Die Hard franchise

The second installment absolutely wrecked me back when I saw it in theaters as a kid—just totally blew my mind. Honestly, the whole franchise has kind of gone downhill since then, but even the weakest entry (the fourth one) is still a pretty decent watch if you're looking for something to put on.

Btw, that Die Hard track from the first post is pure gold 😁

I already cast my vote, but I figured I’d explain myself a bit more.

The first and third ones are both great movies, and honestly, the differences are just minor nuances, but because of Alan Rickman, I’m going with the first one. Though, if they had stuck to that original ending in the third one, it might have been one of the best trilogy finales ever made. 😁

The second one feels a little weaker to me, I guess.

As for the fourth one, it felt like a typical CGI assault on the senses.

quietdriver3 said:I already cast my vote, but I figured I’d explain myself a bit more.

The first and third ones are both great movies, and honestly, the differences are just minor nuances, but because of Alan Rickman, I’m going with the first one. Though, if they had stuck to that original ending in the third one, it might have been one of the best trilogy finales ever made. 😁

The second one feels a little weaker to me, I guess.

As for the fourth one, it felt like a typical CGI assault on the senses.

Wait, you mean that ending where McClane and Gruber have that weird showdown with rocket launchers and McClane is basically "a little cracked" the whole time? Like, the ultimate series finale 🤣 But, I gotta ask... I notice "the third one" has a pretty massive following... doesn't it feel like the editing after the halfway mark goes totally sideways? Not that the plot is bad, per se, but it gets super cluttered—not even to say rushed, just messy—and personally, every time I try to watch it, I end up with a headache just trying to track what's actually happening on screen.

I mean, sure, everyone raves about the first one, but let’s be real—the second and (especially) the third installment don't even come close to lagging behind the original. They hold their own! But I get it, the first one is the first one... it's iconic. Though, if we're being honest, the fourth one? Yeah, it’s definitely the weak link compared to the rest of the series.

Quote: Guyz Nite - "Die Hard" (Seven songs about movies).
Inspired by: Die Hard (1988), Die Hard 2 (1990) and Die Hard with a Vengeance (1995)

Even though this 2006 track already feels strangely stuck in that specific Fall Out Boy era, you can't deny the chorus is an absolute earworm: "We're gonna die (DIE!) die (DIE!) die (DIE!) die hard!" Guyz Nite—who basically define "Beer metal" and roll with hyper-masculine stage names like Guy Manley and Bear Woods—tend to take some liberties with their rhyming schemes ("The good cop wouldn't miss this / Even though IT wasn't Christmas"), but I think they earn some serious credit for paying homage to the first three entries in the Die Hard franchise (since Live Free or Die Hard wasn't even a thing back then) and somehow turning John McClane's famous catchphrase into a surprisingly melodic bridge.

We're gonna die (DIE!) die (DIE!) die (DIE!) die hard!

🙂

Yippee-ki-yay, motherfucker!

😬

The first one is a total masterpiece, honestly. It’s easily one of the best movies from the 80s, period. The second one? It's a well-directed blast, even if the script is pretty damn goofy. The third one starts off great while it's happening in Manhattan, but then it just kind of fizzles out into nothing. As for the fourth one... yeah, no thanks.

Personally, I find the second one to be the weakest. For me, Uber takes the top spot, followed by the third installment featuring Jeremy "unreliable" Irons. The fourth entry is just pure nonsense. My only real gripe was with the villain; he's incredibly irritating and lacks any real character. In my opinion, he's even worse than that sidekick wannabe or the guy dancing on the plane.🙄

fadedseal8 said:Personally, I find the second one to be the weakest. For me, Uber takes the top spot, followed by the third installment featuring Jeremy "unreliable" Irons. The fourth entry is just pure nonsense. My only real gripe was with the villain; he's incredibly irritating and lacks any real character. In my opinion, he's even worse than that sidekick wannabe or the guy dancing on the plane.🙄

