10 Movies Franchises That Went From 5 Stars To 1 Star

9. Die Hard

5 Star: Die Hard 1 Star: A Good Day To Die Hard You can liken the progression of the Die Hard series to that of Bruce Willis' acting career. He was a (sort of) regular guy thrust into action (pre-Die Hard he was best known for drama) who saw great success in the nineties, but by the mid-naughties it was all getting a little repetitive. Now he's sighing his way through movies he has no real interest in being a part of. At first Die Hard seemed to understand itself well enough to become a successful franchise. The first film was a brilliant action flick, but the sequels knew the real draw lay in its central character, with them convincingly continuing the story of John McClane rather than just retreading what had come before. Die Hard 2 and Die Hard: With A Vengeance weren't up to the original, but they were in keeping with it. Had the series ended there it'd have been a competent run of films. Of course it didn't, with the franchise returning over a decade later. Live Free Or Die Hard wasn't great, but it wasn't until the neutered, PG-13 A Good Day To Die Hard (where are they getting these names from) that the series hit rock bottom. McClane is now a passenger in his own series, with no effort made to make something even remotely reminiscent of Nakatomi Plaza.