DIE HARD Franchise - 7 Reasons Why It Went Wrong

[@BURP39R]

Do you know what film I see as an unintentional Die Hard film? The Last Boy Scout. It's great!

[@miahthorpatrick1013]

Agreed! The Last Boy Scout is more of a Die Hard movie than Die Hard 5….

[@gerarduspoppel2831]

I did actually thought that for real

[@StraightlinePunk]

I also always thought of it as a John McLane Adventure or a Die Hard Spin Off :D

[@stewartmcminn7773]

I always see that as a bridge between 2 and 3

[@shadowleon659]

Let's pretend that Die Hard 5 never exists.

[@fundhund62]

It's better than the fourth one.

[@artosin]

As an action film IS great. But lacked a more Deep story. It needed at least 40 more minutes of story. Like the chernobyl flashback. A prison escape scene. Bring back the McClane family together.

[@shadowleon659]

@@artosin As a standalone film its still an incompetent action film.

[@jdxsr85]

I pretend it ended in 1995. McClane makes up with Holly the end.

[@robvegas9354]

The first 3 are magnificent. 4 ain't bad. 5 was garbage.

[@GregKroll-u1x]

3 sucked

[@travisrochelle4499]

​@@GregKroll-u1x u buggin

[@gregmeyer1805]

​@@GregKroll-u1x 3 sucked??? Wow, tough critic.

[@hancokacolashotfirst]

@@GregKroll-u1x Don't be silly. The third is the second best.

[@mikelane2866]

@@GregKroll-u1xthree was my favorite. 3124 I could never finish 5

[@lovejen01]

I don't care what people say about Die Hard 4, it's a great action film.

[@gregmeyer1805]

I had a great time with it as well even though McClane's character had started to shift from every man to superhero which essentially killed Die Hard 5. I wanted John to reconcile with Holly but having Winstead cast as Lucy helped fill some of that emotional void.

[@mikelane2866]

I dug it. The only one I’ve never seen was 5 I attempted but just couldn’t finish it

[@arroberson8796]

The directors cut is the only version worth watching. PG13 moisturized the entire joint.

[@mikelane2866]

@@arroberson8796 the directors cut is the only one I’ve seen

[@fundhund62]

To my mind, it's worse than A good Day to Die Hard. McClane feels like Superman with a different name in this. Complete and utter garbage.

[@danlove12k]

Die hard 5 was the worst one. The other 4 were fine 😮

[@Rob_Dekker]

John McClane explained it partially in the second movie: “Oh man, I can't f***ing believe this. Another basement, another elevator. How can the same s**t happen to the same guy twice?” Then the other Gruber brother happened. It should have stopped after the 3rd 😁

[@ezza2x899]

Uncut version of die hard 4 is so much better than the pg13 rating and should be the one people watch

[@jdxsr85]

Ah Live Free or Die Hard. I dug the cgi blood squids and lots of offscreen swearing. Sense sarcasm.

[@michaelclark7447]

For me, the first three movies are the only true "Die Hard" movies.

[@elvikingotrh831]

Should have been last boyscout also

[@RussellGreerOfficial]

Number 4 is a good film

[@michaelclark7447]

@@RussellGreerOfficial Can't stand that one. To me, it was just a bunch of young adults showing off what they can do with a keyboard. The first three movies, the terrorists had a reason for what they were doing.

[@fundhund62]

The first two are the only good ones.

[@jdxsr85]

​@@michaelclark7447 Agreed. 3 was a great ending.

[@raulzavala9061]

The absurdity of the Fast and The Furious franchise is what crept it's way into the latter Die Hard sequels. I'm surprised we don't get a crossover titled 'Live Fast and Die Hard Furiously'.

[@DrReelTV]

Lol imagine that movie!

[@LouiepTv]

That's what was dominating action genre. Die hard tried but just couldnt compete. 4 wasnt bad 5 sucked because of the bland ass characters. John wick & mission impossible were able to go more absurd with each sequel but it worked.

