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8->''"So, experience the original masterpiece that inspired countless knock-offs, like: 'Die Hard' [[Film/{{Speed}} on a bus]], 'Die Hard' [[Film/{{Daylight}} in a tunnel]], 'Die Hard' [[Film/{{Cliffhanger}} on a mountain]], 'Die Hard' [[Film/OlympusHasFallen in the White House]], 'Die Hard' [[Film/WhiteHouseDown in the White House 2]], 'Die Hard' [[Film/PaulBlartMallCop in a mall]], 'Die Hard' [[Film/Speed2CruiseControl on a boat]], 'Die Hard' [[Film/UnderSiege on this other boat]], 'Die Hard' [[Film/SuddenDeath in a rink]], 'Die Hard' [[Film/UnderSiege2DarkTerritory on a train]], 'Die Hard' [[Film/Passenger57 in a plane]], 'Die Hard' [[Film/ExecutiveDecision in another plane]], 'Die Hard' [[Film/AirForceOne in the President's plane]], 'Die Hard' [[Film/SnakesOnAPlane in a plane... with snakes!]] 'Die Hard', [[Film/AGoodDayToDieHard but awful]]."''
9-->-- '''WebVideo/HonestTrailers''' for ''Film/DieHard'' (or as they call it, [[ShapedLikeItself "Die Hard" in a Building]])
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11Bad guys have taken over some location or vehicle, usually holding several hostages and almost always in an enclosed space, but, unbeknownst to the villains, {{one|ManArmy}} or more good guys are hiding out in their midst. [[AllUpToYou It's up to]] said guy (or said guys) to [[SpannerInTheWorks engineer their overthrow]]. Probably at least one {{air vent passageway}} will be crawled through, at least one hostage will be a member of TheHero's family and another will be [[SacrificialLamb executed]] while trying to negotiate with the villains.
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13Named after a meme within the entertainment industry based on the [[Film/DieHard movie of the same name]], starring Creator/BruceWillis. One of the most important action films of all time, if [[FollowTheLeader all the copycat ripoffs]] are any indication. An old story says that the HighConcept pitches for many action films basically went "[[JustForFun/XMeetsY Die Hard on/in a [=[location of the film]=]]]", until one day, someone tried to pitch a movie as "''Die Hard'' in an office building." Apparently, they were unaware that the original ''Die Hard '''did''''' take place in an office building.[[note]]Incidentally, the ''original'' Die Hard was [[https://www.vulture.com/2022/08/silent-bruce-willis.html actually pitched]] as "''Rambo'' in an Office Building"[[/note]]
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15This plot can be used as the action for a BottleEpisode. The bad guys may unknowingly have BruceWayneHeldHostage. Expect to see at least one BulletproofHumanShield show up.
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17This trope can be played with varying degrees of blatancy, so remember, just because a work appears on this list [[Administrivia/TropesAreTools doesn't make it a total knockoff]] of ''Die Hard''. It's just a basic framework.
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19This trope was hit hard by TechnologyMarchesOn: the existence and wide usage of cell phones is a major game-breaking issue for a "Die Hard" scenario, as any unprepared hostage has the power to talk to the police from inside a closed location without any previous set-up. Modern versions must acknowledge them and [[CellPhonesAreUseless take them all out of play]] somehow for the plan to even start to work.
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21The TropeCodifier and {{Trope Namer|s}} is the Bruce Willis movie ''Film/DieHard'' (1988). However, it is predated by several earlier action films with a similar premise, such as Creator/BruceLee's ''Film/GameOfDeath'' (1972), and RunawayTrain films such as Creator/AkiraKurosawa's ''Film/RunawayTrain'' (1963/1985) and ''Film/TheBulletTrain'' (1975).
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23See also AllYourBaseAreBelongToUs, HomeAloneAntics, SpannerInTheWorks, RightManInTheWrongPlace, StumbledIntoThePlot. Can overlap with CaughtUpInARobbery, which the original film is also an example of. A TrappedWithMonsterPlot can be seen as the {{inver|tedTrope}}sion of this, with the John [=McClane=] figure being the villain; a common joke is that a xenomorph audience would see ''Film/{{Alien}}'' as ''Die Hard'' on a space freighter. See also the [[http://die-hard-scenario.wikia.com/wiki/Die_Hard_scenario_Wiki Die Hard Scenario Wiki]].
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25JustForFun/RecycledInSpace is the general trope for remaking works in a new setting.
