'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
The Die Hard franchise, which debuted with its first film in July 1988, has now become synonymous with high-octane action and suspense, with one iconic hero at the center of it all - John McClane, played by Bruce Willis. Recently, on the 35th anniversary of the celebrated movie, Emma Heming Willis, Bruce's wife, took to Instagram to share a post commemorating the occasion.
Since the release of the first film in 1988, John McTiernan's action drama has thrilled audiences worldwide with its storyline, characters, and sets. The movie is based on the Roderick Thorp novel, Nothing Lasts Forever, and has been turned into a franchise with subsequent movie sequels, video games, and comics.
Bruce Willis received four Academy Award nominations for his role as the New York City police detective.
All the Die Hard movies, ranked from worst to best
5) A Good Day to Die Hard (2013)
The 2013 film by John Moore fails to live up to the standards set by its predecessors and was the final film in the installment. The storyline follows McClane traveling to Russia to rescue his son John 'Jack' McClane, played by Jai Courtney. Set around Russia and a fictional site in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, the movie focuses on Jack, a deep-cover CIA operative.
The film offers a storyline that is hard to follow, impeded further by weak character development. Released on February 14, 2013, the movie earned $304.7 million worldwide.
4) Live Free or Die Hard (2007)
With this film, Bruce Willis returned to the big screen after a long break.
He steps into the shoes of Detective McClane and teams up with a young hacker Matthew "Matt" Farrell, played by Justin Long, as the FBI systems are breached through a cyber attack. The terrorist leader, Thomas Gabriel (Timothy Olyphant), plans to bring down the public utilities with another cyber attack and holds Lucy and Matt hostage.
The movie was released on June 27, 2007, and earned $383.5 million worldwide. Even though it depends more on technology and CGI for the sequences, the 2007 installment received positive reviews from the audience.
3) Die Hard 2: Die Harder (1990)
The second movie takes McClane's fights to the Washington Dulles International Airport.
This sequel pulls up the stakes, as mercenaries led by ex-U.S. Army Special Forces Colonel Stuart hijack the communications in the airport and threaten to crash aeroplanes during a snowstorm. unless they hand over General Esperanza, a Latin American dictator who was captured.
Directed by Renny Harlin, this film lacked originality and compensated with intense action and solid performances. The worldwide box office earnings were $240 million at the time.
2) Die Hard with a Vengeance (1995)
John McTiernan joined hands with Bruce Willis yet again to deliver another exhilarating adventure in this film, which also stars Jeremy Irons, Samuel L. Jackson, Graham Greene, Colleen Camp, Larry Bryggman, and Sam Phillips.
The film's cat-and-mouse dynamic between McClane and his enemy Simon, and the action sequences shot across New York keeps viewers at the edge of their seat.
It was released on May 19, 1995, and grossed $366.1 million worldwide with mixed reactions from the audience. McClane pairs up with Zeus Carver (Samuel L. Jackson) who reunite again in the fourth installment of the franchise.
1) Die Hard (1988)
The movie stars Bruce Willis as John McClane, a New York police detective trapped in a Los Angeles skyscraper, Nakatomi Plaza, during a takeover by East German terrorists. McClane escapes undetected to eventually learn the motive and kill the gang, including the leader, Hans Gruber, played by Alan Rickman.
Die Hard, the film that set the ball rolling, remains a timeless classic. It set the gold standard for the action genre, paving the path for films like Speed (1994) and Under Siege (1992).
Die Hard grossed $140.8 million worldwide and shot Alan Rickman and Bruce Willis to fame.