[@hardstyleeric]

Exactly what i thinking thanks! 🎉

[@miahthorpatrick1013]

One thing I have to comment on when talking about the decline of Die Hard movies is the music. Michael Kamen nailed it with the first 3 films. Lots of memorable themes. Die Hard 4 brought in a different composer. The composer for Die Hard 5 didn’t bring anything noteworthy to an already terrible film.

[@Maxwel_Rodrigues]

The first film starts with McClane being afraid of flying, the last one ends with him killing generic Russians in Chernobyl without being affected by the radiation. That pretty much sums up where the franchise has gone.

[@glenkneller6192]

They also forgot that Die Hard was a Christmas movie; part of what has keeps the first two movies alive is the ongoing debate of whether they're Christmas movies or not. It seems to rise every year, revitalizing it to a new generation. The later shows just blend in with all the other silliness modern action movies have become.

[@mykal.7424]

The shift in tone was due to the Bruce Willis and Joel Silver being at odds after The last boyscout . It should've stopped at 3

[@AllHailCaesar3]

"Live Free or Die Hard" was actually pretty good.... That being said, I still consider "Die Hard" a trilogy. 💯👑

[@albertorverastegui6352]

9:09 we are not tired of superheroes and Deaspool & Wolverine is proof of that. We only want entertainment pieces, we are tired of studios trying to make movies for audiences who couldn't care less, younger people don't pay for movie tickets or watch something longer than shorts, reels or TikTok clips, they don't care about previously established franchise names like Star Wars, TMNT, or He-Man. They won't even watch those newer versions and that's why studios are losing money, so they better stop hiring people who are forcing their personal speeches in the franchises GenX and early millennials made succesful in the first place, or tried to "update" characters like John McClane into Michael Bay's movie style -the best line in all Die Hard 4 was "you're a Timex in a digital world" and GenX could relate.

[@gregmeyer1805]

This video breakdown is excellent. 100% agree on all points.

[@lukewright9031]

Excellent analysis 👍❤

[@cartoonfan959]

for me only the original Trilogy exists with Vengence being the last Die hard movie

[@DrReelTV]

Agreed

[@kingdude1999]

Well, the main problem was that the quality of the script writers declined.

[@szabolcstusai1917]

The same happened with Indiana Jones :(

[@sgthulk9]

Die hard 1 and 2 were not only settings in contained places like a building or an airport, they were also around christmas, giving those containment settings also something cosy, how stupid that may sound. Die Hard with Vengeance was in the summer and although it was not contained to one location, it FELT so by all those authentic scenes in New York, a brilliant storyline, and a fantastic cast (with a lot of them being true New Yorkers which adds to the "ode" to New York this movie brings). Then came Die Hard 4, and it wasn't all of the above, but i still liked it because of the rest of the cast. Recently i watched Die Hard 5. I turned it off 25 minutes in.

[@williamedwards4151]

I think they forgot that McClane really struggled to kill even 1 guy in the first 3 movies. Every encounter was literally life or death. And he rarely came out of those encounters unscathed. That's the secret sauce. For real. And they totally just missed the point by the 4th and 5th movies.

[@stewartmcminn7773]

What went wrong? The character went from normal person in a action situation to a generic unstoppable action hero

[@poluxcastor4938]

Remember that this movie also redefined the Christmas movies.

[@robertf679]

I enjoyed Die Hard 4. It was great to see Bruce do his thing. They should have taken their time to find the right script for the 5th movie. Other than that I enjoyed your video and agree with the 7 points you made.

[@jeffreyelya9996]

Live Free or Die Hard isn't bad, and I liked how the Terminator was what made the first bomb go off in the movie. There's another issue that you didn't bring up, which was that it took twelve years for the fourth film to come out. Had it been closer to four or five, the longevity would've helped out, but the other thing worth mentioning is 2013 strangely had another movie franchise start the same year that loosely mimics the first Die Hard sequel, Olympus Has Fallen. I'm a huge fan of those as well. The only glaring blunder I can think of is that including his son should've happened in the fourth film, dare I say even the third....

[@chrishuber3372]

I think you said it best, Die Hard got too big in scope & John McLane became a character not a person. They should have kept it small, personal, & realistic.

[@dtuk22]

Trouble is All the franchises seem to decline into parody. Dirty Harry, Death Wish, Lethal Weapon are good examples.