26
27----
28!!Examples:
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30[[foldercontrol]]
31
32[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
33* The 1931 story arc of ''Literature/{{Baccano}}'', a.k.a. "The Grand Punk Railroad" [[ExaggeratedTrope exaggerates this]]: it is set on a train with ''[[CollidingCriminalConspiracies three]]'' gangs hijacking at the same time, [[GambitPileup plus two serial killers, and three immortals]]! You almost forget hostages are involved, sometimes. Later, the 2002 "Bullet Garden/Blood Sabbath" does Die Hard on a Cruise Ship. [[LampshadeHanging The very first chapter starts]] with one of the terrorists rambling about ''Film/Speed2CruiseControl''.
34* In ''Literature/ACertainMagicalIndex'', Touma and Index take a plane to England to help the Royal Family at their request, but the plane gets taken over by French terrorists mid-flight. When one of the terrorists strangles Index, Touma angrily kicks his ass, then goes after and defeats the others, though Stiyl has to fly up to the plane and perform some last minute assistance. Amusingly, the pilot assumes Touma is just an ordinary civilian and [[NeverBeAHero tries to stop Touma from fighting the terrorists]]. Annoyed, Touma knocks him out.
35* ''Manga/CrayonShinChan'' has a spoof of Die Hard (of all things!) in one AU story, in which Hiroshi Nohara is a police officer (instead of a {{Salaryman}} in canon) having a troubled relationship with his wife Misae and his son Shin-Chan. Just then, a terrorist attack occurs out of the blue, with Hiroshi and Shin-Chan barely escaping, and taking out the terrorists in a comical manner parodying John [=McClane=] (Case in point: Hiroshi tickling terrorists in their armpits until they lose consciousness, knocking them out with [[SmellyFeetGag his socks]], and scrubbing their faces with his rough chin until they surrender).
36* The first episode of ''Anime/CyberCityOedo808'' has the protagonists rescuing 50,000 people trapped in the city's largest skyscraper.
37* ''Anime/DaphneInTheBrilliantBlue'' has a two-part episode that mashes up ''Die Hard'' with an {{homage}} to classic disaster movie parody ''Film/{{Airplane}}'', of all things, called "Die Hard, Play Hard".
38* In ''Manga/DemonSlayerKimetsuNoYaiba'', the Mugen Train arc both in the manga and anime/movie, the titular train is taken hostage by a demon, who has killed people through many of its courses, however, the ride Tanjiro, Zenitsu, Inosuke, Nezuko and their superior slayer Kyojuro Rengoku take is the one where they will neutralize the demonic threat, to ensure the safety of all passengers aboard.
39* The second half of ''Anime/DetectiveConanFilm05CountdownToHeaven'', the fifth NonSerialMovie of ''Manga/CaseClosed'' is basically your traditional Die Hard movie. After solving the murder case, the Black Organization bombed the skyscraper the heroes are in to kill one of their former members who had fled the organization, and the rest of the movie the heroes have to find a way to get out of the building before the last set of bombs kill them all. Hell, there is even a ShoutOut to Die Hard as Ran, the main heroine strapped a fire hose around her waist before jumping off the building before the fire consumed her, and kicking the window below to get inside before the fire hose burned off. She even claimed that she learned that trick from a movie! In fact, many NonSerialMovie of the series tend to crank up on the action that made them reminiscent of Die Hard films, including but not limited to ''Die Hard'' in a theme park (three times!), ''Die Hard'' [[Anime/DetectiveConanFilm06ThePhantomOfBakerStreet in a virtual reality Victorian London]] (just go with it), ''Die Hard'' in a plane, ''Die Hard'' on a cruise liner, ''Die Hard'' in an opera house, ''Die Hard'' in a Ski Resort, ''Die Hard'' on Tokyo Tower, ''Die Hard'' on ''an airship'', ''Die Hard'' in a football stadium, ''Die Hard'' on '''an Aegis vessel''', ''Die Hard'' in the ''''Marina Bay Sands'''', and many more.
40* ''Literature/DirtyPair'': The first episode of the TV anime[[note]]Which pre-dates ''Film/DieHard'' by three years[[/note]] introduced Kei and Yuri fighting their way through an {{arcology}} tower whose A.I., B.R.I.A.N., is trying to KillAllHumans.
41* ''Anime/EarlyReins'': ''Die Hard'' on a train! In TheWildWest! And the heroes are GirlsWithGuns! When a group of bandits hijacks a train and take hostage both a Union general and an assortment of women, it's up to a young would-be lawwoman and a more experienced gun-woman to free everyone and lead the fight against the outlaws.
