Die Hard

I saw Live Free or Die Hard and wound up liking it a whole lot. It was exactly what an action movie should be. It was exciting, funny, kept you on the edge of your seat and Tim Olyphant was a great bad ass. Okay, so it is not Citizen Kane, but for a summer blockbuster, popcorn movie I could not have asked for more. I have loved all four of the Die hard flicks. I have defended the films for years. Name me a franchise that has been able to put together four good movies? This may be the lone exception. Here are my rankings of the four.

Die Hard (1988) – I saw this at Ford City Mall and was blown away by it. From the first ten minutes of the flick on you are on the edge of your seat. Alan Rickman as Hans Gruber, was perfect. They say imitation is the highest form of flattery and this movie has been ripped off a million times. For my money it doesn’t get any better then this one for an action flick.

Live Free or Die Hard (2007) – As I stated above, this one really blew me away. I admit I was skeptical going in and was surprised how much I enjoyed it. This movie is fun. Justin Long and Willis work well together and again mad props to Olyphant as the villain.

Die Hard: With a Vengeance (1995) – I know a lot of people who don’t like this one but, I really do. Here we have McClane back in New York on the outs with his wife and about to be fired. In comes Jeremy Irons as Simon Gruber and he starts blowing shit up. Samuel L. Jackson and Willis have a nice banter throughout the film and again, you are on the edge of your seat the entire film.

Die Hard II (1990) – A good movie but it is the weakest of the bunch. Takes place mostly at an airport and does have a nice appearance by Denis Franz playing a dumb ass local cop. The plot was kind of weak but we do get a lot of quality kills to offset everything.