[@CharlesEdmond79]

There so only one Gladiator movie just like Die Hard is a trilogy. 💯

[@hancokacolashotfirst]

Indiana Jones and Star Wars is also just a trilogy.

[@irwin3381]

@@hancokacolashotfirstBut there not.

[@hancokacolashotfirst]

@@irwin3381 Of course it is. Do you know any more?

[@von_blitzkreig8928]

And there's only two Terminator and Alien movies too

[@CharlesEdmond79]

@ 💯

[@camsoucy]

First video of yours I’d seen. Really good!

[@WOLVERINE25TH]

I was with you until you brought up "superhero fatigue". It doesn't exist. It's not the genre that's giving audiences fatigue; it's the lackluster product featuring them. People are tired of movies just being okay when they were already fed spectacular. Which just goes back around your point to the decline of the Die Hard franchise.

[@alejandrogonzalez00]

9:10 no we’re just tired of Mediocre/Bad superhero content we’re all very excited for things like Superman and The Fantastic Four hell even the Daredevil series revival. Crap like Madam Web, Morbius, Kraven the Hunter the Venom movies and those DC movies from 2023 that’s what we’re really tired of

[@TheMoviemaster666]

I blame fans for films like this dying. People say that want stories but want CGI, Explosions and stunts. Film makers are trying to make a cake with mostly frosting but forgetting that there still needs to be cake to hold it up. Love free or die hard should’ve been the last but loving happily ever after drives people crazy bc they want to know “well now what happens?” And can’t just say “ok that was good”

[@NeoConnor1]

1.Skip Woods 2.John Moore 3.Jai Courtney 4.98 minute runtime when all previous films were over 2 hours. 5.Cutting Mary Elizabeth Winstead out of the extended edition 6.20th Century Fox for hiring Skip Woods 7.20th Century Fox for hiring John Moore

[@andrewcoulthard-clark]

Counter argument: Die Hard was based off a successful novel, as was its sequel. If they had continued to follow that trend, the franchise may have survived.

[@eddierascalhaskell4954]

Never shoulda gone past 2 but, 'With a Vengence' was okay.

[@derricklafrance9440]

They can do a prequel. Mclaine as a NYPD rookie.

[@D4RKxHOR1ZoN]

Nothing went wrong, it's called irrelevance and everything gets old after awhile.

[@watcher136]

I love the two first films❤

[@thejamesguide]

You nailed it, but I do like me some Live Free or Die Hard. Even though he reaches super cop levels in that movie, it's fun to watch, hilarious, and has some epic action set pieces. Die Hard 5 however, can jump off a cliff and never return. That movie blows!

[@Novastar.SaberCombat]

Part of it revolves around the character arc. What people forget is that McClane was a *cop.* An exaggerated version of a tough, street-smart, sharp-tongued P.O., but still just that. Once DH4 rolled on in, the character was essentially invincible, all-knowing, and OP despite all the phony ways the writers tried to make him (briefly) look dumber than the criminal masterminds. Finally, look... the first one was McTiernan. 💪😎✌️ It's like Verhoeven's work: you do not try to outdo them because you're going about it all wrong. 😂

[@miahthorpatrick1013]

John McTiernan was vital to the franchise’s success. Which is why they brought him back for the 3rd to give us the best Die Hard sequel.

[@damianstarks3338]

The first 3 Die Hard movies were masterpieces. The fourth and fifth were not

[@cartoonfan959]

ditto with Indiana Jones

[@phoenixstar5000]

The 1st & 3rd Die Hard movies were the best ones

[@fundhund62]

1 and 2 are the only good ones.

[@watchdogsplaythroughs9852]

@@fundhund62 🤣

[@boskey10]

In the first "Die Hard" opening scene is kinda creepy. Remember when that guy on the plane says "Dont worry I've been doing this 9 years" and the guy sees Mclanes gun and Bruce says "Dont worry i'm a cop, I've been doing this 11 years. Saying those two numbers on a plane just seemed so cryptic. An the second movie was in Washington and the third one was in New York. Exactly where 9/11 happened.

