Ranking of Die Hards

1. Die Hard

2. Die Hard 3

3. Die Hard 4

4. Die Hard 2

That’s it. They never did make a dumpster fire of a fifth Die Hard with Jai Courtney...

I watched all the Die Hards this weekend (all four of them), and came away having a lot of fun with all of them.

Four outranks Two for me, because I thought for was just fast, fun, and updated the absurd 80-90s action movie in a keenly stupid way. Two gets a little slow and retreads Die Hard 1 a little too closely, though I still dig it.

What are your rankings of Die Hards (all four of them, we don’t want to miss any)?

That ranking is correct, but I do recognize the existence of 5 (in last place, duh), because if we do not acknowledge our history, we are doomed to repeat it.

I'd put 2 before 4, then your list is correct.

Die Hard is the best without question, followed closely by With A Vengeance (3), then 2 is a distant 3rd and 4 is a distant 4th.

I agree that 5 doesn't even count.

4 is pretty rough, but the re-release they did on DVD with dubbed-in profanity is marginally better. Why didn't Justin Long's action movie career take off, guys???

1. Die Hard
2. Die Hard 3
3. Die Hard 2
4. Die Hard 4

Die Hard 1 is the greatest action movie ever made, so it sits at the top. Die Hard 3, I've always had a soft spot for. I like the New York setting, the riddles/puzzles, the sense of journey over the course of the film, and Sam Jackson as side kick. Die Hard 2 is a little underwhelming on action and plot, but I really like its atmosphere, which is most similar to Die Hard 1's (including being set during Christmas). Die Hard 4 doesn't actually feel like a Die Hard movie to me, but it's a pretty fun generic action movie.

2 over 4, and it’s gold. I didn’t hate 4, but I don’t think it’s a good movie.

3 is the only good one. There, I said it. And I will die on that hill.

This order looks correct to me, and I agree that the other one does not belong on any list

I think there is no controversy here unless someone decides to troll. 1 than 3 and then 2 or 4 interchangeably in 3rd and 4th spots.

@savage: I agree with that order...

Die Hard 4 was pretty underwhelming to me because of how they treated the main character. They turned it from an everyday man turned action hero into a generic über hero that can perform any stunt with a smirk on his face and barely a bruise on his shirt... he was basically a Terminator without the science fiction elements, and they went so far with the old man jokes that it seems like he would need help to plug a TV (I mean, he is no hacker, but he gets paralyzed by anything that is newer than 30 years old... Long has to help him turn on a car). Also, the villain was a collection of "hacker" tropes that was deprecated in The Net and Swordfish, ten years before.

And the less we talk about "the other one", the better...

2 is the 2nd best Die Hard. It's not a good movie at all but at one point McClane turns to one of the Cop higher-ups giving him a hard time and says "Let me ask you something: what sets off a metal detector first? The lead in your ass or the shit in your brains?" The movie is full of lines this fucking awesome, they make absolutely no sense whatsoever.

Man....... i actually like 4 a hell of a lot.....
But my love for the trilogy edges it out i think:
1
3
2
4
The second film does retread the first in some ways i agree, but also...

And 4 might have my favourite quote of all the films "Mai? Oh yeah, little Asian chick, likes to kick people? I don't think she's going to be talking to anyone for a very long time. Last time I saw her, she was at the bottom of an elevator shaft with an SUV rammed up her ass."

By the way, I think any list that starts 1,3,2,4 or 1,3,4,2 is totally fine...

@cikame: As a kid, as part of some industry convention my father was in, we had dinner in a room with that shot-up cockpit (or one of them, maybe they had multiple).

We got to go in and take pictures in that cockpit. It was pretty cool.

Cliffhanger, Lockout, 4, 3, 1, 5, still have never seen 2. I wanna stick up for 5 for a second. I had no expectations when I watched it three years late and I was mildly entertained by it. It's existence didn't desecrate the rich lore and tradition of Die Hard for me personally.

@uhtaree: I made it up until Bruce Willis and company were going down an elevator. Something happened, I don’t recall what it was, but my wife and I agreed within about 2-3 seconds to just turn the movie off and never return to it.

It lost me when Bruce Willis was committing mass murder upon civilians with an army tank in the first few minutes of the movie.

Whatever happened in the elevator was my version of his Die Hard 2 ejection.

