The Top "Die Hard In A..." Action Movies
Within the genre of action films, there are very specific sub-genres: There's the buddy cop movie, and there's the Special Forces action hero. There's the post-apocalyptic action movie (which comes in both zombie and natural disaster flavors) and there's the monster movie. There's the time travel movie and the rescue mission. There's even the "Perpetual Motion Action Movie" genre (an action film where the plot requires action from the first frame to the last). And on and on it goes.
There are rarely new entries to the list. New "typologies" of action films simply don't come around that often. But in 1988, cinema was introduced to a new one, which would burn brightly for about a decade, before becoming such a trite overused cliche, that it almost became a laughable meme.
The film was called Die Hard. And it spawned what must have been countless studio pitch meetings that were explained as follows, "It's Die Hard in a..." (Die Hard was nominated to my list of most influential action movies because of its gift to the action film genre.)
So what differentiated Die Hard? What made it different? What made so many others want to emulate it? (Unfortunately, most of its own sequels have disregarded the rules of the original!) It wasn't just that Bruce Willis was an everyman hero that could get hurt, although that was part of it. (Remember, this film came out in the 1980s when audiences were used to Stallone and Schwarzenegger playing invincible heroes, it was refreshing to see a regular guy that ended up taking a beating saving the day for once!) But rather it was the setting: One man vs. a slew of terrorists in an empty high-rise on Christmas Eve when the building is empty. Rather than traipsing about the city (as Bruce Willis' John McClane would do in the subsequent films in the franchise), McClane was trapped in a confined environment. He had to use the resources at hand. He had to be sneaky and hide. He had to pick the terrorists off one by one using an attack and retreat strategy. He had to hide in elevator shafts and air ducts. There was just something about the claustrophobic setting as the backdrop for one of the most intense action films of all time that was so thrilling.
So here, without further ado, are the top films in the genre. They're included on this list for being successful, or great films, or horrible films, or taking the genre to a new and crazy environment, or just being a notable entry in the sub-genre in some way.
Die Hard In.... Alcatraz!
Die Hard Quality Rating: Four out of Five John McClanes
Terrorists (in the form of a Marine Force Recon platoon) take over Alcatraz island and threaten San Francisco with poison gas missiles (as you do).
An FBI lab geek chemist (Nicolas Cage) and former British commando / U.S. prisoner (Sean Connery), covertly enter the island along with a team of Navy SEALs an havoc ensues.
This is a film that fully embraces the ethos of the original Die Hard. Cage makes for a vulnerable everyman hero and the island provides the perfectly secluded locale, albeit one with lots of cubby holes, underground tunnels, and secret passages to make the game of cat and mouse fun. A quality copycat that stands on its own.
This is one of Cage's career highlights before he began his steep downward trajectory.
Die Hard in... Air Force One!
Die Hard Quality Rating: Four out of Five John McClanes
Terrorists take over Air Force One, with the President (Harrison Ford) onboard. This is the sort of film plot that could have gone very very badly. But a semi-comprehensible plan to overtake and board Air Force One (at least by the logic of Hollywood) and a game Ford as President, make this entry seem both semi-believable (again by Hollywood's warped standard) and exciting.
Die Hard in a... Craggy Mountain Pass!
Die Hard Quality Rating: Three out of Five John McClanes
Terrorists take over the mountains! In one of Stallone's better action films, he battles John Lithgow in the mountains. Kenny Harlin takes what could have been an inconsequential location (the mountains, how boring!) and dials up the excitement with a series of intense action scenes, involving heights, and falling. Specifically, the film's opening, mid-film action scene, and the ending are all highlights. Stallone though is sort of back in form as the sort of 1980s muscled action hero that Die Hard was trying to break from.
Die Hard in... the White House!
Die Hard Quality Rating: Three out of Five John McClanes
Terrorists take over the White House. As with Air Force One, this is the sort of film that has to be done very carefully, as one wrong misstep, could make this film seem ridiculous and silly. Unlike Air Force One, this is a border that the film barely balances. If anything, the film was released a decade too late - as most of the Die Hard in a... films were released in the 1990s, but by 2013, the standard action plot of terrorists taking over some occupied space and then being thwarted by a man on the inside had become a bad action film meme. The rhythms and steps are all correct, the tones all accurate, but audiences had - unfortunately for this film - moved on by the time of its release.
Die Hard in... the White House...again!
Die Hard Quality Rating: Three out of Five John McClanes
Terrorists take over the White House. Hollywood often does films in pairs. There were two volcano movies released in the same year (Dante's Peak and Volcano - see Hollywood's tradition of dumb disaster films), two volcano movies (Deep Impact and Armageddon), and in 2013 there were two films about terrorists taking over the White House. Unfortunately, for both films, neither won the box office, and audiences likely were confused about the two films (for the longest time, I didn't realize they were separate films!) Olympus Has Fallen follows White House Down in almost every measure, it's of the same quality, it's of the same 1990s or 1980s action vibe, and it verges on ridiculous for long stretches. Still, three McClanes for trying.
