Movies That Were Probably Made By a Spasm of Six Year-Olds on Acid: The Top 75 Action Films Poll Results Thread

TRUE LIES$

true lies sucks.

true lies $ucks

tbh angry mom in a forklift defeats the VPA with an assist from half a robot is pretty by the numbers

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v212/etienne_saint/DH_Cowboystyle.jpg

#1

DIE HARD

John McTiernan
1988
United States
(1011 points, 29 votes, 4 first place)

the original film is one of those rare moments where a genre is invented, defined, and completed in a single movie. There's not one frame out of place in that thing, nor one non-quotable line of dialogue. I love stuff like the cowboy German going "I got fifty bucks riding on them assholes!", and basically everything Reginald VelJohnson says to try and keep Bruce Willis motivated. Even the way he says "Roy" is just perfect. Great fucking movie.

― Doctor Casino

(A) best action film EVER by a generous margin; (B) my favorite Xmas movie

― ex-juggalist (Pillbox)

"Oh, the weather outside is frightful
Dum-dee-dum-dee-dum-delightful"

The only way to sing this song.

― trishyb

great moments in cinema:

when al leong is waiting to ambush the SWAT team in the lobby and looks around cautiously and then steals a candy bar from the display case.

― omar little

the movie is undeniably radical, one of the greatest american action movies

― max

max otm

die hard completely changed the paradigm for action flix and broek hearts of a whole bunch of actors who'd been lifting and tanning way too much in the hopes of becoming the next sly/arnie

― all yoga attacks are fire based (rogermexico.)

You want perfect and efficient character introduction? Check out all the beats in the first ten minutes of "Die Hard" alone that establish who John McClane is, culminating in him riding the limo with Argyle ... in the passenger seat.

Also, x-posting the above, yeah, Willis and Rickman are 90% of this movie, but "Die Hard" might have even worked as a minimally set stage play with these two in the leads.

The elements of "Die Hard" that have aged poorly are the same '80s elements that have aged poorly in virtually every single film of the same vintage (from "Crocodile Dundee" to "Rain Man" to "Big" to "Working Girl." The hair, random drug jokes, the (first?) token black hacker genius, the yuppies ... they're the visual equivalent of gated snares and chorus effects on guitars. The difference is that "Die Hard" set (or reset) the action film template, so its cliches transcend. And damn is it efficient. Watching it with an eye on the clock is an education. Characters are all introduced, action in motion precisely 20 minutes in.

― Josh in Chicago

die hard is, at times, my favoriteest ever movie

― deej--nuts, butthurt, and yelly (gbx)

Yippie Ki Yay! It's the Die Hard poll

okay i can live with that

That's a good #1 imo.

So I guess I should add T2 to the list of movies I should now watch because of this thread.

STUDIO EXEC: what should we do about the aliens franchise, jim?

[cameron silently picks up dry-erase marker]

EXEC: theres no white board here jim

[cameron forces exec to ground]

EXEC: what are you doing jim oh god

[cameron writes ALIENS$ on exec's face]

everyone should own a copy of T2.

Die Hard is the bestest

for inspiration. like the bible.

yippee ki yay, motherfucker

the movie is undeniably radical, one of the greatest american action movies

― max

no ambiguity about what different environments are

Really don't know about this - there's a big difference between the dead corridors of the base, the gigeresque contours of the processing plant underside w/infestation, the breached secure space of the landing craft, and the disintegrating lair of the queen.

what i love so much about die hard besides everything else is the fact that its SUCH a christmas movie, in the way that every character is unconsciously singing christmas songs to themselves the whole time, the way everyone in real life does all holiday season long. such a great touch

fists with your toes

lol max

WELCOME TO THE PARTY, PAL

^ say this out loud to myself all the time

Alien has an all-white stasis room with people in white pajamas!

idk, I'd rather talk about DIE HARD now.

i watched die hard for the first time on xmas eve last year!!

Wait, what is Diehards?

i also love that the secret character arc of die hard is RVJ learning how to shoot people again

I bought a bluray of T2 for $5 at target, there's no reason not to own it

german for "the hard"

T/S: Paul Gleason in "The Breakfast Club" vs. Paul Gleason in "Die Hard."

Or: "Don't mess with the bull, young man, you'll get the horns" vs. "Oh, I hope that's not a hostage."

i love movies with multiple tiers of asshole authority figures

(see also robocop of course)

that was also something machete really got right imo

so lethal weapon got the shaft? wow

no shane black in the whole action flick poll? for shame

no inception?

instead of talking about the awesome movies that placed (die hard is awesome), i'm gonna take a second to bitch about awesome movies that didn't place:

WHERE THE FUCK IS TIME & TIDE ILX ?!?!

apart from that, great poll, awesome job omar (especially that little inception fakeout :D)

no shane black in the whole action flick poll? for shame

― TERMAINTOR 2 (some dude), Tuesday, February 21, 2012 12:46 PM (50 seconds ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

this is pretty cray

well i guess shane black snuck in as an actor in the predator, but that doesn't count

kind of bummed not a single mission impossible movie placed

i guess we just hate tom cruise

ya thats weird

we do

MI1 was pretty high up on mine iirc

the rejection of the wooo

rejection of the depalma.

Still think it's funny that all three Bournes were clustered together towards the middle.

It is.

Also thank you Omar for doing this!

martial arts, samurai, and HK films generally under-represented but otherwise a colossal, epic poll -- thx omar!

lana del rey tried to warn us with her album bourne to tie

:D DIE HARD :D

I guess the poll isn't *as* pinko-commie as I thought, but Lethal Weapon/First Blood absence is v sad.

But Die Hard! Aliums! Raiders! Pretty good overall and this was the most ILX fun I've had in forever.

So...now that camp's over, we'll totally write to each other?

gonna post ballots here? you guys can laugh at all the horror movies i voted for.