10 Most Important And Influential Summer Blockbusters Of All-Time

7. Die Hard

Iron Man
20th Century Fox

Over 30 years since Die Hard was first released, and any high-concept action movie that bears even the slightest resemblance to John McTiernan's classic is still summarized as 'Die Hard on a....'.

Die Hard marked a seismic shift in the entire action genre, as Bruce Willis' relatable everyman John McClane showed that taking down an army of goons hurts like hell, with the musclebound and bulletproof heroes that had dominated the decade being shoved out of the picture in favor of someone that audiences could identify with an relate to.

The iconic Hans Gruber also led to a raft of intelligent, educated and very often European villains, while the core concept of an average guy facing insurmountable odds led to similar all-timers like Speed, Con Air, The Rock and dozens of pale imitations that took place on boats, planes and even The White House.

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