4. The Die Hard Series (1988 - 2013)
Official Films -
Die Hard, Die Hard 2: Die Harder, Die Hard: With A VengenceIgnore - Live Free or Die Hard, A Good Day to Die Hard To those of you out there who love the Die Hard films as much as I do, this should be a fairly easy one. Ignore parts 4 and 5. Out of an unexplainable sense of loyalty I went to see A Good Day to Die Hard at the cinema, as I loved the original trilogy so much that I wanted to see them fix the problems of the previous entry. No more McClane taking on F25 Jets with a 18 wheeler, or killing helicopters with cars, and a chance to fix the worst most heinous cinematic crimes ever committed to celluloid, "Yippe-Ki-Yay Mother F-*Gunshot* And even though it was slapped with a 12A certificate (PG-13 for you stateside lovelies) I still believed that it would deliver. It did not. In oh so many ways. It was then I realised that the inferiority of the sequels 4 and 5, still doesn't dilute the quality of the original films. So again you find yourself with a solid film trilogy, yes I know a lot of people don't like Part 2, but for my money it still delivers and I think that part 3 nicely closes the McClane story off with the possibility of a resolution with his now estranged wife. Plus the films don't stretch the realms of plausibility anywhere near as badly as the recent films do. DH - perfect setup he was on the wrong place at the wrong time. The original and best use of the concept. DH 2 - He was at the airport and chose to act and things drastically go crazy from there. Thin, but completely unbelievable. DH:WAV - He was personally targeted by the big bad for his actions in the original film. McClane picking up the one guy that could undo Timothy "Hitman" Olyphant's plan to crumble America were very thin and then the whole Russian incident with McClane Jr was such a convoluted mess that it's best to not go into it. The fact that McClane seems like a fallible human being in the trilogy is what makes us connect with him so strongly. The idea of the hero in tears as he realizes the mess he's made with his wife was unheard of in an era of Stallones and Schwarzeneggers. That vulnerability went straight out the window with the introduction of a McClane that could bounce of Harrier Jets and somehow still be fine. It makes sense this way, plus I have to admit there is something that is just neat about a film trilogy with the first two films taking place almost immediately after one another, with the third taking place a few years down the line. (Halloween, The Dark Knight) The only plus side of the fifth film existing is that due to the critical mauling it received by all involved, it looks like a sixth film isn't on the cards.