Heavy Action: 22 Die Hard Rip-offs

by Patrick Bromley

It's science fact that Die Hard is the best action movie of all time. If you don't think so, here are 22 movies that prove the theorem by ripping off its formula with varying degrees of success. No action movie has been imitated more.

Heavy Action: Under Siege / Sudden Death

The greatest action movie ever made is unquestionably Die Hard, a movie so iconic and successful that it became its own kind of brand name. Action movies were ripping it off for years following its release, and their screenplays just used Die Hard as a kind of plot shorthand: "It's Die Hard in a _______." It's how we ended up with Passenger 57 (it's Die Hard on an airplane!), Speed (it's Die Hard on a bus!), Cliffhanger (it's Die Hard on a mountain!), No Contest (it's Die Hard at a beauty pageant!) and, of course, the movies we're talking about today.

Seagal. Van Damme. Who will die hardest?