Die Hard often ranks highly in most "Greatest Action Movies Of All Time" lists. The 1988 film established Bruce Willis as a major Hollywood star and gave birth to a franchise that is still alive today. On Rotten Tomatoes, the original movie has an impressive score of 93%.
There have been five installments in the franchise so far, which have been spread across three decades. While some of the installments have been brilliant, others have been forgettable. But has the franchise gotten better or worse with time?
10 Worse: The Villains Became Dull
The first Die Hard film had one of the best villains of all time. Hans Gruber (Alan Rickman), the terrorist and thief from West Germany, spoke like an antagonist in a slasher film and was as cool as James Bond. Despite how evil he was, Gruber was so likable that watching him die felt like a tragedy.
Unfortunately, Gruber set such high standards that the subsequent antagonists never came close to living up to the original. His brother was even brought in as a villain in the third installment but that didn't trigger much excitement. By the fifth installment, the villains were so ordinary to the point of being annoying.
9 Better: Keeping Up With Modern Times
It can be argued that 2007's Live Free Or Die Hard is the second-best film in the franchise after the first installment. In it, McClane went against a group of cyberterrorists who wanted to create a fire sale and bring America's economy to its knees.
The best thing about the movie is that they didn't transform McClane into a computer genius. He is an old school type of guy and so he was often clueless about what was going on. But the young hacker he was protecting did his best to explain what was going on. The plot managed to fit perfectly into modern times and this made the movie a hit with both fans and critics.
8 Worse: Things Became Unrealistic
Strangely enough, John McClane was more human in the earlier Die Hard installments than in the latest ones. At a time when action heroes were untouchable, McClane was getting injuries that slowed him down or made him look like he could die.
However, in A Good Day To Die Hard, McClane suffers plenty of what would be considered serious injuries but continues with his mission as if nothing happened. He doesn't even wince in pain despite the fact that he's older now. McClane smashes through windows, falls from high floors, and keeps taking all kinds of bumps.
7 Better: The Family Drama Was Heightened
Despite McClane being a badass law enforcement officer, he has never really gotten along well with his family. In the beginning, he had problems with his wife, Holly, as he refused to move with her to California after she got a new job. The two separated then got back together before getting divorced.
By the events of the fourth film, the family drama had gotten even better. McClane's estranged daughter, Lucy, was in college and she totally hated her dad; however, he still ended up saving her life. In the fifth film, McClane's son Jack hates him too but he goes all the way to Russia to save him and the pair alternate between arguing and protecting their own lives.
6 Worse: Weak Storylines
Apart from Live Free Or Die Hard, every other installment that came after the 1988 classic has a weak plot. The second installment was about planes and terrorists, which have been done to death. The third installment tried to bring back memories of the first installment by introducing Gruber's brother Simon.
Simon wanted revenge against McClane and to also steal gold bullions from the federal reserve. Doesn't that sound familiar? In the fifth and latest installment, McClane's son was a CIA agent who had been captured in Russia. Thus McClane had to go and save him. None of these plots were unique.
5 Better: Badass Sidekicks
It would be unrealistic for an aging cop to continue going against hordes of bad guys all by himself. This is part of the reason why the Rambo franchise became more polarizing as it progressed, as the protagonist remained the tough do-it-himself kind of guy even in old age.
The Die Hard franchise has gotten better by allowing McClane to have ass-kicking assistants. One of the more notable ones was his son Jack, who helped him tackle the Russians.
4 Worse: The Action Sequences Became A Bit Michael Bay-ish
While watching some of the more recent installments in the franchise, viewers might pause to do a quick Google search to find out who directed them. No, Michael Bay has never directed a Die Hard movie but it feels like he has. The explosions? The chase scenes? They are a bit too much.
Watching McClane doing an extended monster truck maneuver on top of other cars on a freeway ought to be impressive, but it is far from that. Isn't he killing innocent drivers? Things were better in the good old days when the action would just take place in a single location. And there were some thriller elements too.
3 Better: Making McClane More Than Just A Cop
There is nothing wrong with being 'just a cop' but there are dozens of good police procedurals to watch for those that love police action. McClane is a brilliant detective but in order to evolve, the hero has to do more than just police work, and that's exactly what happens in the most recent installment. The stakes were higher – it was not just about his job. No, this time, it was about his family. McClane's son was in danger and he had to save him.
The action hero also got out of America for the first time. As a result, McClane ended up looking more like a super spy than just an NYPD officer. The next thing the franchise needs to do is to promote him to a different agency. Probably the FBI or the secret service so he can put Gerard Butler out of work.
2 Worse: McClane Lost His Personality
Part of the reason why the earlier movies were so enjoyable was McClane's personality. McClane kept on bantering back and forth with the stranger he was paired with, he mocked the bad guys, he stood up to his superiors, and he generally lived his life recklessly.
All of these traits have been absent recently. McClane just seems like a guy who wants to kill bad guys and nothing more. He somehow became a robot, devoid of any amusing characteristics. Hopefully, the old McClane will return if a sixth installment is created.
1 Better: The Titles Became Cooler
Recent installments in the franchise have had titles that are good as those of the worst James Bond movies. That's right. The worst Bond movies have the coolest titles: Quantum Of Solace, Tomorrow Never Dies, The World Is Not Enough, The Man With The Golden Gun, etc.
Instead of simply Die Hard 3 or Die Hard 4, recent installments in the McClane universe have had titles such as Die Hard With A Vengeance, A Good Die To Die Hard, and Live Free Or Die Hard. These are all very cool titles that make audiences excited for a movie, even if they do not directly impact a film's overall quality.
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