5 Action Movie Trilogies Better Than Die Hard, Ranked
Die Hard is an essential action franchise, and while the first three films tell an excellent story, there are a handful of action trilogies that are even better. Packed full of fantastic Die Hard quotes and excellent antagonists, the first three Die Hard movies provide satisfying thrills as John McClane takes on Hans Gruber, William Stuart, and Simon Gruber.
Granted, like with Die Hard, movie series rarely tend to stop after an excellent trilogy. Franchises like the John Wick films feature among the best action stories ever seen on screen, but that franchise has slowly woven together a much larger world, including four interconnected mainline films, a spin-off movie, and a prequel television series.
Die Hard worked so well because of Bruce Willis’ excellent leading-man presence. In the first film, he nailed the lead character, portraying a good-hearted but ordinary police officer from New York who was thrown into situations out of his depth. As the story went on, however, the fourth and fifth Die Hard movies essentially turned McClane into a superhero.
With that in mind, there are a few series on this list that have had more than three installments. However, each of those chronologies tells an entire story within its trilogy, making those additional chapters feel ancillary to the main story. Considering that, these five trilogies are the best the action genre has ever seen on screen.
5
The Captain America Trilogy
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The Marvel Cinematic Universe is the biggest franchise of all time, and it has also contained smaller, character-based franchises inside its enormous run. Among all of these, the original Captain America trilogy is the strongest, telling the story of Steve Rogers as he is created as a super-soldier, then frozen in time. Unlike other MCU trilogies, Captain America isn’t held down by a single underwhelming entry.
Captain America: The First Avenger sets the stage as a thrilling World War II action film, outlining the character’s origins.
From there, the franchise moves to 2014’s present day with Captain America: The Winter Soldier, following the events of The Avengers, where the series tells a fantastic spy story with incredible espionage and the strong addition of Robert Redford to its cast.
The trilogy finishes with the excellent Captain America: Civil War, weaving together an entire enormous arc for its lead protagonist. And while Steve Rogers’ full story is finished inside of the Avengers sequels, these three films provide his character with great depth, supported by tremendously colorful and satisfying action sequences.
4
The Three Flavours Cornetto Trilogy
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Edgar Wright is a fantastic filmmaker, but where his skills especially lie is in action storytelling. With the Three Flavours Cornetto trilogy, he tackled various genres of storytelling, each of which was built around strong action set pieces. Shaun of the Dead began the trilogy, but it reached its greatest heights with its second film.
Hot Fuzz is a pastiche of action films new and old, and is a tremendous achievement in action filmmaking. Hilarious and clever, the film also features strong and creative direction that would be built upon in its sequel, the even bigger science fiction action comedy The World’s End.
Telling big stories with tremendous action, but grounding them in charming and compelling characters, with leads played by Nick Frost and Simon Pegg, the Cornetto trilogy is a real cinematic achievement, and absolutely must be seen, not just for its action elements, but also for its excellent wit and strong stories.
3
The Mad Max Trilogy
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The first three Mad Max movies are a significant achievement in science fiction action filmmaking, where director George Miller did a stunning job constructing a memorable dystopian world. Made on a tiny budget, the first film, 1979’s Mad Max, is small, yet packed full of great action and imagination.
More than this, the movie served as the big breakthrough for Mel Gibson, who would go on to become one of the world’s biggest movie stars throughout the 1980s and 1990s. This culminated in a powerful sequel, Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior, a stunning and much larger film with memorable chase scenes and strong world-building.
The trilogy finished strong with Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome, which featured a terrific villainous performance by Tina Turner. Across these three excellent stories, the trilogy defined itself as one of the greatest action trilogies ever made, creating a legacy that has endured to this day.
2
The Bourne Trilogy
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Jason Bourne has grown to become one of the most beloved action heroes of the 21st century, even if the character debuted in a 1980 novel written by Robert Ludlum. A great deal of that esteem is owing to the nearly perfect first three films that tell his story.
The films are smart and tense, redefining how spy action can be presented on the big screen, and are filled with superlative action. Doug Liman directed The Bourne Identity with great skill, while Paul Greengrass brought in an even more effective real-world texture to the sequels, directing The Bourne Supremacy and The Bourne Ultimatum.
Yes, the series has continued since, with the Jeremy Renner-starring The Bourne Legacy and Matt Damon returning for another sequel in Jason Bourne. However, these three first films tell a cohesive and interconnected story with a satisfying ending, making The Bourne Trilogy one of the best action series ever put on film.
1
The Indiana Jones Trilogy
Another entry where the franchise has received additional chapters, it is still difficult not to see Raiders of the Lost Ark, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade as making up the greatest action trilogy in movie history. Drawing from pulp serials, the films are engaging, hilarious, and action-packed.
So many incredible set pieces run throughout the franchise. From the mine cart chase in Temple of Doom to the iconic opening scene of Raiders, so many moments from Indiana Jones have since become fundamental and influential action moments in movie history.
Much of the effectiveness of this hinges on the fantastic performance by Harrison Ford as the titular hero. A charming hero who balances rugged masculinity against academic intelligence, the character is arguably Harrison Ford’s greatest role.
Even with the mixed successes of the fourth and fifth chapters in the Indiana Jones saga, the original trilogy of films still remains the greatest action trilogy ever made, and even better than the fantastic Die Hard films.
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