42* ''Manga/FullmetalAlchemist'': Events of the fourth chapter of the manga, "Battle on the Train", play out like Die Hard on a Train. The train in question is hijacked by a terrorist group and the passengers are taken as hostage. Little do the terrorists know that among the hostages are Edward and Alphonse Elric, who make it their mission to stop them. Instead of air vents, Edward climbs out of a window and moves via the train's roof. The terrorists also have a person of interest as their hostage (Major General Hakuro), though he's more important to the army (for which Edward works) than to the heroes themselves. That all said, it plays out pretty much as a short series of {{Curb Stomp Battle}}s, since it's a bunch of guys with guns against an AnimatedArmor who's ImmuneToBullets and a PintsizedPowerhouse who can do [[SwissArmySuperpower almost anything]] with alchemy.
43* Each certain arc of ''Manga/FutureDiary'' is set in this scenario whenever the protagonists are pitted against an antagonist with the OrdinaryHighSchoolStudent Yuki as the John [=McClane=]. For the borderline-NC-17 levels of [[{{Gorn}} intense violence]], it's up to par with Creator/RennyHarlin's approach to this trope, ''Film/DieHard2'' and ''Film/{{Cliffhanger}}'':
44** For Third, it's ''Die Hard'' with a SerialKiller.
45** For Minene's introduction, it's ''Die Hard'' in school.
46** For Sixth and Twelfth, it's ''Die Hard'' at a temple.
47** For Fifth, it's ''Die Hard'' in TheHero's home with an EnfantTerrible CreepyChild running amok.
48** For Tenth, it's ''Die Hard'' in a park.
49** For Fourth, it's ''Die Hard'' in a police station and a hospital.
50** From the Apprentice Diary Holders' perspective, it's ''Die Hard'' in an abandoned hotel with a {{Yandere}} holding her love hostage.
51** For Seventh, it's ''Die Hard'' inside a skyscraper.
52** For Eleventh, it's ''Die Hard'' in a bank.
53** For [[spoiler:the final arcs, it's ''Die Hard'' in alternate dimensions and the space time continuum]].
54* ''Anime/GhostInTheShellStandAloneComplex'' plays with this when Aramaki and the Major go to London. While visiting a friend who runs a wine bank, Aramaki and his friend are taken hostage by ex-mob bank robbers, but the mob itself gets tipped off, and the bribed police force then besieges the bank. Aramaki manages to convince the robbers to work with him so that they can figure a way out of the police siege, as the cops aren't going to let any of them [[HeKnowsTooMuch escape alive]].
55* When a group of terrorists take over Sakuya's [[{{Pun}} titanic]] ship in an episode of ''Manga/HayateTheCombatButler'', it gets {{lampshade|Hanging}}d by the [[LemonyNarrator narrator]], who tells us that "''Die Hard'' on a boat will be right back." The title of a chapter in the corresponding manga storyarc? "Titanic Episode 4 - With a Vengeance".
56* ''Manga/HighRiseInvasion'' is ''Die Hard'' in an alternate realm filled with high rise buildings and BrainwashedAndCrazy MalevolentMaskedMen with the cute high school girl as the John [=McClane=].
57* In episode 5 of ''Manga/TriageX'', terrorists have taken over an idol concert with Oriha attempting to fight the terrorists and free the hostages. Episode 6 will continue where the previous episode left off.
58** Later on in the manga, armed terrorists lay siege to Mochizuki General Hospital during an outbreak at Tobioka City.
59* Played straight in ''Manga/IntoTheBlue'' and the corresponding anime arc, in which Gauron hijacks the Tuatha de Danaan, with Sousuke, Kurz, and (eventually, thanks to Tessa's efforts) Kaname loose on board.
60* ''Anime/TheMagnificentKotobuki'' has the heroes' Zeppelin taken over by sky pirates, whereupon the pilots and bartender take it right back.
61* ''Anime/MyHeroAcademiaTwoHeroes'' primarily takes place in the central tower of a mobile island. When terrorists take the tower, the first thing that they do [[spoiler:thanks to having help from the inside]] is reprogram the security system to put the entire island on lockdown and restrain every pro hero who could interfere with their plans. As a result, it falls to a group of several superpowered teens and one [[UnSorcerer quirkless]] girl who can reboot the system to reach the top of the tower and free the pros.
62* The Brilliant Dynamite Neon arc in ''Manga/{{Trigun}}'' is "Die Hard on a {{steampunk}} landship."
