The 5 Best Villains In Die Hard Movies Ranked
Is "Die Hard" a Christmas movie? That long-running, oddly passionate debate has gotten a little played out, so Looper would like to posit something else worth ruminating on — who's the best "Die Hard" villain?
Over the years, John McClane (Bruce Willis) has gone toe to toe with some formidable adversaries. He's just an average Joe with some fighting skills thrust into larger-than-life scenarios, except that as the series goes on, he pretty much becomes a superhero. But McClane represents an ideal action movie hero, namely someone who can kick butt and rattle off entertaining one-liners.
However, a hero is only as good as the villain. And John McClane has had some incredible bad guys to go up against over the years. Through exhaustive research, namely watching every "Die Hard" movie while drinking a selection of craft root beer, I have assembled the top five Die Hard movies' villains ranked, taking the best of the best throughout the franchise based on ruthlessness, effectiveness, and overall, any villain you just love to hate. Plus, this list considers any antagonistic force, not just main villains, so if you're wondering why I skipped over Yuri Komarov (Sebastian Koch) from "A Good Day to Die Hard," that's why.
Thomas Gabriel from Live Free or Die Hard
If Timothy Olyphant is in something, you can be reasonably confident his scenes, at the very least, will be enjoyable. His performance as Thomas Gabriel in "Live Free and Die Hard" is pretty entertaining, and he's even given a sympathetic backstory about how he used to work for the Department of Defense and pointed out flaws in the system, only for his calls to go unanswered. He gets fired and seeks revenge by targeting various U.S. infrastructure points. That's when John McClane enters the picture.
Thomas Gabriel follows the trajectory of Die Hard villains who aren't physically imposing but could outsmart McClane. Olyphant also deserves a spot because he gets pretty darn close to achieving his goal. In the final fight, he probably would've won if he didn't get too full of himself (alas, that's the downfall of many a villain). As Farrell (Justin Long) decrypts the financial data, Thomas puts a gun into a bullet wound McClane suffered earlier, monologuing about how he's going to kill them all once it's all done. Unfortunately, he underestimates McClane's tolerance for pain, as the action star grabs hold of the gun and fires it into his own shoulder and through Thomas' heart, killing him. It's a pretty cool way to die when all's said and done.
Thomas probably should've just shot McClane in the head and gotten it over with. If he had, the world would've been spared "A Good Day to Die Hard," easily the worst of the "Die Hard" movies, so maybe the bad guy should've won out in the end in this instance.
Karl Vreski from Die Hard
Louise Belcher from "Bob's Burgers" sums up the appeal of Karl Vreski (Alexander Godunov) from "Die Hard" pretty well: "I'm Karl! The one with beautiful hair." While Karl's gorgeous blond locks are eye-catching, they're only a small part of what makes this secondary antagonist stand out.
Hans Gruber (Alan Rickman) may be the main baddie, but Karl is a downright menace throughout the film. He takes on a personal vendetta against John McClane after he kills his brother. He's also that special kind of bad guy who's exceptionally difficult to kill, as McClane hangs him with a chain at one point only for him to return later. Karl is a worthy opponent for McClane, holding his own in hand-to-hand combat.
Karl even manages to outlive his employer. After Hans' death, Karl comes back one more time wielding a gun. However, he's taken out not by McClane but by Al Powell (Reginald VelJohnson). As McClane's man on the ground, Powell doesn't see much action, but the two bond over finding ways to get over mistakes. By killing Karl, Powell gets a chance to be the hero he always was, making the moment all the more poignant. And it's all thanks to Karl being one persistent son of a gun who manages to stand out in a movie that already has a lot of standout performances.
Colonel William Stuart from Die Hard 2
"Die Hard 2" pretty much takes the bones of the original and ups the ante. John McClane once again has to save his wife, Holly (Bonnie Bedelia), from terrorists, only this time they're trapped at an airport rather than an office building. The villain, Colonel William Stuart (William Sadler), is made out to be even more deranged than Hans Gruber, at least on paper.