Hah as I clicked on this thread I said to myself "1, 3, 4, 2, 5", and then saw the OP.

I'm not necessarily saying I'd make it, but I'd be willing to entertain an argument for 3 over 1. Bruce Willis is exactly as great in both of them; Alan Rickman is amazing, but Jeremy Irons is almost as amazing. Sgt. Al is great, but (IMO) Samuel Jackson is even better.

The supporting crooks in 1 are better than the ones in 3, but also has some annoying or not interesting other characters (like the reporter who was in Ghostbusters and the entirely useless limo driver who apparently hangs out in a garage for like 5 hours). On the other hand, 1 does have proto-bro financial guy who gets shot and the amazingly terrible FBI agents, which are pluses. But then 3 has some pretty great supporting characters too, like that truck driver that knows way too much about water rights policies.

It's a close call, but if you like Jeremy Irons enough, the lack of Alan Rickman can be covered by how great the Willis-Jackson buddy show is.

@nutter: Yup, you nailed it right there. I can watch 1 and 3 anytime.

I think 1,3,2,4,5 is the standard order most people agree on myself included. I think one 1 and 3 are the only truly good movies in the series though that dude getting stabbed in the eyeball in Die Hard 2 is pretty sweet.

@nutter: My order is exactly the same as yours. I really don’t enjoy 2 and think 4 is much better.

1, 4, 3, 2, and then waaaaaay behind those would be 5.

Yeah, I like 4 more than 3. 3 is a fantastic film and the chemistry between Willis and Jackson is off-the-charts entertaining, but it's also by far the least action-packed of the series, which is a big deal to me. Jeremy Irons is an alright villain at least, but certainly no Hans Gruber.

People used to (and still do?) love to give Live Free or Die Hard shit, mostly because of the PG-13 rating, but watching the Unrated cut fixes that issue. Listen to commentary with Willis and Len Wiseman and you'll hear about all the ridiculous stuff they had to cut out to get the PG-13 rating. It's fascinating how fucking stupid it is. Beyond the rating thing, the movie is still structured and paced like the other films. I like the chemistry and dynamic between Willis and Justin Long quite a bit, and while Tim Olyphant isn't a great villain, he's okay and the film at least spends enough time with him to build him up. WIseman had a good understanding of the key elements essential to a DH movie. The actions sequences are also fucking fantastic, sans the poor CGI of the collapsing highway. The shootout in Long's apartment near the start is one of my favorites.

I like DH2 a good deal but it's mostly just a retread of the first with more silly action scenes. Nothing wrong with that, but 3 and 4 are just as fun while also bringing something new to the table.

DH5 is an atrocity on all fronts and should be purged from existence. I say that with no hint of hyperbole.

Completely agree with your ranking. I couldnt watch Die Hard 5 and my standards are pretty low.

@killem_dafoe: Interesting...I don’t get out to movie theatres often, so I’ve only ever seen the unrated version...

@boozak: I love Wes Anderson and David Lynch. I think the 70s was the best time for Hollywood. I tend to hate blockbusters.

That said, I also slum it up quite well. I just bought the entire Resident Evil run because, hey, those movies are a fun goof.

Die Hard 5 though...nothing fun about Die Hard 5.

I saw DH4 in theaters twice and still enjoyed the hell out of it, but yeah, no reason to go and watch the theatrical cut for any reason other than out of pure curiosity.

I also saw DH5 in theaters. The trailer had me super hyped because you really couldn't tell what a steaming hunk of dog shit it actually was just from that. Then the reviews came out and tore the movie to shreds. I was in denial, thinking, "No...there's NO WAY it could possibly be that bad." I went in with reduced expectations and still left in disbelief with what I had just seen.

I like them all for different reasons. Hard to rank because they're all really fun to watch, but Die Hard would by default take the top spot because it's an undeniable classic.

2 is way better than I expected despite its occasionally negative reputation. 3 is way different than I expected and that's what makes it exciting. And 4 is kind of awesome, I dunno. It does a great job with McClane being a fish out of water dealing with stuff he doesn't understand.

My faith in humanity is slightly restored knowing so many people are correct about the 1, 3, 2, 4 ranking.

On top of being just a bad movie, 5 doesn't even feel like a Die Hard movie. It's like someone who has never scene an action movie read the back of the Live Free Die Hard DVD case and decided to make a sequel.