Die Hard in a... Navy Destroyer!
Die Hard Quality Rating: Three out of Five John McClanes
Terrorists attempt to take over a Navy Destroyer, but little did they realize that one of the sailors left on-board (the cook, actually) was really a Navy SEAL. This was Seagal's one film that was a mainstream financial success (as opposed to a tiny success which is just enough to warrant another straight to DVD movie), and, it's also one of his better films. If you can forget that it's a Steven Seagal movie while you're watching it, you just might get caught up in it and start to enjoy yourself!
Die Hard in a... Sports Stadium!
Die Hard Quality Rating: Two out of Five John McClanes
Terrorists take over a sports stadium. Seagal had his one stroke of mainstream success with Under Siege, and so did Van Damme with Sudden Death. Ultimately, though as terrorist locations go, a sport stadium simply isn't as compelling of a location. Unlike the White House, one doesn't imagine that there are miles of hidden elevators and tunnels to explore. And unlike Alcatraz, it's not a location given to easily being held by terrorists.
Die Hard in a... Passenger Jet!
Die Hard Quality Rating: Two out of Five John McClanes
Terrorists take over a passenger jet and Wesley Snipes - remember him? - is the cop set to take them down. The film's tag line tells us everything we need to know:
Indeed. Unfortunately, the passenger jet is neither creative, innovative, or that special of an environment. In fact, it's sort of a limiting environment, which is why the film ends up spending half its running time letting the action play out on the ground.
Die Hard in a... Airport!
Die Hard Hard Quality Rating: Two out of Five John MccLanes
Terrorists take over an airport. This may be sacrilegious to state that a direct sequel to Die Hard only receives two McClanes, and fans of the film may disagree, but for myself, the first sequel violated a lot of what made the first film unique. Sure, it's got John McClane, our plucky everyman action hero, but the airport is never really under terrorist control. Consequently, we don't get that same sense of intensity the first film had, as McClane is pretty much free to leave the situation whenever he wants (except that his wife is up on board one of the planes being held hostage!) I would have preferred to have the sequel be set in Alcatraz or on a Navy Destroyer (if McClane could somehow have landed in one of those locales), an environment that could conceivably be taken by terrorists and easily held without outside interference. And the third, and fourth, and fifth films in the series - well don't even get me started on those - they basically devolve into your standard action films without much special about them. (Including the protagonist who by the fifth film is John McClane in name only!)
There are rarely new entries to the list. New "typologies" of action films simply don't come around that often. But in 1988, cinema was introduced to a new one, which would burn brightly for about a decade, before becoming such a trite overused cliche, that it almost became a laughable meme.
The film was called Die Hard. And it spawned what must have been countless studio pitch meetings that were explained as follows, "It's Die Hard in a..." (Die Hard was nominated to my list of most influential action movies because of its gift to the action film genre.)
So what differentiated Die Hard? What made it different? What made so many others want to emulate it? (Unfortunately, most of its own sequels have disregarded the rules of the original!) It wasn't just that Bruce Willis was an everyman hero that could get hurt, although that was part of it. (Remember, this film came out in the 1980s when audiences were used to Stallone and Schwarzenegger playing invincible heroes, it was refreshing to see a regular guy that ended up taking a beating saving the day for once!) But rather it was the setting: One man vs. a slew of terrorists in an empty high-rise on Christmas Eve when the building is empty. Rather than traipsing about the city (as Bruce Willis' John McClane would do in the subsequent films in the franchise), McClane was trapped in a confined environment. He had to use the resources at hand. He had to be sneaky and hide. He had to pick the terrorists off one by one using an attack and retreat strategy. He had to hide in elevator shafts and air ducts. There was just something about the claustrophobic setting as the backdrop for one of the most intense action films of all time that was so thrilling.
So here, without further ado, are the top films in the genre. They're included on this list for being successful, or great films, or horrible films, or taking the genre to a new and crazy environment, or just being a notable entry in the sub-genre in some way.
1. The Rock (1996)
Die Hard In.... Alcatraz!
Die Hard Quality Rating: Four out of Five John McClanes
Terrorists (in the form of a Marine Force Recon platoon) take over Alcatraz island and threaten San Francisco with poison gas missiles (as you do).
An FBI lab geek chemist (Nicolas Cage) and former British commando / U.S. prisoner (Sean Connery), covertly enter the island along with a team of Navy SEALs an havoc ensues.
This is a film that fully embraces the ethos of the original Die Hard. Cage makes for a vulnerable everyman hero and the island provides the perfectly secluded locale, albeit one with lots of cubby holes, underground tunnels, and secret passages to make the game of cat and mouse fun. A quality copycat that stands on its own.
This is one of Cage's career highlights before he began his steep downward trajectory.
2. Air Force One (1997)
Die Hard in... Air Force One!
