The BEST of the Die Hard series…
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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.