My personal ranking would be 1,3,2,4, daylight, the Sylvester Stallone movie Daylight, 5.

Honestly 2 and 4 are almost interchangeable for me depending on my mood.

@darkeyehails: I think 1,3,2,4 and 1,3,4,2 people tend to be pretty tolerant of swaping 2 and 4 around. Very different movies, but also not quite up to snuff with 1 and 3.

Die Hard>Die Hard With A Vengeance>Olympus Has Fallen>Die Hard 2: Die Harder

Neither Live Free or Die Hard or A Good Day to Die Hard exist in this dojo.

Also, as I maintained during many a middle school lunch room table debate... Lethal Weapon 1&2>Die Hard 1&2

Yep, I agree with your order. I liked the character of John McClane in two because he was like he was in the first, but three is just a smarter movie and has some callbacks to the first. Four is well done but it was PG-13 which just isn't Die Hard to me, but I liked it. The last Die Hard truly doesn't deserve mention. It was a forgettable, pointless movie. I really wish they made another Die Hard and it goes back to its roots, not just in terms of its R rating, but them actually going back to Nakatomi Plaza. The only thing I didn't like about the first Die Hard is that because it was Fox, they were allowed to use James Horner's song from Aliens called Resolution And Hyperspace at the end when Al opens fire on the final baddy to protect John. Lastly, (although it was used in other things) Fox Plaza, which is Nakatomi Plaza, was the place that was in the intro of Speed where they have to get the people out of the elevator. I guess it was also the building at the end of Fight Club.

The first Die Hard is not only one of the best action films, it's also one of the best Christmas time movies.

@bad_karate: Oddly, Die Hard 5 is the only Die Hard film written from scratch as a Die Hard film.

1-4 were all based on action/thriller novels, as it’s been explained to me.

You see, in their...last moments, films show you who they really are. So in a way...Die Hard 5 was more Die Hard than Die Hard 1-4 ever were. [/nolan_joker]

Die Hard > the rest

I haven't seen 5, but it has Jai Courtney in it so I can take a guess as to how well that went and I'll rank it anyway.

1, 3, 2, 4, 5 is the order. If I'm being objective, 1 is clearly better than 3, but subjectively I think I might prefer 3. It stumbles it's ending a bit, but the ride getting there is a blast.

1 -> one of the best actiin movies ever

Pretty big gap

3

Massive gap

2

There're only 3 Die Hard movies.

Jai Courtney's reputation is so damaged at this point he should just quit acting and become a Kenny Omega impersonator.

@shiftygism: To be fair to the man, I’m not sure he’s been so much as an extra in a movie north of bad.

He has been a lump of driftwood in everything I’ve seen him in...maybe with more lines he could have made an impression in The Great Suicide Squad Trainwreck of 2016.

Also, I don’t think he’d do Birthday Party Budget Kenny Omega justice...

I agree with the OP, but I also agree with the person that said swapping Die Hard 2 and 4 isn't exactly going to get me riled.

I'm also impressed it took 32 posts before someone called it a good Christmas movie. If this were Facebook or Twitter or just about any other forum, that comment would have been there right out of the gate so good job GB community!

@savage: That's my exact list, and just leave 5 in the dustbin of Hollywood history.

@shiftygism: He was about as okay as Suicide Squad got, so there's that.

#1 then #2, and finally #3...no other "Die Hard" films exist.

Die Hard and Die Hard with a Vengeance are kind of different movies. Die Hard 3 is almost a weird adventure movie, while Die Hard is an Action movie. So a part of me wants them tied as #1, and say "It depends on what you're interested in". If I had to pick, I might go with Die Hard 3, in part because I've seen that movie more than Die Hard 1.

After that Live Free and Die Hard.

I never saw 2 all the way through, and will probably never see 5.

I think the order they come in is good enough for me 1-4 then whatever the hell 5 was.

The TBS dub of Die Hard 2 is classic film making

1>3>4>2

And don't get me wrong, 2 definitely has its moments.

Order of release is also the order from best to worst.

@darkeyehails: I know! Jai Courtney is just driftwood, but in Suicide Squad, an abysmal film in which he barely gets a line, there’s a charisma about him.

That blew my mind while... surviving...that movie.

@bigboss1911: Ho-Ly-Shit!

Is that Mark Wahlberg doing his take on Bob Dylan’s Bruce Willis Impression?

That’s amazingly bad. Thank you!