63* The ''VideoGame/ZoneOfTheEnders'' anime series ''Dolores, i'' has an episode titled "Die Hard", where James Links does this on an oxygen plant on Mars. He even [[LampshadeHanging hangs a lampshade]] when he wishes it were Christmas halfway through the episode.
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66[[folder:Comic Books]]
67* ''ComicBook/TheAvengers'':
68** "Avengers: Under Siege"[[note]]Written in 1986 by Roger Stern, John Buscema and Tom Palmer; do not confuse it with ''ComicBook/{{Siege}}''[[/note]] is basically "''Die Hard'' in the Avengers Mansion".
69** Avengers #245 is basically ComicBook/TheWasp, ComicBook/{{Captain Marvel|MarvelComics}}, ComicBook/TheVision and Starfox in "''Die Hard'' in a rocket in outer space", complemented by ComicBook/CaptainAmerica and the ComicBook/ScarletWitch in "''Die Hard'' in a lab".
70** ''Deathtrap, the Vault'', starring the Avengers and Freedom Force, is basically "''Die Hard'' in a supervillain prison"
71* ''ComicBook/DetectiveComics'' had a 2-part story in #829-830 where a terrorist takes control of Wayne Tower. Since [[Franchise/{{Batman}} Bruce]] is among the crowd he can't immediately change to Batman without tipping his identity off, so he manipulates things from the sidelines for most of it while giving orders to Robin on taking the guy down.
72* The three-issue arc of ''ComicBook/DoctorStrange'' after his first victory against Dormammu is essentially ''Die Hard'' in the Sanctum Sanctorum. Strange is knocked out by a bomb and wakes up to find a metal plate over his face and steel gauntlets on his hands that prevent him from spellcasting, and with three underlings of his nemesis Mordo in the house. It takes a combination of wits, skill and luck to beat them all.
73* ''ComicBook/HackSlash: Slice Hard'': Die Hard with [[SlasherMovie slashers!]]
74* In ''ComicBook/JonSableFreelance'' #46-47, Jon is hired to prevent a murder that is going to occur during a Christmas party in a high-rise office complex. The situation is complicated because terrorists have taken over the building, and police have the area locked down. Jon has to find a way into the building, defeat the terrorists ''and'' stop the murder.[[note]]This story came out a year before ''Film/DieHard''.[[/note]]
75* ''[[ComicBook/JusticeSocietyOfAmerica JSA]]'' #10: ComicBook/{{Wildcat}} goes ''Die Hard'' in the JSA Mansion, managing to evade and defeat most of the new Injustice Society by himself despite the initial attack happening while he was in a bath and is still dealing with a broken arm from a previous villain fight.
76* ''ComicBook/MegaManArchieComics'' has a group of anti-robot [[WellIntentionedExtremist extremists]], the [[MythologyGag Emerald Spears]], go "Die Hard" on the [[FunWithAcronyms A.R.T.S. (Advanced Robotics and Trade Show) Convention]] for a four issue arc.
77* ''ComicBook/MsTree'' had a story titled "New Year's Evil" where a deranged gunman takes over the rooftop restaurant where Michael Tree is celebrating New Year's Eve. Michael happens to be in the ladies room at the time. Cue this trope.
78* The ''VideoGame/StarFox1'' [[ComicStrip/StarFox supplemental material]] featured a few pages of ''Die Hard'' [[JustForFun/RecycledInSpace IN SPACE!]] when the [[Franchise/StarFox eponymous team]] encountered Andross' troops aboard the ship they stowed away on.
79* In ''ComicBook/{{Supergirl}} [[ComicBook/Supergirl2005 Volume 5]]'' Annual #1 several bank robbers are holding several hostages. Supergirl cannot tip her identity off (long story), so she breaks a restroom's window, crawls into the place and pretends to be one of the hostages until she has a chance to take the crooks down anonymously.
80* The ''WesternAnimation/WallaceAndGromit'' comic ''Anoraknophobia'' parodies ''Die Hard'', down to the broken glass and bare feet scene.
81* ''ComicBook/XMen'': ''ComicBook/UncannyXMen'' #352 is a "''Die Hard'' on a plane" story, where A.I.M. terrorists hijack a plane that ComicBook/{{Cyclops}} and [[ComicBook/JeanGrey Phoenix]] are on.
