Ask someone what the greatest action movie ever made is, and there's a good chance Die Hard will be the answer. Even Collider puts it at number one. It's easy to see why. The plot of a New York City cop fighting terrorists in a Los Angeles skyscraper is simple but thrilling. It turned Bruce Willis, who starred as the heroic John McClane, into an action icon, and its villain, played by Alan Rickman, in his first ever film role, was so good that few can match him. Die Hard created a franchise and a host of imitators over the years. Only a select few action movies can say that they are better than Die Hard. These five argue the case better than any other.

A perfect blockbuster thriller has to satisfy two different cravings at the same time. It needs the clean, big-screen rush of a crowd movie, yet it also needs the tight, nervous pressure of a story that refuses to let the viewer relax. Size alone is useless here. The film has to move, squeeze, surprise, and still give the audience characters worth worrying about.