[@ap5239]

I know the latter films suck but I still have a good time with them😅

[@ShinRyojin]

Another thing that made Die Hard 4 lame was that they flat out copied the John/Holly conflict with John and Lucy. Lucy even took her mother's maiden name just like Holly did and the whole estranged Father and daughter trope is so overplayed, and just realized that Bruce even covered that territory in Armageddon.

[@edr3158]

They should have stopped after the 3rd Die Hard movie. Die Hard with a Vengeance already started showing problems with the franchise. They made the whole city of New York their playground. The only thing that saved the movie was the fact that McClain was constantly fatigued and barely alive mixed with an interesting and enticing villain. (Jeremy Irons). LIVE Free Or DIE HARD was a halfway decent action movie. But it's only saving grace was Marry Elizabeth Winstead as Eye candy and John killing the main villain by shooting himself in his own shoulder. In "The Wolverine" and X-MEN "First Class" , they allowed Hugh Jackman to drop the F-bomb once in the movie. They could have Bruce Willis say his catch phrase in LFODH. Even though Bruce Willis Retired from acting for personal reasons, i'm glad he put the stops on Hollywood from making any more movies with him in it.

[@stevechapman9690]

For me it will always be the original first 3 films that are true Die Hard movies…. Number 4 had it moments but the magic was gone as it felt flat and out of place on several levels!

[@gregdavidl647]

Started as an everyman hero. Died as a cartoon a-hole.

[@TheAmateurEditor]

I like to think 16 Blocks was the unofficial 4th and final film in the Die Hard franchise.

[@hardstyleeric]

Nice!

[@mikelane2866]

That’s an underrated movie. Mos Def was surprisingly really good and likable in it.

[@humpman88]

Live free and die hard had a solid premise.

[@josephamato2031]

Great video, you should do one for the fast and the furious franchise next.

[@imScottIronmonger]

Great and entertaining video! 😁😁 imScott 🤓🤓

[@zenzmurfy]

it's crazy that all the movies use the same gimmick(fake terrorists or fake something-else running a scam of some kind). it never evolved to having new premises.

[@hawkstringfellow]

4 good die hard films the writting in the 5th was horrible

[@hancokacolashotfirst]

1 reason what went wrong: the fifth movie sucked.

[@walkerwhited]

5 is not a great Die Hard movie, but come on, its a fun movie. One liners, chaos, huge tank thing driving through cars. I dunno, it's a blast to me. Plus I love John Moore's style.

[@ministerofdarkness]

Release the R-Rated version of Die Hard 4! And a better version of 5😁

[@paulwood1790]

Should have left it at die hard with a vengeance.

[@whitleybayman123]

agreed mate. Subscribed :)

[@DrReelTV]

Awesome, thank you!

[@funnystuff76]

When I saw Olympus has Fallen, I saw what would have been an awesome Die Hard movie!

[@asifkhan4822]

Die Hard should really have ended after the 3rd Film, the final 2 films completely lost what made the original films great.

[@andrewbevan4662]

I prefer 4 over 3, 3 is too much of a buddy movie

[@rubski-ds9yc]

I have all thr die hard movies and i have part 4 the director cut on bluray

[@WilliamTucker-x1q]

The one thing that could have saved A Good Die To Die Hard was McClaine sacrificing himself for Jack and the title would make sense if thought that would have sucked it would have gone out on a high night.

[@raulzavala9061]

I wouldn't go that far in saying the John Wick movies are the next evolution of action movies as those are equally stupid, I watched the first John Wick and didn't care for it much, I then hesitantly watched John Wick 2 and let's just say I've never seen JW3 or JW4.

[@gazzamedia]

The scriptwriters had to keep upping the ante with every Die Hard film which is why it lost it's way. There was talk of a Die Hard prequel at one point though, perhaps that could have restored the containment to the franchise?

[@DrReelTV]

Agreed with the up the ante statement. They could've just left it alone.