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84[[folder:Fan Works]]
85* The third [[ChristmasEpisode Christmas filler arc]] of ''Fanfic/ChaosEffect'' is a parody of ''Film/DieHard'' itself, wherein the [=KaibaCorp=] office Christmas party is attacked by [[spoiler: the adult ''ComicStrip/{{Peanuts}}'' gang]], leaving [[SelfInsert Edwin]] in the John [=McClane=] role. When he contacts the Domino City Police, [[PoliceAreUseless they respond]] by activating "[[LampshadeHanging Die Hard Protocol]]", forcing Edwin to go through all the steps of the movie regardless of the lack of common sense.
86* The fourth chapter of ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/10636968/chapters/24160719 "The Cold Factor"]]'' is called "Die Hard on a Time Ship with Zombies". It covers an alternate-universe version of the ''Series/LegendsOfTomorrow'' episode "Abominations", in which Ray, Martin, and (in-fic only) Leonard are stuck on the locked-down Waverider with a zombified Mick. While the canon version does feature Ray travelling through the air ducts at one point, the reference is never made; in the fic, however, ''Die Hard'' is name-dropped a couple of times.
87-->'''Ray:''' Imagine if they made another Die Hard movie, but with zombies. What would they call it? ‘Un-Die Hard’? No, that doesn’t sound right.
88* ''Fanfic/JWITCHSeries'': Chapter 11 of Season 1, "Pleasure Cruise", is a full-on ''Die Hard'' on a cruise ship. The Chan Clan and the Guardians, on a vacation cruise, are attacked by a somewhat-reformed Dark Hand, whose team is also composed of a brute and a hacker.
89* In ''Fanfic/XMen1970'', Cyclops and [[ComicBook/JeanGrey Marvel Girl]] have to rescue several hostages kidnapped by an extremist group in a building.
90* Parodied in ''Fanfic/XMenTheEarlyYears''. In "Twinkies, Holdups and Other Things that Aren't Good For You", an incredibly dense crook attempts to rob a pet store, believing it to be a bank, right when Scott Summers, Warren Worthington and Robert Drake are buying a new pet. The trio has to figure out a way to take him without revealing their powers. Eventually ComicBook/{{Cyclops}} manages to frighten him out of the place.
91* Lampshaded in ''Fanfic/YetAnotherMyHeroAcademiaSelfInsertFic'' in chapter 14, based on ''Anime/MyHeroAcademiaTwoHeroes'' and aptly titled "My Hero Academia: Bakugou tells Extras to Die Hard", when Springs chose Die Hard as the in-flight movie during a plane trip to I-island.
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94[[folder:Film -- Live-Action]]
95* Family-friendly version: ''Film/ThreeNinjas: High Noon at Mega Mountain'', which is ''Die Hard'' in an amusement park. The titular brothers (and, to a lesser extent, Wrestling/HulkHogan) take the place of John [=McClane=], and Loni Anderson takes the place of Hans Gruber. It's like the writers watched ''Die Hard'' and decided to make it family-friendly by making it a ''Film/ThreeNinjas'' movie.
96* ''Film/ThirtyDaysOfNight'' is ''Die Hard'' in a small Alaskan town with vampires, and not on a plane. (It's not to be mistaken for ''Film/FromDuskTillDawn'', which if anything inverts this trope.)
97* ''Film/{{Act of War}}'' is ''Die Hard'' in a presidential palace.
98* Creator/TheAsylum's ''Film/AgeOfDinosaurs'' is ''Die Hard'' with ''Jurassic Park'' dinosaurs. Lemme say it again. ''Die Hard'' [[JustForFun/XMeetsY with]] dinosaurs!
99* Creator/DolphLundgren starrer ''Film/AgentRed'' is ''Die Hard'' on a submarine.
100* ''Film/AirForceOne'': ''Die Hard'' on, [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin well, Air Force One]], with the [=McClane=] replaced with [[ActionPolitician The President of the United States]], played by Creator/HarrisonFord. He's long-retired military, in this case Vietnam experience courtesy of the Army, is forced to step up when his Secret Service security detail is overpowered while aboard the titular aircraft.
101* ''Film/{{Airheads}}'': ''Die Hard'' in a radio station, played as a comedy, wherein the terrorists are the good guys and the guns aren't real. Michael Richards plays the [=McClane=] reimagined as TheFool. Bonus points for the station being located next to Nakatomi Plaza.
102* ''Film/AirlineDisaster'' : This Creator/TheAsylum produced 2010 flick is yet another example of ''Die Hard'' on a passenger plane. The [=McClane=] character is Secret Service Agent Vitale, a rare female [=McClane=].
103* ''Film/AirMarshal'': When terrorists hijack a flight, one man must find a way to save everyone on board.
