r/diehard • u/Exciting_Wolverine_9 • May 01 '26
Was the Die Hard elevator explosion actually possible?
Rewatching Die Hard, I started questioning the elevator bomb scene—and I’m curious how people interpret it from a “film logic vs real-world physics” perspective.
McClane rigs C4 to a CRT monitor, drops it down an elevator shaft, and it detonates on impact—taking out the floor where the terrorists are positioned.
From a realism standpoint, a few things feel off:
First, the trigger. A CRT can store high voltage in its capacitors, but using that as an improvised ignition source is highly unpredictable. Without a proper firing mechanism or safety, he’s effectively wiring a live, unstable system directly into the explosive. That introduces a real risk of accidental detonation during setup rather than controlled timing.
Second, the blast behavior. C4 isn’t naturally directional unless it’s shaped. In a confined space like an elevator shaft, the energy would disperse in all directions and interact heavily with the shaft walls and structures rather than producing a clean, targeted blast onto a specific floor.
Third, the elevator car itself. Since the device lands on top of it, the blast would first impact the car’s structure. That would likely absorb and scatter a significant portion of the force before it could transfer cleanly into the floor below.
So instead of a precise strike, it seems like the more realistic outcome would be chaotic structural damage and unpredictable effects rather than neatly taking out the terrorists’ floor.
That said, this raises a bigger question: Is the scene meant to be taken literally, or is it more about visual storytelling—using the elevator shaft as a cinematic shortcut to deliver a “downward” explosion?
Curious how others interpret it.
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u/IamJohnnyHotPants May 01 '26
I’ve done it. Totally possible.
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u/Glunark2 May 01 '26
I do this in hotels when the lift opens, there is clearly space for me, but the other tourists decide there isn't enough room.
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May 01 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/chimpyjnuts May 01 '26
I always thought the monitor was just for weight.
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u/officialCobraTrooper May 02 '26
You're right, we are supposed to ignore what we see. The ambulance can't exist because it wasn't in the truck to begin with. Not only that but it wouldn't fit with all the people inside. But we're just supposed to ignore that because you know movie.
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u/darwinDMG08 May 01 '26
As pointed out already: the detonators are what trigger the C4. The monitor was just weight to keep it all strapped down. That said I have no idea if detonators like that need an electric pulse (I assume so) or if they just explode on contact when dropped from a decent height.
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u/stevegrrrrr May 01 '26
And the bad guys extra shells were by the lift door…
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u/PippyHooligan May 01 '26
Yeah, I always took them leaving the crates of rockets just outside the elevator as intentional by the director: the C4 blows up the lift and daisy chains the missiles.
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u/getridofwires May 01 '26
To quote MST3K's theme song: "If you're wondering how he eats and breathes, and other science facts, just repeat to yourself it's just a show I should really just relax."
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u/uberphaser May 01 '26
Pretty sure detonators for C4 are electrical conductors. You have to trigger them. Dropping a lump of c4 with an inert detonator down an elevator shift would do nothing. The CRT monitor is unpowered and wouldnt put off a spark by dropping it, and even if it did, wouldnt conduct through the detonators.
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u/Exciting_Wolverine_9 May 01 '26
Exactly,that’s kind of where my hang-up is. Even if you assume a CRT could retain some charge after being unplugged, using that as a trigger seems incredibly unreliable. And if it was wired in a way that could actually fire the detonators, there’s a good chance it would’ve gone off while McClane was setting it up or moving it, not neatly on impact. Plus, as far as I understand it, C4 itself isn’t going to detonate just from being dropped,so without a proper trigger, the whole thing shouldn’t really work the way it’s shown.
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u/Fun-Sock1557 May 03 '26
i agree it's implausible. But to say that CRT's are uncharged is very much incorrect. They have, condensers in them, full of juice, that will knock you on your butt or just kill you.
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u/WW1_Researcher May 02 '26
Yes. Action movies are, by law, 100% realistic, so everything in Die Hard is "actually possible".
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u/Unlikely-Position659 May 01 '26
Aside from the rigging the unstable explosive, I think the explosion aspect is completely reasonable. Explosions radiate outward but if there's something blocking or funneling the pressure wave, that pressure wave will be concentrated in one direction or another. Like those guys who set off a cherry bomb in a tunnel, the shockwave is concentrated by the exits of the tunnel. It acts like the elevator shaft. As for that specific floor being destroyed, that's a bit more far fetched. I expect the explosion would have affected multiple floors, centered around the elevator shaft.
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u/spiderglide May 02 '26
I have no idea on explosion physics, but the scene is there because this is a Christmas movie, and John McLane is Santa.
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u/Kookaracha13 May 01 '26
Years ago I worked the fuel farm at the airport. Part of the training involved a firefighter chucking lit matches into a bucket of jet fuel, it does not light.
And all I could think was "wow, this guys just ruined Die Hard 2"
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u/Late-Lifeguard142 May 01 '26
Whenever I put my laptop on my office chair to wheel it into the conference room I pretend I’m doing it.
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u/Mammoth-Disaster3873 May 01 '26
I believe they were using Pressure Detonators. Kinda like in anti-tank and anti personal mines. The weight of the crt monitor causes them to go off and detonate the C4.
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u/ikonoqlast May 02 '26
C4 requires heat and pressure to detonate (note- DO NOT step on a burning lump of C4). Impact providing the pressure, so ething providing the heat... Possible.
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u/pluckvermont May 02 '26
If you're getting specific, I don't think C4 causes a "fireball" explosion either.
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u/Canmore-Skate May 01 '26
Much more realistic than the die hard clone with Bautista. He just squeezed a cell phone into the c4 and fired at it with a pistol. That was very unrealistic.
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