Other mistake: Powell says he has a desk job, but he is driving a cruiser. Cruisers are for cops on patrol. A cruiser would not be issued for a cop at a desk, especially not one who's on his way home, as Al says he is.
Die Hard (1988)
Plot summary
Directed by: John McTiernan
Starring: Bruce Willis, Alan Rickman, Bonnie Bedelia, Paul Gleason, Reginald VelJohnson
On a Christmas Eve inside the Nakitomi Plaza in Los Angeles, Califonia, thirty people are held hostage by German terrorist... But the terrorists are unaware that an armed civilian is running around the building, taking the terrorists out. The civilian is John McClane of the NYPD, at the party with his wife. Without shoes, socks, or a regular shirt, and armed only with a Beretta 92F pistol and his brainpowr John fights for his life against the terrorists in this high-octane action thriller.
More mistakes in Die Hard
John McClane: A hundred million terrorists in the world and I gotta kill one with feet smaller than my sister.
Trivia: During filming, Alan Rickman was found proficient at mimicking American accents; the scene in which McClane and Hans Gruber meet was then inserted.
Question: If the guy at the reception desk knew that the only ones left in the building were on the 30th floor, why did he tell John to use the screen?
Answer: Any answer is speculation; but a simple explanation is he may have forgotten the only people left were there for the Xmas party until John mentioned the 30th floor. The guard also seems fairly proud of their new high-tech touchscreen system so he might have just had John use it to show off how nice the building is.
Answer: Most likely he just wanted to showcase a nifty (by 80s standards) piece of technology to a visitor.
Answer: The party was on the 30th floor and John was asking for a specific employee, his wife. He had no idea where she was exactly.
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Answer: Most large companies, particularly hi-tech or multinational ones, require visitors to check-in, especially afterhours. By having John search for Holly's name, it can be verified that he actually knows someone who works there, that there is an actual employee with that name, and otherwise assess whether John is a legitimate visitor. This scene's real purpose, however, is for plot exposition. John learns from the monitor that Holly now goes by her maiden name (Gennero) rather than her married surname. We see John's annoyed reaction to learning this, which sets up a later confrontation between him and Holly over their troubled marriage.
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