10 Iconic Movies That Spawned A Thousand Imitators
1. Die Hard
Not only is Die Hard arguably the greatest action movie ever made, and top three at the very least, but it also holds the distinction of being one of the very few movies that spawned an entire sub-genre all by itself.
Following its initial success, the concept of an everyman hero battling against the odds while contained in a single location quickly led to a massive amount of similar projects flooding Hollywood, the vast majority of which could be summed up by the simple 'Die Hard on a *insert location/mode of transport here*' template.
Some of these became classics in their own right, with Die Hard on a Bus (Speed), Die Hard on Alcatraz (The Rock), Die Hard with the President (Air Force One) and Die Hard on a Prison Transport (Con Air) particularly standing out. The formula has also extended to planes (Passenger 57 and Executive Decision), boats (Under Siege and Speed 2), trains (Under Siege 2), the White House (Olympus Has Fallen and White House Down), a mountain (Cliffhanger) and even a boarding school (Toy Soldiers).
Even the world's biggest movie star muscled in on the action with recent Dwayne Johnson vehicle Skyscraper, proving that after over 30 years and innumerable knock-offs, Die Hard still shows no signs of losing its continued influence over the action genre.