Though Die Hard’s status as a Christmas classic is debatable, it’s a staple for many film fans around the holiday season. The annual rediscovery probably makes Die Hard one of the most-watched action films ever. Every year we see Bruce Willis as John McClane fighting a horde of terrorists alone in a skyscraper.
Watch the trailer for Die Hard
Die Hard – Trailer (German) HD
Director John McTiernan creates a colorful circus around the setting of Nakatomi Plaza in Los Angeles. The film wouldn’t work without the scheming LAPD officers, the over-the-top FBI agents, the chauffeur Argyle (De’Voreaux White) and the down-to-earth Officer Al Powell (Reginald VelJohnson).
Action with Bruce Willis: Why we rank the terrorists in Die Hard
However, the absolute crown jewels of this detailed designed small war in a building complex are the terrorists who are getting on their nerves with John McClane and which we finally present and rank here in detail. Every terrorist gets a warrant.
Hans Gruber’s gang is a motley crew of European and in the original version mostly German criminals. The majority of the 13 criminals say no more than a few sentences over the course of the entire season, but they are still more than just cannon fodder for Bruce Willis. You have feelings, individual distinct skills and last but not least great fashion awareness.
Who contributes the most to the fact that the film is entertaining even when it is idle and that Hans Gruber’s heist could have succeeded, at least in theory? This is an elite ranking where small things like a little more screen time or even just a better taste in hairstyles can make the difference in a higher place.
Best Die Hard Terrorists – 13th place: Kristoff
The best shot of Kristoff that can be found
The Best Die Hard Terrorists – 12th place: Heinrich
actor: Gary Roberts
area of responsibility: Explosives Expert
Why in 12th place: Because he’s one of those terrorists who’s always around somewhere. Heinrich is the girl for everything. He drives one of the trucks, hunts down John McClane when necessary and, by the way, does his expert job: blowing things up. He also has one of the best hairstyles, a Dieter Bohlen memory perm. If you’re waiting for the Thomas Anders counterpart, you won’t be disappointed.
Best quote: “No!”**We also partially quote from the English original version, because the terrorists speak such a nice English-German gibberish.
The Best Die Hard Terrorists – 11th place: Franco
Franco (Bruno Doyon, left) with boss Hans (Alan Rickman, right)
The Best Die Hard Terrorists – 10th place: Alexander
actor: Joey Plewa
area of responsibility: Hostage Control/Rocket Launcher Operator
Why in 10th place: Alexander is hardly noticed for a long time, but then he is part of a cold-blooded and spectacular action scene. He is the one who (together with James, see below) under tremendous time pressure brings down the armored car with an aimed shot from a rocket launcher. And with a second (“Get the other one! Quick! Let’s go!”) shot at the burning casing, securing the result doesn’t cost anything! A real boss move. If there were more of Alexander’s kind in Hans Gruber’s team, John would not have had a chance.
Best Quotes: “Yes! I see him!”The Best Die Hard Terrorists – 9th place: Fritz
actor: Hans Buhringer
area of responsibility: Too competent and handsome for a specific job.
Why in 9th place: He is representative of the overall disconcertingly well-dressed and/or well-coiffed impression made by the terrorists. With his powerful shoulder pads and fluffy blow-dried mane, Fritz would not attract attention even in the most clichéd 80s band (i.e. Modern Talking). Keep calm when he discovers Tony Vreski’s body in the elevator.
Best Quote: “We are in the heating house, under the roof.”The Best Die Hard Terrorists – 8th place: Uli
Actor: Al Leong
Responsibilities: Hostage Control, Explosives Assistant
Why in 8th place: With his daring appearance, Uli immediately stands out from the crowd of villains. He’s more of the taciturn type, but eats sweets at every opportunity. Even if it’s against an entire task force, he’ll dig in a chocolate bar first. He watches his blood sugar levels and, like Boss Hans, grows a magnificent beard. A real pro.
Best quote: “Come on, I don’t have forever!”Best Die Hard Terrorists – 7th place: James
James (William of Homburg)
The Best Die Hard Terrorists – 6th place: Marco
Marco (Lorenzo Caccialanza)
Most of the time Marco is hot-headedly driving hostages in front of him or setting explosives. He only gets a few diligence points for that. But then, shortly before his death, he reveals his full potential: Full of temper, he lustfully jumps onto the table under which McClane is crawling away from him. While insulting him in Italian, he dances wildly across the mahogany board, shooting downwards. After Marco challenges him one last time, McClane shoots him through the table in the lap. The solemn end of a late legend.
Best quote: “If you ever have a chance to kill someone again, don’t wait!”Best Die Hard Terrorists – 5th place: Tony
Tony (Andreas Wisniewski)
Tony is a pioneer in several areas: he is the first dead of Gruber’s merry terrorist group and McClane’s first victim. In addition, he is at the forefront of fashion with his top-of-the-line glasses frame, yoga pants and krautrock hairstyle. The fact that McClane dresses him up as Santa Claus is not his credit, but it still makes for one of the most iconic moments in the film. As the little brother of Karl (Alexander Godunov), his death also triggers a real campaign of revenge.
Best quote: “You’re a cop! And you cops have to play by the rules.”Best Die Hard Terrorists – 4th place: Eddie
actor: Dennis Hayden
area of responsibility: security guard
Why in 4th place: He is the only terrorist who speaks English without an accent and is just a really cool sock. How he masters the first check by Officer Powell (cue: sports small talk) is really big here-obviously-everything-okay-officer-you-can-go-again tennis. No wonder that he lasted the longest together with Hans Gruber. Also crucial: Can only smile with the bottom half of his face like Timothy Dalton.
Best Quote: “Good evening, officer. What can I do for you?”The Best Die Hard Terrorists – 3rd place: Theo
Theo (Clarence Gilyard Jr., front) and Karl (Alexander Godunov, left background)
Among the major terrorists, Theo is unique. While Karl, Tony and Co. do their jobs with grim Teuton faces, chatterbox Theo just has fun from start to finish. While innocent people die, he chats about baseball, cheers about explosions and makes himself indispensable as a safecracker. He just knows what matters.
Best quote: “Oh dear, the quarterback is gone!”Best Die Hard Terrorists – 2nd place: Hans
actor: Alan Rickman
area of responsibility: Leader, mastermind
Why on court 2: Hans Gruber is the prototype of the ingenious and talkative super criminal. He is forgiven for this vanity, because he remains calm until the end. As an idealist who has freed himself from ideals, he develops enormous powers. Capitalist robbery is something Hans stoops to, it’s child’s play (actually), he’s been in higher leagues. Hans is fooling the entire city police, he has calculated every setback and always has solutions ready. On any other day, his plan would have worked without any problems. But not on December 24, 1988. He narrowly loses the duel intellectuality vs. Bauer Schäue.
Best Quote: “Karl … Shoot the window!”Jan Felix: The Best Die Hard Terrorists – 1st place: Karl
Actor: Alexander Godunov
Responsibilities: Hans Gruber’s right hand
Why #1:
Karl is an icon from start to finish. It starts with the black baggy look and the heavy metal frieze and continues to his impressive demise at the very end of the film. He’s also a family man, which is always good as a terrorist. When McClane shoots his little brother, he starts a mad vendetta that continues even after Hans Gruber’s death. Even ahead of his boss, he is the closest thing to John McClane’s counterpart: a dogged doer who, when in doubt, doesn’t care about the rules. And when he runs down an aisle with his hair blowing and his gun at the ready, he steals the show.
Best quote: “What does neutralize mean? I want to kill him!”*. . .
Who is your favorite Die Hard terrorist? What is your ranking?