104* ''Air Panic'': FAA system analyzer named Neil McCabe is the only person who seems to have this different hunch towards a group of international terrorists after a horrific plane incident occured. He thinks that an evil genius computer hacker sets out and manipulate the computer electronical system which linked to several airplanes to cause destruction and tragedy. In order to prevent the mishap, McCabe and his teammate, Rudy, finds out about the machine used by the criminals which leads them to a psychotic thrilling fight between the terrorist.
105* ''Air Rage'': A Marine Colonel and his men are sent abroad on hostage rescue mission. When they arrive, they find the hostages dead and decide to get payback by massacring the village. Upon return home to the US, they must face the consequences.
106* ''Film/Altitude2017'' is ''Die Hard'' on a plane, with Creator/DeniseRichards as an FBIAgent being shipped across the country to be a DeskJockey who finds herself trapped in the middle of a heist and mass bombing.
107* ''Film/AndGodSaidToCain'' is ''Die Hard'' at an Old West ranch, with the added twist that the hero is breaking in as opposed to trying to escape. It was also released [[OlderThanTheyThink in 1970]], roughly ''nineteen years'' before ''Die Hard'' first hit the big screen.
108* ''Film/{{Armored}}'' is ''Die Hard'' in an armored truck.
109* ''The Assault'' is ''Die Hard'' in a domestic violence shelter combined with ''Assault on Precinct 13''.
110* ''Film/AssaultOnDome4'' Is ''Die Hard'' on a scientific facility on [[JustForFun/RecycledInSpace another planet]].
111* ''Film/AtomicTrain'': A train filled with atomic devices threatens to destroy the city of Denver. John Serger (an NTSB agent) has to prevent this from happening.
112* ''Film/{{Automatic}}'' (1995) is ''Die Hard'' in a futuristic robot factory, where the hero is an android.
113* ''Bait'' is ''Enemy of the State''-meets-''Die Hard 3''.
114* ''Film/{{Becky}}'' is ''Die Hard'' in a lake house and the surrounding woods with [[TroublingUnchildlikeBehavior a teenage girl]] (the titular Becky) in the [=McClane=] role, taking HomeAloneAntics up to this level as she stalks and kills a [[PoliticallyIncorrectVillain white supremacist prison gang]] who have [[ProtectThisHouse attacked the house and taken her family hostage]] in search of a key.
115* ''Film/BestOfTheBest 4: Without Warning'' (yes, they made it to number 4) and the Hong Kong film ''Film/BigBullet'' borrow ''Die Hard 2'' type scenes. ''Big Bullet'' notably has a Die Hard on A Military Airport as its climax.
116* ''Film/TheBestMan: Is ''DieHard'' in a luxury resort hotel during a wedding with Creator/DolphLundgren as the best man attending said wedding who has to save the hostages from a group of terrorists.
117* ''Film/BeverlyHillsCopIII'' is ''Die Hard'' in an amusement park (at least in part).
118* LampshadeHanging added to the movie adaptation of Creator/DaveBarry's ''Literature/BigTrouble''. Elliot is left on his own in the kitchen when a pair of crooks take everyone else in the house hostage. A character watching outside comments to his partner, "We have a ''Die Hard'' situation developing in the kitchen."
119* ''Film/TheBlacksheepAffair'': The climax is Die Hard in the Chinese Embassy of a non-Existent Fictional Eastern European Country.
120* There are two films called ''Film/{{Blast}}'', both ''Die Hard'' rip-offs. One takes place in an Olympic stadium, and the other takes place on an oil rig. The latter was even written by one of the screenwriters of the original ''Die Hard''.
121* ''Film/{{Bloodfist}} VI'' is ''Die Hard'' in a nuclear missile silo. Don Wilson plays a military courier who's running late and winds up interrupting the terrorist plans. As one of the terrorists states, "Wrong place. Wrong time."
122* ''Film/BloodRedSky'' is ''Die Hard'' on a plane... with the added twist that the [=McClane=] is a vampire. The second half, however, turns into ''Film/FromDuskTillDawn'' on a plane as the VampireProcreationLimit is broken, FeralVampires overrun the plane, and the few survivors among both the hijackers and the passengers (including the vampire [=McClane=]) [[EnemyMine team up to survive]].
123* ''Film/TheBulletTrain'' (1975), a Japanese film set on a bullet train, also predating ''Die Hard''.
124%%* ''Buried'', ''Wrecked'', ''Brake'', ''Vehicle 19'' and ''Locke'' deal with the same type of trapped-in-a-[insert location/vehicle/object] atmosphere as ''Die Hard'', ''Panic Room'' and ''Phone Booth'' did.
