Arguably, one of the most beloved and seminal action movie franchises that spawned in the '80s is the Die Hard movie series. The franchise does something interesting, where it ignores what made action movies popular at the time and replaced the muscle-headed action heroes like Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger and replaced them with an everyman in Bruce Willis. The series ended up creating a new sort of action hero, where people like Bruce Willis, Mel Gibson, and Nic Cage could realistically step into the role of the savior of the world.
The franchise then specialized in putting Willis's John McClane into dangerous situations, outnumbered, and forced to fight for his life. However, not every movie in this franchise is created equally. Here is a look at all the films in the Die Hard franchise, ranked according to IMDb scores.
A GOOD DAY TO DIE HARD (2013) - 5.3
The most recent addition to the Die Hard franchise came in 2013 with A Good Day to Die Hard. It is easily the worst-ranked movie in the entire series by far, and the only one with below a 7.0 score on IMDb, sitting at a barely average 5.3. In this fifth movie in the series, John McClane's son Jack is arrested for an assassination attempt, and John heads to Russia to help him.
When John arrives, he learns that his son is a CIA operative and has been undercover for three years. Father and son, who had not spoken in years, then have to set out together to fight a high-ranking and corrupt government official who has gunned for both men since Jack has evidence that could incriminate him. It isn't just fans on IMDb that disliked the movie, as critics rated it a low 3.94 on Rotten Tomatoes.
LIVE FREE OR DIE HARD (2007) - 7.1
The fourth movie in the Die Hard franchise hit in 2007 with Live Free or Die Hard. The film sets John McClane out to battle a new kind of villain — cyberterrorists who hacked into the government and business computers across the United States with the intent of destroying the nation's infrastructure.
This movie was blasted by fans when it hit theaters because it lowered the rating from R to PG-13, eliminated the cursing, and made it a little more family-friendly. There was an unrated version that hit DVD, but the movie still fails to match up to the original trilogy. However, the relationship between McClane and computer hacker Matt (Justin Long) is refreshing.
DIE HARD 2: DIE HARDER (1990) - 7.2
There is nothing wrong with Die Hard 2: Die Harder except for the fact that it is almost a retread of the first movie but in an airplane instead of an office building. There is also one thing that action fans might love about this first sequel — the death count is massive. Die Hard 2 almost go an NC-17 rating due to the death scenes, including one where a villain is sucked into the turbine engine of the plane.
However, editing gave it the necessary R-rating, and John McClane was back for more, battling terrorists holding an airplane hostage, once again with his wife as one of the captives. If anything, Die Hard 2 was no less of a "Die Hard on a ..." than movies like Speed and Under Seige were. The one thing holding it above the rest is John McClane.
DIE HARD WITH A VENGEANCE (1995) - 7.6
Die Hard with a Vengeance changed up the format of the film franchise. Instead of John McClane being trapped somewhere battling terrorists, he is given a vast playground to move in. It also brings him a partner for the first time in Samuel L. Jackson's Zeus, a cab driver with a bad attitude. This was a huge change, as it took McClane from one man against an army and gave him a partner in crime, something the fourth and fifth movies copied.
The movie also is impressive because it builds the world that McClaine lives in. Instead of just having another random terrorist take hostages that McClane has to save, the brother of Hans Gruber from the first movie is seeking revenge against McClane for Hans's death. McClane is sent on a race against time, and a game of Simon Says if he wants to save the city from a terrorist bombing.
DIE HARD (1988) - 8.2
There is no doubt that the best movie in the entire Die Hard franchise is the first movie in the series. This is the greatest Christmas movie ever made that is only visually about Christmas. McClane's wife is at her company's Christmas party when terrorists, led by Alan Rickman's fantastic Hans Gruber, takes the party hostage. Out of all the films in this franchise, there isn't a villain as spectacular as Hans Gruber.
McClane shows up late, and when he realizes what is happening, he sets out to try to stop the terrorists and save his wife, while only dealing with one lone police officer on a walkie-talkie who believes him. The dialogue is crisp and sharp, and the action is top-notch. McClane is a new breed of action hero, an ordinary man who will do extraordinary things to save those he loves.