10 Movie Villains So Awesome They Ruined Their Franchise

7. Hans And Simon Gruber - Die Hard

The Dark Knight Joker
20th Century Fox

Whatever the dubious merits of the other Die Hard sequels, it's an undeniable fact that the only two films in the series worth a damn feature a villain named 'Gruber' as their villain. After the forgettable Die Hard 2, the series bounced back with its best sequel to date - Die Hard With a Vengeance.

In addition to the chemistry of Bruce Willis and Samuel L Jackson, the film gets us the only other villain anyone remembers - Jeremy Irons' Simon Peter-Gruber. Sure, he didn't have to be a Gruber in order for us to love him so much... but he is, leaving the rest of the franchise with two gigantic Gruber-shaped holes at their heart.

Contributor
Contributor

A film critic and professional writer of over ten years, Joel Harley has a deep and abiding love of all things horror, Batman and Nicolas Cage. He can be found writing online and in print, all over the Internet and in especially good bookstores.