[@djmattblack]

Yeah was going to feature a young John McClane before he became the John McClane from the original Die Hard, sadly well never see that movie now

[@thedarintino]

The math is easy to pencil: irregardless of favorable or flawed, it was the pairing of one man alone on his own in an isolated, contained single location McClane with a sidekick civilian running around in a city wide open location Fox producers believed to be the formula to move forward with because the third DH made more money than the first flick. To them, it didn’t matter the first DH story was far superior. The Fox suits chased formula, forsaking everything that made McClane single handedly break the muscle man hero already on fumes with cartoons like COBRA. Second biggest mistake is more subtle but a even bigger and shameless misappropriation of a franchise self cannibalizing itself: remember when you first heard Willis do his throaty yell when forced into the suicidal rappel off the roof of a 40 story building with nothing but a firehouse Mikey Moused around his middle for safety (and how this “safety” hose went from life saver to almost dragging him out the window to his death) That Wilis yell - most prominent in the shot from above showing a clearly less follically challenged stuntman) where the Willis baritone yell is most prominent in the mix. By DH4 and DH5 most shamelessly, Willis not only does the yell in far less precarious situations, he delivers it each time like it’s dialed down from a 10 when jumping to certain death to a like a 4 in the lazy cartoon of DH5 Hit me back DH peeps if you know what I’m talking about. At the rate it was being used in DH5, it looked headed in such a weak sauce direction, if a DH6 got made, I’d have been making bets on Willis doing the yell dialed down to a 3 in a scene where McClane is trying to open a jelly jar from the fridge.

[@acatwood11]

The series was perfect, up until 5

[@DavidLLambertmobile]

The last Die Hard in 2013 could of been better with Sir Patrick Stewart in the scheduled small role, cameo. Stewart backed out during the production.

[@johnweber4577]

Wait, what was he supposed to be? Lol

[@MattWeaver-bc9dr]

I totally agree with this video. I’m 45 so I get it.

[@homerlanscurty4899]

Die hard 4 came out in 2007 not 2013

[@MrLobo1024]

Die hard 4 should've happened in 1998 and end it there.

[@DJHoward82]

1st will always be the best Die Hard with the 3rd being the best of the sequels, still like 2&4 but not as much as 1&3. I didn't like the 5th at all and think it should have been more of the return to Nakatomi idea I've seen previously online. In which John McClane (and maybe his son that's in 5th film) is invited to go the Nakatomi building that's in Japan on the anniversary of the events of 1st Die Hard & then all hell breaks lose.

[@xboxclown8922]

I felt all those reasons plus it simply was too hyped for a long time. Eventually the decline kept showing with the later films. Another factor could've been two of those movies really aren't Die Hard at all. Live Free or Die Hard has cyber terrorists already moved too far from the concept. Does anyone even know what A Good Day to Die Hard suppose to be? I sure don't I barely remember the film myself. It also could've been Willis was too busy being in other movies. They couldn't focus on Die Hard films like the first two entries anymore. Willis also kinda known for being difficult to work with too.

[@RM2011ish]

For me, they only went wrong with the last Die Hard movie. I found the first four movies all very enjoyable.

[@ricogomez4020]

I couldn't remember the name of DIE HARD 5!

[@Geronimo-fv4pv]

They chose a bad director for 5. It’s that simple.

[@willnailer2118]

I thought part 4 had a really good villain

[@Wfalen]

I think one of the problems was, that the last two movies were made PG-13. SO McClane couldn't have too much blood or visible injuries, and they thought that a lack of contained, R-rated violence could be offset with Mission Impossible type over the top scenes. And it doesn't work. Not saying the three first are about realism, but at least McClane feels like an actual human.

[@NeoConnor1]

A Good Day to Die Hard wasn't PG-13. It was rated R.

[@CharlesMarino-x9e]

No hair on Willis = bad Die Hard movie. 😂

[@Inevitable_Truth1]

The writing in those die hard movies is actually not that excellent tbh. Neither is the writing of the John Wick movies after the 1st one. You should really watch them all again...

[@rilla840]

Everything you mentioned

[@parkerpshebnisky1051]

Another movie franchise that should have ended after a trilogy!🙄

[@hassanazamuk]

They missed a tricking by not making Mary Elizabeth Winstead the lead in Die hard 5 onwards.

[@Amadeus_Eisenberg]

That would have killed off the franchise even harder.

