Best Die Hard Film?

[#hamler]

Die Hard Series
Starring Bruce Willis​

Die Hard

The original. Definitely one of my favorites in the series. It's Christmas Eve in LA and McClane is there to spend time with his wife Holly. At the Nakatomi Plaze (where a Christmas party is being held) East German men take the entire building hostage in order to take millions of dollars from the building's vault. McClane hides through the building killing the team off one by one. A great way to start off the series. The bar is set very high for the next Die Hard film.

Die Hard 2

You got a death wish? You better think again if you think this is the best Die Hard film. Shit sucked total ass. A complete rip off of the first. It's Christmas Eve (like I said, rip off) and McClane is waiting for his wife's plane to land. Like always, troube follows as a group of bad guys lead by Colonel Stuart take over the airport's communication systems stranding several planes in the air. Colonel Stuart's plan is to free a captured Latin American dictator who is en route to the airport. Nothing more to say. This movie can go fuck itself.

Die Hard With A Vengeance

I loved Samuel L. Jackson's role in this film. In this movie, McClane is seperated from his wife, suspended form the police force and is a borderline alcoholic. A terrorist (Simon) says he'll blow up various locations in the city unless McClane plays "Simon Says." McClane solves a number of riddles and challenges in order to keep these bombs from going off. Zues (Jackson) saved McClane from the first challenge tags along throughout the movie - a great addition. McClane soon finds out Simon was merely distracting the police force in order to accomplish something bigger.

Live Free or Die Hard

Hey look, more terrorists. Justin Long may be god fucking awful but the fourth is my personal favorite. Cyber terrorist begin hacking into FBI computers. They send McClane to bring in a hacker to question him about the attack a the while a group of assassions hired by the terrorist try to kill McClane and Long's character Matt Farrell. The terrorists are in the middle of performing a cyber-warfare attack on the infrastructure of the country, disrupting all power, public utilities, traffic, and other computer-controlled systems. This movie is filled with explosions, shooting, and teaching us how to kill a helicopter with a car. Again, my personal favorite.

So WrestleZone, I ask you, which Die Hard film was the best?

 

[JWGunslinger]

Have to go with #1 here, because it was the best. I love the entire series but the first one was original, fresh and new,as you said Hamler the 2nd was anything but. Nothing against Jeremy Irons or SLJ at all, but I feel like the charecters in DH1 are perfect, with Alan Rickman as Hans Gruber and everybody loves Reginald VelJohnson as the cop who tries to help McLane. I also loved the one crazy terrorist who is obsessed with killing McLane, I thought the scenes with him really added intensity to the movie. But ofcourse, the best part of the movie has to be the end when a battered and beaten faces off against Hans, extremely epic and unforgetable end and movie all around.
Die Hard 1 Definitely gets my vote!

 

[Dowdsy McDowds]

Hard to argue past the first in all honesty.

Rickman and Willis were the perfect counter-parts to each other with Rickman as the professional European terrorist and Willis as the cowboy-esque all-American hero. One thing I loved most about the film was that McClane genuinely takes a beating throughout the film and is pushed to the limit to defeat Hans, a great measure of how good each character was.

The second one I was really let down by, just couldn't get into it at all.

The third is my second favourite although I'm sure I've read that it wasn't written as a Die Hard movie at first, but the script had been seen and so was adapted to fit the Die Hard mould. Irons as Rickman's brother was a great touch, as well as Jackson as a partner for Willis.

The fourth... meh. I'm a big fan of Timothy Olyphant so was psyched to see him given a major role post-Deadwood... then they stick him in a fucking truck for most of the film! Displeased to say the least.

Has to be the first.

 

[Mitch Henessey]

I'm going to have to go with Die Hard With A Vengeance. This film featured some great suspense and drama, and there are nice amount of twist and turns towards the end. This film keeps you guessing until the very end, because Simon did have plenty of tricks up his sleeve. Jeremy Irons has to be the best villain in the Die Hard series. He was crafty, cold, and he was always one step ahead of the good guys in this film. Irons played this role so well. He nailed this character perfectly, because Irons always looks so comfortable with this role. He's smooth in this film, and he can be charismatic at times. Also, Samuel L. Jackson and Bruce Willis are awesome as a duo. They can be very entertaining as team, and the constant bickering between these two is hilarious.

