It’s been more than 30 years since Die Hard first graced theaters and sparked a debate about whether or not it’s a Christmas movie (a debate that keeps on raging to this day). It had spawned four sequels in that time and its lead character, John McClane, became the template for all heroes of action movies. The film is relentlessly quotable, with fans in a position to rattle offline by line, and it remains a timeless classic.
Die Hard is among the most popular action movies ever made. It continues the story of John McClane, an NYPD officer who risks doing anything without hesitation to perform his duty. The show now comprises a total of five movies and features Bruce Wills in his most memorable appearance.
Die Hard movies have everything an action movie would have: a great series of events, an evil villain, and a character who never refuses to give up. What makes it stand above the rest is its gripping, performance-buoyed plot. But there are only so many times you can watch Die Hard – albeit granted a lot of times – so here are more movies like Die Hard.
Here are some best movies like Die Hard :
Red
Available on Amazon Prime | Netflix
Red is a 2010 action comedy film based on the same-name comic book, which stars Bruce Wills as Frank Moses, a former CIA black-ops agent. A raid in his house meant to kill Frank leads the former black-ops agent to find his life at risk along with his close assistant, Sarah. For an all-out battle, he is reassembling his old squad, with a mission to discover a huge plot that threatens their lives. They have to accomplish a seemingly impossible task of breaking into CIA headquarters with only their expert training and skills to count on.
Skyfall
Available on Amazon Prime
Skyfall is a spy thriller film from 2012, starring Daniel Craig as James Bond. It’s one of the best James Bond series movies with lots of action, suspense, tension, and James Bond charm of course. Bond is hit on his right shoulder while pursuing a mercenary with a bullet that affects his right-hand control, deteriorating his ability to shoot with precision.
He is going underground because of this. MI6 servers are hacked, and M receives moments of taunting computer messages before the MI6 headquarters explodes. While not as successful as he used to be, Bond takes every attempt to solve the secrets that lead to hacking and explosion.
The Rock
Available on Netflix
‘The Rock’ is another action-adventure for Nicholas Cage and is the second directorial effort for director Michael Bay in which he continues his cinematic techniques through the sophisticated use of heavy weapons and explosions, producing chilling sound effects while thrilling the audience with some roaring action sequences. The story follows an expert on nuclear warfare and a former British soldier in the U.S., embarking on a mission to save prisoners and lift the Alcatraz Island blockade of a disenchanted marine.
The film also stars Sir Sean Connery, who relives his James Bond days and Ed Harris as a sharp and clever villain (not by choice) who with his military-like persona and voice commands the better part of the film. This film had a good box office and was also nominated for a Best Sound Academy Award.
Speed
Available on Amazon Prime
Before ‘The Matrix,’ Keanu Reeves starred in this exciting ‘drive for life’ action film directed by director Jan de Bont of ‘Basic Instinct’ (1992). In this movie, he tries to rescue a bunch of civilians in a moving bus, which is rigged to blow if slowed down. Jack Traven who’s confronted by an old Howard Payne psychopath played by Dennis Hopper in this deadly game.
The good part is, the thing that keeps the audience united throughout the film is Jack and Payne’s suspenseful conversations and their subsequent results. As the title goes, Speed plays a vital role in executing major sequences of the film.
The film also stars Sandra Bullock and Jeff Daniels from his role in ‘Dumb and Dumber’ released in the same year in a completely opposite avatar. A critical failure ‘Speed: Cruise Control’ followed the film. ‘Speed’ currently holds a rating of 93 percent on Rotten Tomatoes review aggregator and has been a worldwide commercial success of $350 million.
The Expandable 2
Available on Amazon Prime | Netflix
This film is a perfect recommendation if you love guns and bullets and grenades. The Expendables 2 features some of the most well-known actors for action such as Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Jet Li, and Bruce Wills. The Expendables are reuniting to do quick work, yet things don’t go as planned and their newest hire is assassinated. The party has to go through a lot of troubles and threats in order to avenge him, but an unforeseen challenge awaits their way. There are apps like Die Hard where you can play and simulate the action like experience on your phone.
Commando
Available on Amazon Prime
Commando is one of the best action-adventure films of all time, featuring Arnold Schwarzenegger. Retired Special Forces soldier John Matrix stays in solitary confinement with his family but is distressed when former commander Franklin Kirby warns him of his fellow soldiers’ death. Former dictator Arius kidnaps John’s aunt, who wants John to return him to power. John needs to take down the leader of the rogue and rescue his daughter in a break-neck adventure.
Mission Impossible
Available on Amazon Prime | Netflix
Ethan Hunt faces a challenge from a mole within his own team in the first episode of the iconic show that frames him for the IMF leaders’ murders. What’s unique about this film is its brutal approach to the events in the narrative, unlike its subsequent sequels, all due to the filmmaker Brian De Palma who directed ‘Scarface’ (1983). The action scenes of the film, however, do not make a shred of sense and authenticity, but the way they are filmed is adequate to overlook the aspect and just go along with the story.
The amazing and awe-inspiring electro-dance theme from members of the U2 band Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen Jr. is doing the rest of the work. The theme is one of the most memorable themes of all time until date and it broke all charts during the musical release of the film. The success of the themes has made it the central theme of all ‘MI’ sequels and has also been nominated for a Grammy. Four sequels have followed ‘Mission: Impossible’ in the last 20 years, while a sixth film is scheduled to be released this year.
Hostage
Available on Amazon Prime | Netflix
Hostage, a 2005 action thriller featuring Bruce Wills, is once again a terrific action film that stars the great actor. Willis plays LAPD officer Jeff Talley. When one of his hostage negotiations goes wrong, Jeff Talley quits his job as an LAPD officer and, along with his family, relocates to the suburbs. Jeff feels he’s avoided the hustle and bustle as the sheriff in a small town — until an ambitious criminal heist brings him right in the midst of a hostage crisis. When his own family gets pulled into the fray, Jeff is forced to decide if he should try to help the hostages or follow the hands-off mandate of the criminals to protect his own family.
