Die Hard Movies Ranked (Die Hard 2)
(Photo by Fox/Courtesy Everett Collection. DIE HARD 2.)
The latest: Sometimes they yippie-ki-yay again: Die Hard 2, the 1990 follow-up to the modern action standard-setting original with Bruce Willis returning as John McClane, celebrates its 35th anniversary!
Just how influential was 1988’s Die Hard? For a good solid decade afterwards, action movies were pitched and sold as “Die Hard on a something,” like Die Hard on a bus, or in a football stadium, or in a dirigible. The movie seemed to re-invent and immediately perfect the action formula, with detective John McClane as the guy who’s simultaneously in way over his head and always one step ahead of the bad guy, brought to life by Bruce Willis with a steely glint in the eye, and cynical everyman wit and humor. Die Hard also turned “Nakatomi Plaza” (aka 20th Century Fox’s HQ) into a Los Angeles tourist attraction. In reality, the building is situated right next to their studio lot, so you can imagine the cost-savings when it had to get taken over by terrorists. Thanks for thinking economical, Hans!
The sequels have had their ups and downs in sending John to the nation’s capital (Die Hard 2), to Russia (A Good Day to Die Hard), and twice to his old stomping grounds in New York (Die Hard With a Vengeance, Live Free or Die Hard). And now we’ve taken the entire franchise to rank all Die Hard movies. Yippee-ki-yay, Tomatometers! (Alex Vo)
94%
82%
68%
60%
15%
