventilation shaft, with his enemies blindly shooting at him.
In the waking hours of the movie, we meet our future hero, John McClain, in the Los Angeles International Airport. He is here for Christmas to visit his distant wife and family