125* ''Film/BuyBust'' is ''Die Hard'' on a drug-infested Manila slum.
126* ''Film/{{Cellular}}'': Compared to ''Speed'' back when it first came out, it's basically Die Hard with cell phones as the hero races around the city trying to stay on the line with a kidnapped woman who managed to call him.
127* ''Film/ChainOfCommand'' is ''Die Hard'' on a ship and blatantly recycles footage from ''Film/DeepRising''.
128* ''Film/ChainReaction'' is ''The Fugitive'' in a factory with scientists and corrupt executives that echo the ''Die Hard'' formula a tad bit.
129%%* The MadeForTVMovie ''Christmas Rush'', aka ''Breakaway''.
130* ''Film/{{Cliffhanger}}'' is ''Die Hard'' on a mountain.
131* ''Film/CommandPerformance'' is ''Die Hard'' in a concert hall.
132* ''Film/TheCommuter'': An insurance salesman/ex-cop is caught up in a life-threatening conspiracy during his daily commute home.
133* ''Film/ConAir'' also has some traits of ''Die Hard'' on a plane, though it ends ''off'' the plane.
134* ''Film/{{Counterstrike}} is Die Hard on a ship. When a peace summit upon the QE2 is attacked by terrorists, estranged brothers, one an ATF agent, the other a Secret Service agent, must come together to thwart the extremist's plans.
135* ''Film/Crackerjack1994'' is ''Die Hard'' at a ski resort. It is unusually blatant about it, cribbing many one-liners and plot developments from ''Die Hard''. Its continuation ''Crackerjack 2''(AKA Hostage Train) is very briefly a ''Die Hard'' on a train before spending the rest of its running time being ''Die Hard'' inside an abandoned mountain bunker.
136* ''CrashDive'' is Die Hard on a nuclear submarine. Nuclear submarine USS Ulysses rescues supposed victims of a boat disaster, who turn out to be terrorists intent on capturing nuclear weapons aboard the sub. Only a former SEAL can save the day by sliding aboard while the sub is underwater.
137* ''Film/CrashLanding'': When a hostage situation arises on a private plane with the daughter of a billionaire on board, Major John Masters teams up with Captain Williams to stop the terrorists and land the plane.
138* ''Film/CrimsonTide'' becomes ''Die Hard'' on a nuclear sub near the climax.
139* ''Film/CriticalMass'' is ''Die Hard'' at a nuclear plant, unique in that it recycles footage from numerous other action films like ''Film/UniversalSoldier'' and ''Film/Terminator2JudgmentDay'' (as did several Movie projects during the late part of TheNineties and early part of TheTwoThousands).
140* ''Film/{{Crossfire}}'' is ''Die Hard'' in the Statue of Liberty.
141* ''Film/CounterMeasures'' is Die Hard on a Russian nuclear sub. When an elite Russian Nuclear Submarine carrying a doomsday weapon is hijacked, a submarine demolitions expert and the USS Springfield are deployed to obliterate the terrorists' plan, and the sub, in a frantic race against time.
142* ''Film/DayOfTheWolves'' is ''Die Hard'' in a small town. However, being made in 1971, it predates ''Die Hard''. A gang of bad guys have a plan for TakingOverTheTown. What they hadn't counted on was the police chief being fired that morning, and so being at home instead of where they expected him to be.
143* ''Film/{{Deadlock}}'' is ''Die Hard'' in an energy plant, which has Creator/BruceWillis himself as the villain.
144* ''Film/DeadlyOutbreak'' is ''Die Hard'' in a research facility.
145* ''Film/Derailed2002'': On an out of control train holding hostages and high-tech bio-weapons agent Kristoff (Creator/JeanClaudeVanDamme) becomes a one man army to derail the terrorists and save the lives of everyone on board!
146* ''DeathDeceitAndDestinyAboardTheOrientExpress'': On New Year's Eve, jaded action movie star Jack Chase is traveling on the Orient Express with the rich and famous. Terrorist leader Tarik and his gang take over the train forcing Chase to become the hero he always just pretended to be.
147* ''Film/DeathMachine'' is also ''Die Hard'' in a futuristic robot factory, with the (heroic) robbers running away from a KillerRobot with NighInvulnerability.
148* ''Film/DeathTrain'' (AKA The Detonator): A train with hostages is stolen in Bremen, Germany. It's heading south through Europe with a nuclear bomb. A UN crime-fighting task force is in charge of stopping it in cooperation with local military and police.
