It’s the most wonderful time of the year. The time when people resurrect one of the more tiresome debates to take up space on the internet: Is Die Hard a Christmas movie? Yes, is the answer. Now that that’s settled, it’s the perfect time to take a look at all the action films that Die Hard inspired. So consequential was the John McTiernan-Bruce Willis blockbuster that it completely reconfigured the action genre. Its success led to more than a decade’s worth of action movies that followed its formula of a lonely action hero facing off against a squad of villains, often led by a sophisticated Hans Gruber-type, in a singular location.
While what actually qualifies as a Die Hard can, of course, be a bit subjective, depending on how rigid or loose you are with the elements considered necessary to qualify. For this list, any action movie that was either pitched or subsequently referred to as “Die Hard on a [Blank]” fits the bill, which opens the category up for a lot of very entertaining action movies. Some Die Hard clones were good, some were very bad, but these eleven are the greatest.
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‘Die Hard’ on a House (with Santa): ‘Violent Night’ (2022)
One of the most recent riffs on the Die Hard formula also circumvented any possible debate about whether it could be considered a Christmas movie. Violent Night is Die Hard in a house, but this John McClane just so happens to be jolly old Saint Nick. Santa Claus here is played by David Harbour, who makes for a suitably more grizzled Kris Kringle and whose backstory is tweaked to that of an immortal Viking warrior.
His battle skills are put to the test when the next house on his list turns into a hostage situation, and he needs to save the nice family from some naughty home invaders. It’s a premise so ready-made to be an action-packed crowdpleaser that it’s surprising that it took so long for someone to take advantage of it. Tommy Wirkola, director of the Nazi zombie favorite Dead Snow, pumps plenty of blood into his Xmas actioner. Even if it doesn’t all hang together narratively and John Leguizamo’s villain is a little lacking in personality, it’s still a nice bit of holiday counter programming to fill your stocking with.
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‘Die Hard’ on the White House: ‘White House Down’ & ‘Olympus Has Fallen’ (2013)
It’s two presents for the price of one since both of these Die Hard in the White House movies share a lot of similarities, and were released in the same year. They still have enough of their own identities to differentiate them, though, and make for a solid Die Hard clone double feature. White House Down stars Channing Tatum as a Secret Service reject who gets his time to shine when the White House is raided while his daughter is on a tour. Olympus Has Fallen has B-movie stalwart Gerard Butler as a Secret Service wash-out who gets called back into action when North Korean terrorists stage an attack on 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.
Both movies are competent enough at their action, coming from Roland Emmerich and Antoine Fuqua, respectively. White House Down has a lighter, more comedic touch and follows the Die Hard formula a little closer, while Olympus Has Fallen has a harder edge thanks to its R rating and Butler’s general grittiness as an action hero. Either one is a fun bit of bipartisan escapism that offers something for anyone’s particular tastes.
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‘Die Hard’ on a Plane: ‘Air Force One’ (1997)
The best presidential Die Hard clone is the one where the commander in chief himself takes on the McClane role, with Harrison Ford‘s brawny leader of the free world facing off against Gary Oldman’s Russian terrorist in the titular plane. Directed by Wolfgang Petersen, who’d had success with another silver fox action hero in a political action thriller a few years earlier with In the Line of Fire, Air Force One is the kind of nonpolitical escapism that could be had in the ’90s without starting a culture war.
Ford and Oldman could play these roles in their sleep, which doesn’t mean they aren’t engaged in the movie. In fact, they both seem to relish their respective roles and have a ton of fun verbally sparring with each other before getting into the fisticuffs. Air Force One is perfect popcorn fare that is ever so slightly let down in its third act by some truly atrocious late ’90s CGI that is so distracting it threatens to bring down the whole movie. Even so, the plane stays right thanks to Ford and Oldman, who are about the best you could ask for in an action hero-villain combo.
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‘Die Hard’ on a Battleship: ‘Under Siege’ (1992)
