Along with the action and an iconic hero, one of the things that makes Die Hard such an influential movie is its memorable lines. John McClane is one of the great wise-cracking action heroes of all time and he has some brilliant one-liners, including the infamous “Yippee-ki-yay” line.
But beyond the quotes everyone knows and repeats, the Die Hard franchise has some great moments of dialogue that are overlooked. From McClane’s other fun quips in the less-popular sequels to lines from supporting characters throughout the series, fans shouldn’t forget these fantastic Die Hard quotes.
“You Looking For Trouble Or Does It Always Seem To Find You?” – Jack McClane (A Good Day To Die Hard)
A Good Day to Die Hard, the fifth movie in the franchise, is easily the least popular. It simply doesn’t have any of those iconic scenes from the other Die Hard movies. But this adventure between John McClane and his son, Jack, ends with an interesting question about McClane as a hero.
After five movies of McClane finding himself in these deadly situations and having to save the day, Jack asks his father if perhaps he goes looking for trouble some of the time. The older McClane admits it’s a question he asks himself.
“If This Is Their Idea Of Christmas, I Gotta Be Here For New Year’s.” – Argyle (Die Hard)
There’s something about setting this R-rated action movie at Christmas that makes the first Die Hard so much fun. While some people still debate whether it counts as a holiday movie, it features a lot of fun yuletide touches.
Once the day is saved at the end of the movie, John and his wife Holly leave the chaos in a limo. Their driver Argyle comments with the movie’s final line that their New Year’s celebrations must be a real sight to see. It’s a shame none of the sequels delivered on that idea.
“Thanks For The Advice.” – John McClane (Die Hard)
While the action heroes of the 1980s let their muscles and giant guns do the talking, McClane is a hero who likes to get under the bad guys’ skin with his mocking and sarcastic comments.
After hesitating to kill one of the villains in the first Die Hard movie, the goon gets the upper hand and seems to have McClane cornered. He mocks McClane, telling him he shouldn’t hesitate when he has a clean shot. McClane then shoots him and thanks him for the advice. Even after killing a man, McClane can’t help but get in one final dig.
“You’re About To Have A Very Bad Day.” – Zeus Carver (Die Hard With A Vengeance)
Die Hard with a Vengeance takes the franchise to New York City, and in an early scene, McClane meets a local shop owner named Zeus Carver (Samuel L. Jackson). Seeing McClane in a compromising position, Zeus approaches him and tries to talk some sense into him. He warns McClane his day is about to get very unpleasant, which ends up being a massive understatement.
Not only does this start off the buddy cop relationship between McClane and Zeus, but it feels like another line that perfectly sums up the character of McClane in these movies, bouncing from one bad day to the next.
“I’ve Got Enough Friends.” – John McClane (Die Hard 2)
Die Hard 2 might not recapture the thrills of the original, but the airport-set sequel is still fun. It also features a great climax with McClane battling villains on the wing of an airplane. Once again, just as McClane looks to be in serious peril, he turns the tables and delivers a one-liner.
As the corrupt military man Grant attempts to throw McClane off the wing, he admits that he was just starting to like him. But McClane tells him he has enough friends before throwing Grant into the plane’s engine. No one adds insult to injury like John McClane.
“I Don’t Like To Lose Either.” – John McClane (Die Hard 2)
Die Hard is the perfect title for the franchise because it speaks to McClane’s skill as a hero. He is not the strongest or the smartest character in these movies, but his superpower is that he will never give up.
In the climax of Die Hard 2, McClane uses a helicopter to attempt to stop the villains’ plane. While on the helicopter, McClane admits he hates flying. When asked why he is doing this, he says he hates losing too. It is that stubbornness that makes him so frustrating for the villains and so endearing for the audience.
“But All Things Being Equal, I’d Rather Be In Philadelphia” – John McClane (Die Hard)
It’s fascinating to consider John McClane’s legacy as an action hero considering how different he was from the usual characters of the genre. Bruce Willis was even a questionable casting choice at the time, but he soon came to represent a more down-to-earth action star.
Unlike characters played by Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone who were one-man armies, McClane knew he was out of his element. His comment in the first movie about wishing he was in Philadelphia shows he’s scared, vulnerable, and relatable as a hero.
“Now There Are Only Five Of Them.” – Lucy McClane (Live Free Of Die Hard)
The later sequels began focusing more on McClane’s children with some mixed results. However, Mary Elizabeth Winstead was quite good as his daughter Lucy, who possessed more than a few of her father’s tougher traits.
After being kidnapped, the villain tries to make Lucy speak to her father over the walkie-talkie and make him surrender. Instead, Lucy tells her father how many of the bad guys are left to kill. After a moment like that, it wouldn’t be such a bad thing if she carried on the franchise from here.
“Alas, Your Mr. Takagi Did Not See It That Way, So He Won’t Be Joining Us For The Rest Of His Life.” – Hans Gruber (Die Hard)
One of the things about Die Hard that holds up so well today is Alan Rickman as Hans Gruber. He is a chilling yet charismatic villain who is the perfect adversary for McClane. And as scary as he could be, he also has some underrated funny moments.
After executing Mr. Takagi, Gruber calmly tells the other hostages and phrases it as “he won’t be joining us for the rest of his life.” It is such a cold thing to say, but Rickman’s delivery makes it hard not to laugh at the dark humor of it all.
“Welcome To The Party, Pal!” – John McClane (Die Hard)
The pacing of the first movie is so good with the first act building tension before the action really starts. McClane tries to get help from outside Nakatomi Plaza and is continuously being thwarted by the villains. But things really kick off with this wild moment.
When a patrolling cop fails to recognize the danger inside the building, McClane gets his attention by throwing one of the dead villains out of the window. As the terrified cop flees from the gunfire, McClane yells out the window, “Welcome to the party, pal!” It is the perfect line to kick the movie into high gear and shows that McClane is sort of a jerk.
