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Die Hard

Even when he ends up battling a helicopter with an 18-wheeler, John McClane comes out on top. If anything else, this series of action films, much like the Batman franchise, were a major influence on most shoot-em-up films that came afterwards. When two completely different TV shows (Alias and Buffy The Vampire Slayer) end up paying homage to a movie, you know that it's a major cultural touchstone. In the 20-plus years since Die Hard first came out and we were introduced to a novel concept (set an action movie in a relatively confined place and put a "regular" guy at the forefront), there have been scads of movies that are basically defined as Die Hard in a mall, Die Hard in a small town, and so on and so on. In some ways, none of the three films that followed the 1988 original are as good; all fall victim to seeming more like copycats than something truly new and different. Still, there's too much good blocking out the flaws of the series. Bruce Willis has never been more charming and charismatic than when he's John McClane, the average New York cop who ends up fighting some of the biggest bad guys in film. Though his most memorable nemesis showed up in the first film, McClane is too savvy and sarcastic to be put down. Of the other three films, I have a particular love for the first hour of Die Hard With A Vengeance and the whole of Live Free or Die Hard, but even Die Hard 2: Die Harder has some classic action scenes. Easily one of the best action series of all time, the Die Hard franchise always delivers the goods.

Terminator

It's a bit early to tell, but some of the previews for the forthcoming fourth film in the Terminator franchise, Terminator: Salvation, look incredible. Christian Bale makes the jump from one successful series to another, now starring as the man leading the human resistance against evil robots, John Connor. Still, we'll have to wait a couple weeks to see if this new film matches up to its predecessors, specifically the two helmed by James Cameron. The third film, Terminator: Rise of the Machines, was a solidly made action film, but after more than a decade, it paled a bit to the previous movies. The first film, released in 1984, helped launch James Cameron's career; the story was simple yet incredibly complicated: an average woman is targeted by a menacing man (who is, of course, not human) because she will one day give birth to the man who destroys all sentient robots. She's helped by a man named Kyle Reese, who's traveled from the future to protect her and also help her out a bit with the whole "giving birth to the head of the resistance" bit. The timelines in the series do get confusing, I know. The second film, Terminator 2: Judgment Day, didn't focus as much on timelines as it did on wall-to-wall action. The best of the series, and one of the best sci-fi films of all time, T2 focuses on the relationship between one of the Terminator robots (a good one, this time, played by future governor Arnold Schwarzenegger) and the young John Connor. Schwarzenegger and Edward Furlong, as Connor, sell some really sappy emotional moments very well, and Cameron brings some major heat to the action. Looking ahead to the new film, I'm excited but wary. This franchise is still great, and I wouldn't want it to be tampered with. For now, at least, the Terminator franchise is one of the best.

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