I'll always like the first Die Hard film, and I do enjoy the deadly cat and mouse game between Willis and Alan Rickman. This film does feature some nice thrills here and there, and I can always pop this one in the DVD player every now and then.

The second Die Hard film is borderline terrible. It's just a very dull film with very little suspense, and I just don't feel the tension here. Also, Col. Stuart is a very uninteresting bad guy here.

I wasn't too crazy about Live Free Or Die Hard. I didn't think it was terrible, but it didn't excite me at all. The John McLean character was the only highlight of the film for me. Live Free Or Die Hard could be considered one of those fun summer blockbuster popcorn flicks, but this film doesn't do anything for me.

 

[George Steele's Barber]

Good question and I actually had to think about 1 and 3 before I picked 3.

Willis, Irons, Jackson and creepily sexy German girlfriend make for the best cast. All the Die Hards have creative stories but Vengeance stands out as the most creative, memorable and rewatchable. Some scenes that come to mind are:

- Willis in the black neighborhood with the sandwich board
- Using the ambulance as a blocker (don't know how many times I've wanted to try that)
- The harmless chemicals that when mixed become a deadly explosive
- The measurement game
- The kid on the bike that mentions that there are no cops around
- Chester A. Arthur
- Ridiculous bridge jump
- The aspirin bottle

The harder question to answer is which one is the most and least realistic.

 

[FitFinlay4Life]

Ah, a topic very close to my heart - I'm a massive Bruno fan!

Unfortunately, I have problems with 3 and 4 for simple reasons. With a couple name changes they'd actually be 5 and 6. "What the fuck is this dude smoking?" I hear you say; well the reason I say this is that the hungover bum McClane has effectively had two run outs by the time 3 comes around, he's just called Joe Hallenbeck (Last Boy Scout) and Tom Hardy (Striking Distance). Throw in the clones and (Speed, Under Siege etc) Die Hard could be in double figures by now. My other issue with Vengeance is that it is just too close to the Lethal Weapon formula.

My favourite is the original because it really is one very ordinary man against insurmountable odds and the mental, physical and moral anguish this enforces on him. It also has the most rounded out cast of the four films and the best lead villain.

Next, I'd pick Vengeance because (although I find it lacking in originality) it is brilliantly played out by Willis, Jackson and Irons.

I do like Harder because it follows the original's formula and actually amps up the action. Were I feel it falls down is the main protagonist, he just doesn't live up to the charisma of the Gruber brothers.

4.0 is enjoyable but suffers in my eyes by having a buddy dynamic and also because it is just too OTT unbelievable.

 

[SorgFamily]

With A Vengeance is definitely my favorite. The pairing of SLJ with Willis was obviously brilliant and the puzzles also played into my enjoyment. It was probably the first time I'd seen a action film where it's ordinary guys trying to beat a very smart man. Also, I think Willis having some one there with him going through it all was a nice change of pace. I mean in the original he had "Family Matters Guy" talking to him on the radio and the second one had bits of interactions with different guys but in "Vengeance" there was actually another guy WITH him getting shot at and everything.

The original takes second place and then Live Free which might have been more nostalgia than greatness coming in at third. I wasn't to keen on "Harder". Just not my cup of tea I suppose.

I heard they are finally making headway on the "Die Hard 5" (slated for a 2012 release), Fox having narrowed the director's seat down to four possible choices. I am looking forward to it, I'd like to see what they come up with.

 

[GI Cake]

I think I will go with a different approach and go with the latest Die Hard. Live Free or Die Hard was the best sequel of Die Hard yet. Live Free or Die Hard played on a ton of symbolism and hidden meanings that made the sequel mean something more than that nostalgia you get when you see Willis reclaim his role as John McClane. Live Free or Die Hard did a lot more than entertain the old Die Hard fans, but help bring in a new era of fans with it's high octane action and over the top explosions. Live Free or Die Hard helped show the true colors of John McClane and what his character represents. A message that men should not stand aside and let evil runs its course. And that every guy, little or small can make a difference.