His introductory scene sees him performing Tai Chi while naked, immediately setting him apart from Gruber. Gruber was suave and sophisticated, and there's just a little something unhinged about Colonel Stuart. This is seen in how he probably has the highest body count out of any "Die Hard" villain from what's seen on screen. He manages to blow up an entire plane, killing over 200 passengers on board, without a second thought. And without McClane there, hundreds, if not thousands more, would've perished as he had other planes circling the airport, threatening to keep them there until they run out of fuel and crash.
Colonel Stuart is also the rare "Die Hard" antagonist who's a physical match for McClane. As shown in his Tai Chi sequence, he's a man who's trained his body as well as his mind. Fortunately, McClane is more clever than he lets on, setting the former military man's plane up in flames to take him out at the very end. McClane wins, but not before Colonel Stuart causes a lot of damage.
Simon Gruber in Die Hard With a Vengeance
Played by the impeccable Jeremy Irons, Simon Gruber in "Die Hard With a Vengeance" shows how vital it is for a villain to be fun. His scheme is utterly delightful, as he sends the New York Police Department on wild goose chases, causing chaos around the city to steal $140 billion from the National Reserve without as much resistance. But that's only part one of his plan. As the brother of Hans Gruber, he also wants revenge against John McClane, and he sets various puzzles and traps around the city specifically for him to die in elaborate manners.
He's a bit like the Riddler, where he wants to show how much smarter he is than everyone else, and that proves to be his downfall. Honestly, if he had left McClane alone — he's an alcoholic at this point and estranged from his wife — he may have gotten away with it. But that wouldn't be nearly as interesting. He has a compulsion to get back at McClane for killing his brother, which is just as crucial for him as getting away with the gold bullion.
Even one of Simon's henchmen in the movie, Targo (Nick Wyman), tells him he should just kill McClane rather than toy with him. But it's clear Simon is a villain who's driven by more than just money. "Vengeance" is in the title for a reason, and as has been the theme in so many other movies, revenge only leads to further self-destruction.
Hans Gruber in Die Hard
He's been compared to and discussed multiple times already in this list, it only makes sense to award Hans Gruber the title of greatest "Die Hard" villain of all time. But he's so much more than that; he's one of the most charismatic movie villains period. He's an incredible foil to John McClane. He's well-dressed, a smooth talker, and sophisticated, contrasting perfectly to McClane's more down-home attitude. It was also the very first theatrical film role for Alan Rickman, making it one of the most incredible film debuts of an actor who would go on to have an extraordinary career.
He's cold and calculating but can respond quickly to McClane messing up his plans. When he first comes face-to-face with McClane, he pretends to be one of the escaped hostages, changing his voice in the process. He bounces off McClane so well, with each one gaining the upper hand at various points until the thrilling climax. And while many people remember McClane's one-liners, Gruber has plenty of killer lines, too, like "I'm going to count to three. There will not be a four."
Hans Gruber set the villain template for so many other antagonists to follow, not just in "Die Hard" movies but in action cinema in general. A bad guy doesn't just need to be maniacal and kill people indiscriminately. They could be someone viewers actually come to like because they're just so darn charming in a way. He has a well-defined personality beyond simply being evil, and the fact no other "Die Hard" villain could ever touch him speaks volumes.
How did Looper decide on on ranking Die Hard movie villains?
When it came to writing a list of Die Hard movies' villains ranked, a great deal of consideration came down to personal preference. I've been writing in the film and entertainment space for the better part of a decade. As such, I've written about numerous films, including "Die Hard" and its sequels in the past. I've seen them all, and yes, I'm one of those people who watch "Die Hard" every year for Christmas, so I feel I'm well-qualified to talk about the best bad guys in the franchise.
To be frank, there never really was a situation where Hans Gruber wasn't going to be No. 1. As for filling out the rest of the list, it came down to my ideas of who's the most vicious, who comes closest to being successful, and the ones who are just plain fun to watch. This also entailed scouring fans' feelings toward various antagonists on Reddit and various forums as well as tracking down reviews for each Die Hard movie to see what critics had to say about these villain performances. A lot of research went into this list when it easily could've come down to "I like it when bad guys do Gruber stuff."
While "Die Hard" is held up as the pinnacle of action movies, hopefully, this list encourages people to check out the sequels. While they can't match up to the original's glory, there are definitely some highlights to be found ... except for "A Good Day to Die Hard," which should be scrubbed from existence.