[@gregmeyer1805]

​@Amadeus_Eisenberg 💯 I really like Winstead but to claim that she could fill the shoes, or lack thereof in the first Die Hard, of Bruce Willis is ridiculous. Die Hard 5 needed the return of Holly and John being a mortal man again. He would shrug off danger now because he was an invincible superhero. No longer relatable. Willis checked out of the series with his performance and so did the audience.

[@NeoConnor1]

​@Amadeus_EisenbergA good actress would have killed the franchise off more? She would have been better than Jai Courtney.

[@jonsnipe5484]

Ironically willis is dying hard now

[@tafsir5780]

Just made to many , should have stopped at 3

[@DrReelTV]

Agreed. Leave on top

[@fundhund62]

They should have stopped after Die Hard 2. The most compelling aspect of the original movie was that McClane was an everyman trapped in a terrorist attack, trying to survive. With the second film already, he became more of a killing machine himself. Which is incredibly boring to watch, and became even more tedious with each further sequel.

[@jackochainsaw]

The last Die Hard was terrible. They should have gone with Lucy instead of the son. Jai Courtney is very mid. I loved Die Hard 4 personally, it rocked. They just couldn't keep that trajectory running. The script and villains were both entirely forgettable.

[@jamludzki3983]

Reasonable ranking of problems. Unfortunetlly at root DH is old school of making action movie 1 and 2 in 80's style, 3 in 90's. 4 was made in worst time when CGI and clear matrix style dominated, even over story, character and especial realism. The same problems have other movie from this time, only 2007 born Transformer or Fantastic Four 2. Producer try made DH as competicion to that blockbusters. The "biggest film ever" or nothing or better... die. Paradox: in paper DH4 is not looking at bed in paper; to the scene in tunel when McClane got dumiest idea ever and used police car to fly against helicopter you feel- "nooo MacClean didn't do that crazy, dangerous, circus thing ever, is not DH style", and yours immercion go away. Paradoxally DH5 have less budget and in near to earth so its close DH old fashion. But still has problems as you mentioned and is...to short to be complex movie.

[@MarkSF71]

I think you perfectly captured what went wrong. The franchise devolved into a generic actionmovie with a protagonist who was no longer sympathetic. Why should I cheer for a John McClane who doesn't care if he injuries ordinary russian drivers while chasing the villains? Why should I cheer for a hero who can visit Chernobyl with the help of magic spray?

[@jonsnipe5484]

Its the last die hard that was trash.. they should've ended it with live free or die hard which was a very good movie.. die hard with a vengeance was just awesome

[@darrenclements6028]

The three Die Hard movies are ABSOLUTELY AWESOME and STUNNINGLY AMAZING

[@fundhund62]

The third one, not so much.

[@amarcellus1714]

I am fine with Die Hard 4. Its Die Hard 5 that is hard to rewatch. And I have always found Jai Courtney's acting to be very bland.

[@Maxwel_Rodrigues]

As much as people say that a Die Hard movie has to be "contained in one place" like the first two (and their hundreds of clones), I really have to argue that Die Hard With a Vengeance is the best sequel in the franchise. The first hour of the film is one of the most harrowing experiences in action cinema, you really feel the urgency, desperation and helplessness of McClane as he is thrown from one place to another by a sadistic terrorist. After the elevator scene, the film takes a dip in quality, but With a Vengeance is still MUCH better than Die Hard 2.

[@Brad772006]

The last Die Hard film should have been John McClane on his way to pick up his grandson and takes a wrong turn and gets beamed to Thanos' spaceship. So he is trapped in the ship up against Thanos and his goons.

[@DrReelTV]

LOL

[@jankjason]

They took too long to make the fourth movie.

[@craigsibson6541]

4 was OK but 5 was terrible it seemed rushed and just cheap. Apart from the car chase scene the rest is absolute garbage.

[@omarcarlos537]

Simon gruber>>>Hans gruber

[@arthurrusson]

bs

[@goingback40]

One other thing they forgot - by the last film - was to have colorful supporting characters, like Samuel Jackson in DH3 or Kevin Smith's computer geek in DH4.