Heheh...I'm pretty much on the same page.😁👍

The first one is just... genius. Incredible action, a total classic. The second is a decent action flick, but it feels like a carbon copy of the original—they basically just swapped the location and the bad guy. The third holds its own against the original, maybe even edges it out slightly. That one took the series in a different direction while still keeping that core Die Hard film vibe—Bruce Willis stuck in deep with terrorists. Only this time, he’s got Samuel L. Jackson backing him up. The plot is actually smart and tense, packed with great twists, and makes for a phenomenal ride from start to finish. As for the fourth... yeah, like you said, it's just over-the-top garbage. It actually surprised me how they managed to keep the spirit of the older movies alive. Times changed, clothes got more modern, tech leveled up, but McClane is still pretty much the same guy. Sure, he’s rocking a modern leather jacket and looks a bit more gray, but he’s still that same cranky cop who always ends up in the wrong place at the worst possible time, whose biggest technical achievement is still a frozen pizza.😁
What really carried the whole movie was the story... it was clever, intriguing, and felt relevant for today's world where everything is digitized, wireless internet, iPods, iPhones, all that stuff. Cyber terrorism is a logical next step for crime, and seeing a "dinosaur" like John McClane be one of the first to go head-to-head with them was actually pretty cool to watch.🙂

Just rewatched the original trilogy.

Got the first and third ones lying around somewhere. The third one is solid during the first half while that Simon Says guy is messing with him over the phone, but then it drags a bit for me. I'll give the win to the original.😁

The second one is a little weaker, but still decent. Best part is definitely the ending where McClane blows up that plane full of terrorists.🙏

Time to finally check out the fourth one.🙂

redmarlin27 said:Just rewatched the original trilogy.

Got the first and third ones lying around somewhere. The third one is solid during the first half while that Simon Says guy is messing with him over the phone, but then it drags a bit for me. I'll give the win to the original.😁

The second one is a little weaker, but still decent. Best part is definitely the ending where McClane blows up that plane full of terrorists.🙏

Time to finally check out the fourth one.🙂

Bottom line? The first one is the king, followed by the third, then the second, and the fourth is just... well, the fourth.

But seriously, how have you not seen Die Hard yet? It's such a blast, you've gotta watch it—though personally, I think the first three are way better than anything else.

So, just finished watching the fourth one... it wasn't bad, but I was expecting a bit more.

My main gripe? McClane isn't really that same smartass he used to be.

All in all, pretty solid.

We need a fifth one, man. I’ve been digging around to see if they're actually working on a fifth installment. Anyone know anything more about this?

Yes, I loved watching John M. At first, I was absolutely thrilled by the film, probably due to the nostalgia of the era. Ultimately, I would very much enjoy seeing another sequel.

Bryan Davis8 said:We need a fifth one, man. I’ve been digging around to see if they're actually working on a fifth installment. Anyone know anything more about this?

Man, I am totally with you on that—give us a fifth Die Hard sequel already! 👍

Back on May 5, 2010, word got out that the X-Men Origins: Wolverine and The A-Team writer, Skip Woods, was in talks to write a fifth Die Hard movie, and the whole thing was set to be produced by Alex Young. On top of that, Bruce Willis was slated to return as John McClane, and apparently, Willis mentioned he’d love to have the Live Free or Die Hard director, Len Wiseman, back behind the camera too. There was even talk about moving the action outside of the US with a placeholder title like Die Hard 24/7.

Source: Wikipedia

Die Harder is slightly better than the original for me🙂! The third one might have been good for the first couple of viewings—it’s super catchy with that Simon Says thing—but it gets old pretty fast, whereas the fourth one is actually a blast... man, it would be killer if they finally dropped a fifth one!

DH2, and even the SWAT unit isn't half bad 🙂)

Die Hard with a Vengeance (1995)

For me, the third installment is easily the standout 😁

I voted for the first one 🙂
Somehow I had the third one on my mind, so I had to sit down and refresh my memory on the trilogy order,
I ended up checking out the fourth one too, which was honestly a bit of a letdown, but compared to the junk they make in this genre today, it’s not half bad 😁

The first one takes the crown, but the rest are all solid too. McClane is easily one of the toughest—if not the absolute last—action heroes out there.