Die Hard Quality Rating: Four out of Five John McClanes
Terrorists take over Air Force One, with the President (Harrison Ford) onboard. This is the sort of film plot that could have gone very very badly. But a semi-comprehensible plan to overtake and board Air Force One (at least by the logic of Hollywood) and a game Ford as President, make this entry seem both semi-believable (again by Hollywood's warped standard) and exciting.
3. Cliffhanger (1993)
Die Hard in a... Craggy Mountain Pass!
Die Hard Quality Rating: Three out of Five John McClanes
Terrorists take over the mountains! In one of Stallone's better action films, he battles John Lithgow in the mountains. Kenny Harlin takes what could have been an inconsequential location (the mountains, how boring!) and dials up the excitement with a series of intense action scenes, involving heights, and falling. Specifically, the film's opening, mid-film action scene, and the ending are all highlights. Stallone though is sort of back in form as the sort of 1980s muscled action hero that Die Hard was trying to break from.
4. White House Down (2013)
Die Hard in... the White House!
Die Hard Quality Rating: Three out of Five John McClanes
Terrorists take over the White House. As with Air Force One, this is the sort of film that has to be done very carefully, as one wrong misstep, could make this film seem ridiculous and silly. Unlike Air Force One, this is a border that the film barely balances. If anything, the film was released a decade too late - as most of the Die Hard in a... films were released in the 1990s, but by 2013, the standard action plot of terrorists taking over some occupied space and then being thwarted by a man on the inside had become a bad action film meme. The rhythms and steps are all correct, the tones all accurate, but audiences had - unfortunately for this film - moved on by the time of its release.
5. Olympus Has Fallen (2013)
Die Hard in... the White House...again!
Die Hard Quality Rating: Three out of Five John McClanes
Terrorists take over the White House. Hollywood often does films in pairs. There were two volcano movies released in the same year (Dante's Peak and Volcano - see Hollywood's tradition of dumb disaster films), two volcano movies (Deep Impact and Armageddon), and in 2013 there were two films about terrorists taking over the White House. Unfortunately, for both films, neither won the box office, and audiences likely were confused about the two films (for the longest time, I didn't realize they were separate films!) Olympus Has Fallen follows White House Down in almost every measure, it's of the same quality, it's of the same 1990s or 1980s action vibe, and it verges on ridiculous for long stretches. Still, three McClanes for trying.
6. Under Siege (1992)
Die Hard in a... Navy Destroyer!
Die Hard Quality Rating: Three out of Five John McClanes
Terrorists attempt to take over a Navy Destroyer, but little did they realize that one of the sailors left on-board (the cook, actually) was really a Navy SEAL. This was Seagal's one film that was a mainstream financial success (as opposed to a tiny success which is just enough to warrant another straight to DVD movie), and, it's also one of his better films. If you can forget that it's a Steven Seagal movie while you're watching it, you just might get caught up in it and start to enjoy yourself!
7. Sudden Death (1995)
Die Hard in a... Sports Stadium!
Die Hard Quality Rating: Two out of Five John McClanes
Terrorists take over a sports stadium. Seagal had his one stroke of mainstream success with Under Siege, and so did Van Damme with Sudden Death. Ultimately, though as terrorist locations go, a sport stadium simply isn't as compelling of a location. Unlike the White House, one doesn't imagine that there are miles of hidden elevators and tunnels to explore. And unlike Alcatraz, it's not a location given to easily being held by terrorists.
8. Passenger 57 (1992)
Die Hard in a... Passenger Jet!
Die Hard Quality Rating: Two out of Five John McClanes
Terrorists take over a passenger jet and Wesley Snipes - remember him? - is the cop set to take them down. The film's tag line tells us everything we need to know:
He's an ex-cop with a bad mouth...
A bad attitude...
And a bad seat...
For the terrorists on Flight 163,
he's very bad news.
Indeed. Unfortunately, the passenger jet is neither creative, innovative, or that special of an environment. In fact, it's sort of a limiting environment, which is why the film ends up spending half its running time letting the action play out on the ground.
9. Die Hard 2: Die Harder (1990)
Die Hard in a... Airport!
Die Hard Hard Quality Rating: Two out of Five John MccLanes
Terrorists take over an airport. This may be sacrilegious to state that a direct sequel to Die Hard only receives two McClanes, and fans of the film may disagree, but for myself, the first sequel violated a lot of what made the first film unique. Sure, it's got John McClane, our plucky everyman action hero, but the airport is never really under terrorist control. Consequently, we don't get that same sense of intensity the first film had, as McClane is pretty much free to leave the situation whenever he wants (except that his wife is up on board one of the planes being held hostage!) I would have preferred to have the sequel be set in Alcatraz or on a Navy Destroyer (if McClane could somehow have landed in one of those locales), an environment that could conceivably be taken by terrorists and easily held without outside interference. And the third, and fourth, and fifth films in the series - well don't even get me started on those - they basically devolve into your standard action films without much special about them. (Including the protagonist who by the fifth film is John McClane in name only!)
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