Adarsh Kumar
Die Hard is one of the most iconic action films ever made. It follows the story of John McClane, an officer of the NYPD, who risks it all to carry out his duty without hesitation. The series now has a total of five movies under it and sees Bruce Wills in his most memorable role. Die Hard movies have everything that an action film should: cool action sequence, an evil villain, and a hero who is never willing to give up. What makes it stand above the rest is its gripping plot buoyed by terrific performances. So, if you love Die Hard and other films like it, you are the right place. Here’s the list of movies similar to Die Hard that are our recommendations. You can watch several of these movies like Die Hard on Netflix, Hulu or Amazon Prime.
14. Skyfall (2012)
Skyfall is a 2012 action spy film that features Daniel Craig as James Bond. It is one of the best movies of the James Bond series with a lot of action, thrill, drama, and of course, James Bond charm.
Bond, while pursuing a mercenary, is hit on his right shoulder with a bullet that affects his control over the right hand, deteriorating his ability to shoot with precision. Because of this, he goes underground. MI6’s servers are hacked and M receives a taunting computer message moments before the MI6 headquarters explode. Though he is not as good as he used to be, Bond tries his best to uncover the mysteries that lead to hack and explosion.
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13. The Expendables 2 (2012)
If you love guns and bullets and grenades, this movie is a perfect recommendation. The Expendables features some of the best known-for-action actors like Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Jet Li, and Bruce Wills. The Expendables reunite to carry out an easy job, but things don’t go as expected, and their newest recruit is murdered. In order to avenge him, the group has to go through a lot of troubles and risks, but an unexpected threat is waiting for their way.
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12. The Rock (1996)
‘The Rock’ is another Nicholas Cage’s action adventure and is director Michael Bay’s second directorial venture in which he continues his filmmaking styles by profound use of heavy weaponry and explosives and creating chilling sound effects while entertaining the viewers with some pumping action sequences. The story follows a chemical weapons expert and a convicted British soldier in the U.S., embarking on a mission to rescue hostages and lift the siege of a disenchanted marine from the Alcatraz Island.
The film also stars Sir Sean Connery, who relives his James Bond days and Ed Harris as a sharp and clever villain (not by choice) who commands the better part of the film with his military-like persona and voice. The film was a box-office success and was also nominated for an Academy Award for Best Sound.
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11. Red (2010)
Red is a 2010 action comedy film based on a comic book of the same name and stars Bruce Wills as Frank Moses, a retired black-ops CIA agent. A raid that is intended to kill Frank in his house causes the retired black-ops agent to consider his−along with his close apprentice, Sarah’s−life at risk. He reassembles his old team for an all-out war, and a mission to uncover a massive conspiracy that threatens their lives. With only their expert training and skills to rely on, they have to accomplish a seemingly impossible task of breaking into CIA headquarters.
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10. Speed (1994)
Before ‘The Matrix’, Keanu Reeves starred in this exciting “drive for life” action film directed by ‘Basic Instinct’ (1992) director Jan de Bont, where he tries to rescue a bunch of civilians in a moving bus, which is rigged to blow if it is slowed down. Keanu stars as Off. Jack Traven who is challenged in this deadly game by an old psychopath Howard Payne played by Dennis Hopper. The good part is, the thing that keeps the audience together throughout the film is the suspenseful conversations between Jack and Payne and their subsequent results. As the title goes, speed is the quantity that plays a vital role in executing the film’s important sequences.
The film also stars Sandra Bullock and Jeff Daniels in a completely opposite avatar from his role in ‘Dumb and Dumber’, which was released in the same year. The film was followed by a critical failure ‘Speed: Cruise Control’. ‘Speed’ currently holds 93% rating on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes and was a commercial success grossing $350 million worldwide.
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9. The Expendables (2010)
The first movie of the Expendables series featuring Sylvester Stallone as Barney Ross, Jason Statham as Lee Christmas, Jet Li as Yin Yang, and Bruce Willis as Mr. Church is the best an action fan could hope for.
A group of mercenaries on a mission that includes lots of guns and bullets is a cake with a cherry. The Expendables are double-crossed during a mission and approached by Mr. Church to overthrow the cruel dictator of the South American country. Before long, the group realizes things are different than they appear, finding themselves in a dangerous situation, among several betrayals. Although their mission is compromised and an innocent is in danger, the soldier of fortune Barney and his comrades decide to get the job done.
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8. Commando (1985)
Commando, featuring Arnold Schwarzenegger, is one of the best action-adventure films of all time. Retired Special Forces soldier John Matrix lives with his daughter in isolation but is disturbed when former commander Franklin Kirby warns him about the death of his fellow soldiers. John’s daughter is kidnapped by former dictator Arius, who wants John to restore him to power. John has to take down the rogue leader and rescue his daughter in break-neck adventure.
