10. Die Hard (1988)
Action cinema of the 1980s had been dominated by the larger-than-life physiques and cringeworthy one-liners of Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone, and the genre was in real danger of falling into self-parody by the end of the decade. Then along came everyman hero John McClane and Die Hard; a movie that revolutionized both the action movie and the action hero, and is still hugely influential over 25 years later. It's hard to believe now, given that it became the actor's signature role, but Bruce Willis was nowhere near the first choice to play John McClane. Still best known as a television actor thanks to Moonlighting, bigger names including Schwarzenegger, Stallone, Clint Eastwood, Richard Gere and even Burt Reynolds had turned down the role before Willis was cast. The studio had such little faith in his ability to sell the movie that his face was almost entirely omitted from any marketing materials, with the Fox/Nakatomi Plaza taking center stage. In hindsight, not a great move as the untested blockbuster duo of Willis and Alan Rickman would provide us with one of cinema's greatest heroes and villains, respectively. Although not a massive smash hit upon release, Die Hard still managed to gross over $140m from a $28m budget. Rightly regarded as one of the greatest action movies ever made, the movie spawned the 'Die Hard on a (insert location/mode of transport here)' sub-genre that continues to this day with 2013's two 'Die Hard in the White House' movies, and heralded the decline of over-muscled action heroes in favor of ordinary people in extraordinary situations. Despite the declining quality of the sequels, the original remains quite possibly the most influential action movie ever made