The BEST of the Die Hard series…
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rascal67 — 9 years ago(August 27, 2016 09:54 PM)
DH2's villains are bad ass. If you don't find Bill Sadler's Colonel Stuart memorable then that's too bad. Him along with Amos' Major Grant and Nero's Esperanza are some of the coolest villains you'll find. Those mercs looked like people you do not want to f-k with.
I agree. Sadler was one mean mother and he made Rickman's villain look like a ponce in comparison. I like both the first two Die Hard's, but have a preference for this second.
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Destinata: -
Hendry_William_French — 9 years ago(August 28, 2016 02:43 AM)
Yeah, I prefer Colonel Stuart to Hans Gruber. Both are really cool villains, but Stuart just looks way more formidable as an opponent and McLane's fight with him on the wing at the end was a great match up. McLane is basically a warrior, and so is Stuart, so it was nice to have them go toe to toe.
Commence Operation Vacu-suck -
rascal67 — 9 years ago(August 29, 2016 12:27 AM)
I'm not a fan of Alan Rickman and he over-acted and was self-conscious as the bad guy. He was good in Robin Hood Prince Of Thieves as the villain; but that was funny over-the-top in the sense of a more family orientated movie. I didn't find him as believable as Sadler was in Die Hard 2.
Exorcist: Christ's power compels you. Cast out, unclean spirit.
Destinata: -
Hendry_William_French — 9 years ago(August 29, 2016 05:50 AM)
I liked Rickman more in Die Hard than in Robin Hood, but he was good in both nonetheless. He is a little overrated in the original. People think Hans Gruber is the greatest ever action bad guy, I think they like his charisma and the fact he's charming as well as being a bad guy. Stuart in this movie was more physical and you see him in action more, but maybe he's not as charming as Gruber, but I still liked him more.
Commence Operation Vacu-suck -
rascal67 — 9 years ago(August 30, 2016 03:09 PM)
I think that is spot on with what you said about the appeal of Gruber, being charismatic and charming, to go along with his ruthlessness. The charm would have also been Rickman's own personal demeanor. Hans was a genuine sociopath; but so was Col Stuart and he did actually look mean. Rickman appeared to be acting his part though, just like when he was pretending to be one of the party guests that escaped.
Sadler has that strong masculine square jawed look about himself; but it was also like he was more in the moment of his evil character and his psychosis, or whatever it was he had, was layered and bubbling away underneath the surface. I found him more believable.
Exorcist: Christ's power compels you. Cast out, unclean spirit.
Destinata: -
RomaVictorrrr — 9 years ago(July 13, 2016 07:39 PM)
Die Hard 3 isn't even a Die Hard movie. Its script was originally meant for a Lethal Weapon sequel.
Then none of the first three are DIE HARD movies, since they were all based on novels, first one being a sequel to a Frank Sinatra detective movie.
But, hey, Vengeance might've been fun with Riggs and Murtaugh -
Hendry_William_French — 9 years ago(July 13, 2016 11:04 PM)
Well, that's different because they adapted the novel to fit the Die Hard formula ie a lone warrior up against the odds in a fairly closed off environment.
On the other hand, Die Hard 3 taking the generic buddy cop flick and applying it to Die Hard didn't work, cause you were basically taking a run of the mill 90s action movie set up (hero up against bad guys planting bombs in public places ie Speed etc) and putting it onto a movie which didn't suit that style. Die Hard 3 makes for a solid action movie but it just doesn't look or feel like a Die Hard movie, more like a spin off. It's more similar to Die Hard 4 and 5 than it is to 1 & 2, which have a much more distinctive look & tone.
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ukhoops25 — 9 years ago(September 15, 2016 01:25 AM)
DIe Hard 2 is the best Die Hard for sure. Most rewatchable action movie of all time even ahead of Goldeneye and True Lies barely. Die Hard 1 isn't too far behind followed by DH3. DH4 is still amazing just not as good.
DH2 had everything. Oh my goodness. The Blanks Scene with McClane and Carmine Lorenzo going back n forth. I bout lost it. The helicopter eject scene with the grenades. All the quotes and one liners by everybody. Takin over the airport. Holly in danger with no fuel. Major Grants betrayal. ANd oh yeahh..
Yippee Kiyahhhh M***** beep -
Electrical1 — 9 years ago(September 25, 2016 02:20 AM)
Another vote for Die Hard 2 being the best in the series. The action is spectacular, the setting is great, the cinematography is amazing and there is lot of story and character and yet it runs at a high octane pace. It's extremely well made.
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ivsm — 9 years ago(October 06, 2016 02:13 AM)
I have always loved the first two almost equally. Even when I'm going to rewatch them I dedicate 4 hours of my time and watch them together (maybe with a little break within 30 mins).
DH1 I love because the main hero is introduced to us here. It's like we meet a person for the first time and within the following 2 hours we are getting to know him and finally understand that he's become our good friend. In DH2 we meet John again but this time we know him well. So now we can totally relax and go with him to the new breathtaking adventures.
DH1 and DH2 are similar in style. The formula stays the same: terrorists capture an object with people (one of them is our hero's wife) and John has to save the day in limited time. We have incompetent police officers, a nasty reporter, some kind and funny sidekicks and a lot of kick-ass action.
I think DH1 is more deep and thoughtful, DH2 is more dynamic and fun. But both films are great and it feels that they are two parts of one great story.
I don't like DH3 because:- It's too messy and doesn't have the style of the first two.
- John is a drunkard and loser there.
- Holly had left John. It's very dubious that after events of the first two films, after all things they went through together they would separate. Holly is a smart and kind lady and John is a really good guy. So if they had some troubles in the past (before DH1), the events of the first two films must unite them not separate.
- Die Hard is not a buddy-cop movie franchise.
- In DH1 and DH2 John risks his life firstly to save his wife. In DH3 I don't feel his risks (jumping on the wagon's roof or getting on the board of the ship by the pickup's cord, for example) are fully justified. In my opinion in the first two films John's main motivation to win the battle at any price was Holly and only secondly his cop duty and care of other people.
DH4 and DH5 are really not Die Hard movies for me. It's something from some other universe. They are like hallucinations of a drug addict to me. So I don't even want to compare them to the first two.
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Hendry_William_French — 9 years ago(October 07, 2016 05:18 PM)
Great post, dude. Agreed 100%. The bit about the 'buddy cop' thing is explained by Die Hard 3's script originally being intended for a Lethal Weapon sequel thus turning the Die Hard series into a painfully generic chase movie where they have to defuse bombs in public (ie Speed etc).
Die Hard 2 transported the formula of the first movie to a brand new setting with a brand new story and characters. It was something totally original - airport, military mercs, planes, Esperanza - but it didn't feel
radically
different. The action was still largely kept within the confines of one location. DH2 kept the same filming style & tone of the first while jacking up the set pieces and the scale. It looked and felt like a Die Hard. Die Hard 3 doesn't have that same set up - it's like a spin off. Die Hard 4 & 5 are more similar to 3 than they are to 1 & 2, because 1 & 2 are in another league.
What Die Hard 2 did best was that it satisfied the fans. Fans came out of the theatre after seeing the original and they raved about bungee jumping off an exploding skyscraper summit or throwing C4 down an elevator shaft. Die Hard 2 gave the fans more of what they wanted - just on a more grandiose scale. Die Hard 3 gave the fans endless chase scenes and water puzzle riddles haha.
