Die Hard 1 to 4,0
Die Hard 1 - 8/10... Only thing preventing it from getting 9/10 was the 'surprise ending' AFTER they killed the bad guy
Die Hard 2 - 6.5/10... Alot of 'yer, rright' situations, the way he killed the airplane was unbelievable (the flame jumped) and the 'Yippik Kai Yay, mf' didn't quite fit right - I see this one as a lucky success to have allowed them to make sequels at all
Die Hard 3 - 8/10 Classic! Typical Eurpoean bad guys, black side-kick, but plot was good, and the 'sidekick' was not there simply for laughs and giggles... Its success was to stay true to DIe Hard 1's formular with a completely different setting - Classic buddy action and the bad guy should go into the top-ten of villians...
Die Hard 4.0 - 9/10... why not - Perfect use of the character's punchline and a perfect ending to the franchise with all of McClaine's traits showing their mettle after so many years, techno-phobia, European 'bad guys' (Loved the cameo of that french guy from B... something, for those who saw that one), radio communication, McClain's classic values and wisecrack, smart bad guy, hostage situation, killing enemy vehicles in low tech ways... HEY! It's Die Hard :-)
What I most love of the movies is the classic action of the '90s style it had, where the most efficient gun is a pistol, and the bad guys and good guys are just that, black and white... The simplicity is a lovely change, and the character of McClain, for me, should be put in the same category as classics like Indiana Jones - They are so well developed and lovable
But I swear, if those bastards decide to make a sequel, it will kill it