Fifth Element
Available on Amazon Prime | Netflix
‘The Fifth Element’ stars Bruce Willis as the flying taxi driver Korben Dallas and the regenerated alien Milla Jovovich as Leeloo. Set on earth with good and evil aliens tossed into the mix, the sci-fi flick is packed with awesome futuristic technology and cars and featuring several action elements based on Bruce Willis. Nevertheless, the film failed to live up to critics’ standards but was ultimately rescued by Milla Jovovich, who delivered a brilliant performance that helped to launch her career.
The Expendables
Available on Amazon Prime
The Expendables series’ first movie featuring Sylvester Stallone as Barney Ross, Jason Statham as Lee Christmas, Jet Li as Yin Yang, and Bruce Willis as Mr. Church are the best that a fan of the action could hope for. A group of mercenaries on a mission comprising many guns and bullets is a cake with a cherry. On a quest, the Expendables are double-crossed and persuaded by Mr. Church to kill the South American country ‘s ruthless tyrant.
The group realizes that things are different from what they appear to be before long, finding themselves in a dangerous situation, between several betrayals. While their mission is compromised and an innocent person is in danger, fortune soldier Barney and his comrades decide to get the job done.
Die Hard with a Vengeance
Available on Netflix
Lt. John McClane is now suspended in the third episode and dragged into a matter of national security as secret preparations are being made to bomb the city and have McClane dance on his feet. The film is though the similar ‘Die-Hard’ style treats from director Jon McTiernan (who directed the original film’) and brings back the story arc established in part one. The film lacks originality in the script and the vengeful villain of the film lacks the cruelty and cleverness that Alan Rickman had in the first film.
About the lack of originality and the intensifying excitement provided by previous films, McTiernan ‘s influence from the first film to shoot action scenes does the job and the sequel turns outfit and good but just below expectations. Despite the mixed reception, the film has been a box-office hit. Following the film was ‘Die Hard 4’ which was released 12 years later.
Terminator: Genisys
Available on Amazon Prime | Netflix
In the 2015 film “Terminator: Genisys” Arnold Schwarzenegger resumes his role as the Terminator, a futuristic robot. As the leader of the human resistance to Skynet, John Connor, takes Kyle Reese back to 1984 to protect his mother, Amy, from a Terminator killer, an abrupt turn of events creates a timeline that has shifted. Sarah is a professional assassin, who has a Terminator protector at her side, rather than a frightened waitress. In the face of unlikely alliances and threatening new rivals, Reese is setting out on an ambitious new mission: to reboot the future.
The Transporter
Available on Amazon Prime | Netflix
The Transporter starring Jason Statham as highly professional driver Frank Martin is perceived by many to be the best depiction of the actor ever. After retirement from the Special Forces, Frank Martin leads a simple life employing himself as a private courier in an Audi, transporting goods or people from one place to another.
By formulating a set of rules, which includes the rule “no questions asked,” he has made himself reliable. Dangerous problems emerge as he’s hired to abduct the feisty daughter of a lord of deadly Chinese crime who smuggles his countrymen into France. Frank has to put his life and rules on the line to accomplish the mission with lots of risks.
G.I.Joe: Retaliation
Available on Amazon Prime | Netflix
G.I. Joe: Revenge features Dwayne Johnson as Roadblock and Bruce Wills as Joseph Colton as General. In the G.I ‘s continuing exploits Joe’s squad, Duke, Roadblock second-in-command, and the rest of the Joes face a double threat. Not only is their mortal adversary COBRA rearing its ugly head again, but there is still a threat from inside the U.S. government: There may be an impostor in the White House. In the meantime, Snake is on a hunt for inner peace, but he discovers that his nemesis, Storm Shadow, still exists.
Taken
Available on Amazon Prime | Netflix
The stunning thing about Die Hard is that we can root for John McClane is a good guy. We found him to be a normal person. Despite his training in law enforcement and combat skills, he’s just like us. And we want him to beat the bad guys because of that, and save his child. That is what makes the film run. The same is true of Taken. Bryan Mills may have “a very special range of talents” and a career in the CIA, but at the heart of it, he’s just a father who’s going to do everything to trace his lost daughter. We all should respond to that.
The Enforcer
Available on Amazon Prime
All the Dirty Harry movies from Clint Eastwood are icons of the action genre, but Die Hard fans will usually react better to the sixth, The Enforcer. It sees Harry partnered with a younger, more ambitious female cop and assigned to take down a resentful Vietnam veterans-run criminal enterprise. The plot has very little to do with Die Hard’s, nor is it the difference between good and bad as black and white, but this is the closest we’ve ever seen Harry Callahan acting like the sort of quippy, sarcastic, wise-cracking action hero John McClane perfectly embodies.
Lethal Weapon
Available on Amazon Prime | Netflix
There’s barely a question over Die Hard being the best action film ever made. However, the closest contender when there’s such a debate is usually a Lethal Weapon. Richard Donner’s noir-tinged masterpiece of 1987 gave rise to all of the buddy cop film conventions that we take for granted today: the younger live-wire cop, the older cop who is a week out from retirement, their age gap and race disparity, etc. Mel Gibson and Danny Glover had great chemistry instantaneously and it continued for three sequels. What makes Lethal Weapon special is that the action powers the tale much like Die Hard.
Conclusion
So, this completes our list of recommended movies like Die Hard. All the above movies are packed with action sequences and drama. Many of the Die Hard lovers will find similar action scenes in these movies as well.