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LOS ANGELES - Die Hard, starring Bruce Willis as a tough cop battling terrorists, has been named the best action film ever by Entertainment Weekly magazine -- two weeks before the series' fourth instalment, Live Free or Die Hard, hits cinemas.
The magazine unveiled a list of top 25 action movies picked by its writers and editors spanning a wide range of films: from 1938's The Adventures of Robin Hood to director Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai in 1954 (No. 6) and the 2004 computer-animated film, The Incredibles (No. 25).
Space adventure Aliens followed Die Hard in the No. 2 slot with Raiders of the Lost Ark at No. 3 and The Road Warrior and The Matrix at No. 4 and No. 5, respectively.
But it was 1988's Die Hard, starring Willis as tough-as-nails New York cop John McClane who battles terrorists in a Los Angeles high-rise, that blew the biggest Hollywood fireball for the magazine's staff.
Back in summer 1988, Die Hard was notable mostly for its gun battles and explosions, including blowing up an L.A. high-rise. The movie raked in US$138 million worldwide and made Willis a major movie star.
Two sequels, Die Hard 2: Die Harder and Die Hard With a Vengeance, followed in 1990 and 1995, respectively.
The fourth film, Live Free or Die Hard, lands in US cinemas on June 27, and this time McClane is saving the world from a mad genius mounting a digital attack on computer networks.
An Entertainment Weekly spokeswoman said the list was picked without any regard to Live Free's opening date or its interview with Willis that hits newsstands on Friday.
"After we finalized the list, we asked for interviews with key players in the movies we picked," the spokeswoman said. "Die Hard" was going to be No. 1 anyway."
Some of the more recent films making the top 25 included Spider-Man 2 and Kill Bill -- Vol. 1, while older titles ranged from 1964 James Bond movie Goldfinger to 1973's martial arts flick Enter the Dragon, starring Bruce Lee.
- REUTERS/Nielsen
