Top 10 Best Moments in 'Die Hard'

If you're an avid action movie watcher like me, then you have to have watched Die Hard. The 1988 Christmas action thriller is definitely my favorite action movie of all time, and its sequels, while none were as good as the original, remained entertaining nevertheless.

And fun fact — today is the 30th anniversary of the film's release. Yes, it's true. Die Hard was released on July 15, 1988, exactly 30 years ago today. So, I want to do a tribute to the action film series by counting down my top ten FAVORITE moments from all five movies.

While Live Free or Die Hard got a bit of backlash for its PG-13 rating and the fact that it just didn't feel much like a Die Hard movie, I have to say, this is one of my FAVORITE action sequences in the whole series.

It has a good amount of one-liners, some crazy cool stunts performed by Cyril Raffaelli, and John McClane kills the bad guy in a pretty badass way.

Very crazy and thoroughly implausible, this scene is another one of my favorite action set pieces in Live Free or Die Hard. Yes, this scene is virtually impossible and John McClane was WAY too hard to kill in this scene.

But this was nonetheless thrilling and in terms of exciting action, it's a huge step up from the previous installments.

I'd say this was a pretty good finale to Die Hard with a Vengeance. It's exciting, and just like with the original Die Hard, McClane has to kill a Gruber with only two bullets.

The helicopter explosion was also a really badass way to die, and this ending is so much better than the alternate ending.

Anyways, moving on!

This is one of the most badass scenes in the Die Hard franchise. At the end of Live Free or Die Hard, Gabriel is holding McClane at gunpoint, and tells him, "On your tombstone, it should read, 'Always in the wrong place at the wrong time.'"

McClane then responds, "How about 'yippee-ki-yay, motherf**ker'?!", before grabbing Gabriel's gun and shooting him through his own shoulder. Would McClane have realistically died? Yes. But this is just a perfect ending to an action movie.

I know, I know. ANOTHER scene from Die Hard 4? But I have to. This scene features classic McClane talking some sense into himself to no avail right before he's about to do something crazy.

Think about it. McClane launched a car into a f**king helicopter. It's absolutely amazing.

There is a lot of attention to detail leading up to this scene. McClane walks in, and hears the police officer say that it would "rain dogs and cats" and calling an elevator a "lift", raising his suspicions about the man being truly American.

And when he sees the officer with his friend's badge number, he makes a story about his wife buying lottery tickets before killing FOUR terrorists in an elevator by himself.

In a very memorable scene from the original Die Hard, a terrorist is just about to shoot at McClane through a table, telling him, "Next time you have the chance to kill someone, don't hesitate!"

Right then, McClane shoots at him through the table, killing him. He then remarks, "Thanks for the advice." Classic.

This is probably the biggest action set piece in the original Die Hard. In this scene, McClane forces the terrorists to head back downstairs before the roof explodes.

He then ties a fire hose around him, fully aware of how absurd his plan is, and jumps off the roof right before it blows up. The scene is so tense and exciting, which is what makes it one of my favorite scenes from the film.

One of the most iconic scenes in the original Die Hard is the ending. Hans Gruber (best villain ever) is about to shoot McClane, and repeats his catchphrase, "Yippee-ki-yay, motherf**ker." McClane begins laughing as a distraction and suddenly shoots Gruber and the remaining henchman.

Right before Gruber can pull Holly to her death, McClane takes the watch off of Holly, causing Gruber to fall off the building to his death. Perfect climax to a damn near perfect action movie.

Now, Die Hard 2 doesn't have that many exciting, memorable scenes. But the climax is my favorite scene from the series. McClane falls off the terrorists' getaway plane, while opening the fuel hatch, causing a trail of fuel to be left behind.

McClane pulls out his cigarette lighter, and yells his famous catchphrase – "Yippee-ki-yay, motherf**ker!" – before igniting the trail and causing the plane to explode. This scene isn't just my favorite Die Hard movie ending; the scene is SO BADASS that it's my FAVORITE ACTION MOVIE ENDING EVER.

And of course, an honorable mention goes out to these scenes:

Anyways, that's it! And a very happy 30th anniversary to Die Hard. Ho ho ho.