In 1988, John McTiernan, Bruce Willis, and co. took the world by storm with Die Hard. They set a new benchmark for action cinema that has yet to be topped. Everything about it makes for the perfect action movie. But although Die Hard is undeniably the best, it’s faced some stiff competition over the years.
Despite the hundreds of schlocky, cheesy, lazily directed, incoherently edited action movies that flood bargain bins every year, the genre has been graced with some of the greatest filmmakers who ever lived — John Woo, Tony Scott, Akira Kurosawa, et al — who have delivered action-packed cinematic masterpieces.
Die Hard Is The Best: Every Single Scene Is Great
A good action movie will have “that one scene” everyone remembers, like the House of Blue Leaves showdown in Kill Bill: Volume 1 or the subway car chase in The French Connection, but what makes Die Hard the best one ever made is that there isn’t just a couple of memorable scenes.
Rather, there’s something memorable in every single scene. Every action sequence is thrilling, every one-liner is iconic, and the supporting characters are well-rounded enough to sustain the audience’s interest whenever they’re on-screen.
Close Contender: Mad Max: Fury Road
After years in development hell, George Miller finally managed to get the fourth Mad Max film to the screen in 2015. It was the franchise’s most riveting, action-packed entry since The Road Warrior. Miller used minimal CGI in putting the film together, using practical effects wherever possible and simply using computer-generated effects to smooth out the images.
And on top of the set pieces, Fury Road is a masterclass in visual storytelling. Miller set out to make a movie that could be understood by non-English-speaking audiences without the subtitles, and he succeeded.
Die Hard Is The Best: The Balance Of Light And Dark Moments
The tone of Die Hard is balanced perfectly by director John McTiernan. One minute, McClane and Powell will be joking around. The next, Powell will be revealing his dark backstory to McClane, confessing to the accidental shooting of a child.
The movie flits between light moments, like Argyle chilling in the back of his limo, and dark moments, like the shocking murder of Takagi, without ever feeling inconsistent.
Close Contender: Enter The Dragon
Bruce Lee starred in a ton of great martial arts movies in his tragically short lifetime, but his finest was easily the last one he made before his untimely passing, Enter the Dragon. Lee stars as a master Shaolin martial artist who’s sent to a drug trafficker’s private island under the guise of competing in a martial arts tournament to collect evidence against him.
The plot created opportunities for countless spectacularly choreographed fight scenes, all building toward an explosive climax, and thematically, the film explores the effect of World War II on Asian society.
Die Hard Is The Best: It Harks Back To Classic Westerns
Any great action movie has its roots in the western. Die Hard is heavily influenced by the genre, with Hans Gruber frequently comparing McClane to gun-toting American cowboys from the big screen.
McClane’s iconic catchphrase, “Yippee ki-yay, motherf**ker,” is an ironic callback to Roy Rogers’ line, “Yippee-ki-yay, kids!”
Close Contender: Raiders Of The Lost Ark
Throwing it back to the pulpy adventure serials of the 1930s, Steven Spielberg and George Lucas introduced the moviegoing public to Indiana Jones, one of cinema’s all-time greatest icons, in Raiders of the Lost Ark.
Harrison Ford is as charismatic as always in the role of Dr. Jones, while Lawrence Kasdan’s fast-paced seven-act screenplay makes Raiders Indy’s finest adventure.
Die Hard Is The Best: It’s Perfectly Paced
The pacing in Die Hard is spot-on. John McTiernan balances the quieter dialogue scenes with the explosive action set pieces masterfully, moving the story along at a brisk pace and giving us all the information we need in as little time as possible.
The movie doesn’t slow down or feel boring for a second, but McTiernan gives every scene and every character plenty of room to develop.
Close Contender: Terminator 2: Judgment Day
After both pioneering and perfecting the “tech noir” with his masterfully crafted cinematic thrill-ride The Terminator, James Cameron really pushed the boat out for the sequel, Terminator 2: Judgment Day, one of the most captivating action movies ever made.
Aside from the technological breakthroughs with CGI, which hold up surprisingly well today, T2 managed to put a fresh spin on the original’s formula without feeling like a retread, and the action sequences are bigger and bolder than ever before.
Die Hard Is The Best: John McClane Is The Quintessential Action Hero
The MVP of Die Hard is of course its hero, John McClane, the quintessential action hero. He’s a renegade cop who plays by his own rules, but he’s also a deeply flawed guy who doesn’t like himself all that much and is just doing his best to get by.
Back when Bruce Willis actually put some effort into his performances, he brought McClane to life as a relatable everyman who cuts his feet on broken glass and talks to himself to cope with insurmountable adversity.
Close Contender: The Raid
Gareth Evans’ The Raid is essentially a feature-length action sequence, and it succeeds beautifully. It follows an elite squad infiltrating an apartment complex run by a sadistic drug kingpin, with some of the most visceral fight scenes and hair-raising suspense sequences ever put to film.
Its cast contains some of the most gifted stunt fighters in the world. In the opening scene, we learn that Iko Uwais’ protagonist has a pregnant wife at home, so even though the movie cuts out the dead weight that is plot and character development to make way for wall-to-wall action, the audience is still emotionally involved in his fight for survival.