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7. Fifth Element (1997)
‘The Fifth Element’ stars Bruce Willis as Korben Dallas, the driver of a flying taxi, and Milla Jovovich as Leeloo, a regenerated alien. Set on earth with benevolent and evil aliens thrown into the mix, the sci-fi flick is filled with cool futuristic gadgets and vehicles and has many elements of action centered on Bruce Willis. The film, however, struggled to live up to expectations of critics but was largely saved by Milla Jovovich who delivered a stellar performance that helped launch her career.
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6. Die Hard With a Vengeance (1995)
In the third installment follows now suspended Lt. John McClane being drawn into a matter of national security when mysterious plans to bomb the city and make McClane dance at his fingers. The film is although the similar ‘Die-Hard’ style treats from director Jon McTiernan (who directed the original film’ and brings back the story arc established in part one. The film lacks originality in the script and the film’s vengeful villain lacks the cruelty and cleverness as Alan Rickman had in the first film. However, McTiernan’s idea of pairing up Bruce Willis with Samuel L. Jackson turns out to be an add-up to the film’s success.
Even though it lacks originality and that intensifying thrill which the previous films offer, McTiernan’s inspiration from the first film to shoot action sequences does the job and the sequel turns outfit and fine but slightly below expectations. The film was a box-office success despite the mixed response. The film was followed by ‘Die Hard 4’ which was released 12 years later.
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5. G.I. Joe: Retaliation (2013)
G.I. Joe: Retaliation features Dwayne Johnson as Roadblock, along with Bruce Wills as General Joseph Colton. In the continuing adventures of the G.I. Joe team, Duke, second-in-command Roadblock, and the rest of the Joes face a two-fold threat. Not only is their mortal enemy COBRA rearing its ugly head again, but there is also a threat from within the U.S. government: There might be an impostor in the White House. Meanwhile, Snake is on a search for inner peace but learns that his nemesis, Storm Shadow, is still alive.
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4. Terminator: Genisys (2015)
Arnold Schwarzenegger resumes his role as the Terminator, a futuristic robot, in the 2015 movie “Terminator: Genisys”. When John Connor, leader of the human resistance against Skynet, sends Kyle Reese back to 1984 to protect his mother, Sarah, from a Terminator assassin, an unexpected turn of events creates an altered timeline. Instead of a scared waitress, Sarah is a skilled fighter and has a Terminator guardian by her side. Faced with unlikely allies and dangerous new enemies, Reese sets out on an unexpected new mission: reset the future.
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3. Hostage (2005)
Hostage, an action thriller 2005 movie featuring Bruce Wills, is yet again a terrific action film starring the great actor. Willis plays Jeff Talley, an LAPD officer. Jeff Talley quits his job as an LAPD officer when one of his hostage negotiations goes wrong, and, along with his family, relocates himself to suburbs. As the sheriff in a sleepy town, Jeff thinks he has escaped the hustle and bustle — until an elaborate local heist puts him back in the center of a hostage situation. When his own family is pulled into the fray, Jeff is forced to decide whether he should try to help the hostages or follow the criminals’ hands-off mandate to protect his own family.
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2. Mission: Impossible (1996)
In the first installment of the famous series, Ethan Hunt faces a threat from a mole in his own team who frames him for the murders of the members of IMF. Unlike its future installments, what is great about this film is its violent approach to the events in the plot, all thanks to director Brian De Palma who directed ‘Scarface’ (1983). The film’s action sequences though doesn’t make a shred of sense and realism, but the way they are shot is enough to ignore that fact and just play along with the film.
The film’s awesome and awe-inspiring electro-dance theme from U2 band members Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen Jr. does the rest of the job. The theme is till date one of the most memorable themes of all time and it broke all charts during the film’s musical release. The themes success has led it to be the central theme of all ‘MI’ sequels and was also nominated for a Grammy. ‘Mission: Impossible’ has been followed by 4 sequels in last 20 years while a sixth film is slated to release this year.
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1. The Transporter (2002)
The Transporter featuring Jason Statham as Frank Martin as a highly skilled driver is considered the actor’s beat portrayal ever by many. Frank Martin lives a quiet life after retiring from Special Forces, hiring himself as a mercenary transporter in an Audi, who moves goods or humans from one place to another. He has made himself reliable by formulating a set of rules, that includes the “no questions asked” rule. Dangerous complications ensue when he is hired to kidnap the feisty daughter of a lethal Chinese crime lord who’s smuggling his fellow countrymen into France. With a lot of risks, Frank has to put his life and rules on the line to carry out the mission.
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