149** There is another "Die Hard on a Train" film called "Death Train" released in 2003, only this one takes place in Mexico and involves a runaway train hijacked by prisoners.
150* ''Film/DeepRising'' is a {{subverted|Trope}} version of ''Die Hard'' on a cruise ship. The main characters are a team of mercenaries who were planning on robbing the passengers and vault of the ocean liner ''Argonautica'' before sinking it. Unfortunately, when they get to the ''Argonautica'', they find that it's been attacked by some''thing'' that has eaten virtually everybody on board, and now ''they're'' in the John [=McClane=] role in a TrappedWithMonsterPlot.
151* ''Film/DemolitionHigh'' is ''Die Hard'' in a high school. The sequel ''Demolition University'' is ''Die Hard'' in a chemical plant.
152* ''Film/DepthCharge'' is ''Die Hard'' on a submarine fitted with prototype stealth technology. The sub's medical officer and an electrician go up against the XO and his group of terrorists to prevent a nuclear launch.
153* ''Film/DesperateMeasures'' ends up being a ''Die Hard''-in-a-hospital clone with some noir and ''Film/Se7en''-type elements.
154* Another ''Die Hard'' in high school example is the Creator/DolphLundgren film ''Detention''.
155* ''Detention: The Siege at Johnson High'' (aka ''Hostage High'' and ''Target for Rage'') is ''Die Hard'' in a high school, and BasedOnATrueStory at that (specifically, a fictionalized version of the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lindhurst_High_School_shooting Lindhurst High School shooting]] in 1992). A dropout who blames his history teacher for him flunking out of school shows up at his high school armed, kills said teacher, shoots a number of other people, and takes dozens of students hostage, one of whom is himself the [=McClane=] figure who the shooter has tasked with speaking to the hostage negotiator.
156* ''Franchise/DieHard'': The {{Trope Namer|s}} and TropeCodifier.
157** [[Film/DieHard The first film]] is ''[[ShapedLikeItself Die Hard]]'' (in a high-rise).
158** ''Film/DieHard2'' is ''Die Hard'' in a snowed-in airport... and interestingly, the last ''Die Hard'' movie to follow this trope. Later films were all more conventional action thrillers, taking place [[Film/DieHardWithAVengeance across New York City]], [[Film/LiveFreeOrDieHard on the East Coast]], and [[Film/AGoodDayToDieHard in Russia]] respectively.
159* ''Film/DiplomaticSiege'' is ''Die Hard'' in a U.S. Embassy.
160* ''Film/TheDoorman'': Ex-marine Ali Gorski has to defend her in-laws when they’re caught in the middle of an attempt to retrieve a fortune in stolen paintings. The paintings were hidden in the family’s apartment by the former residents, and the building is currently undergoing a renovation so that only a few people are present.
161* ''Film/{{Dredd}}'' is basically ''Die Hard'' with ComicBook/JudgeDredd in it, where he tries to free an {{Arcology}} that's been locked down by the drug lord who controls it.
162* ''Film/DropZone'' also takes a note from this film while mixing in ''Film/PointBreak'' elements, and pre-dates ''Film/{{Terminal Velocity|1994}}'' and ''Film/{{Cutaway}}''.
163* ''Film/EscapeUnderPressure'' is ''Die Hard'' crossed with ''Film/ThePoseidonAdventure''.
164* The 2013 Creator/JeanClaudeVanDamme movie ''Film/EnemiesCloser'' is ''Die Hard'' in the forest near the U.S.-Canadian border.
165* ''Film/TheEqualizer'', a 2014 reimagining of [[Series/TheEqualizer the TV show of the same name]], becomes ''Die Hard'' in a Home Depot during the climax. [[Film/TheEqualizer2 The sequel]] becomes ''Die Hard'' in a small island town during a hurricane in its climax.
166* ''Film/ExecutiveDecision'' is also ''Die Hard'' on a plane. Just with an insertion of the [=McClane=] via a docking stealth fighter. And Creator/StevenSeagal.[[spoiler: [[DeadStarWalking Briefly]].]]
167* The climax of ''Film/Expend4bles'' is ''Die Hard'' on a ship.
168* ''Film/FatalConflict'' starts out as a Women in prison in space film before turning into a ''Die Hard'' scenario.
169* Two films called ''Film/FinalApproach'' (one released in 2004, [[MarketBasedTitle also titled "Junior Pilot" in some markets]], one released in 2007 as a Hallmark Channel original) are both ''Die Hard'' on a passenger plane. The greatest difference is that the former has a KidHero protagonist in the vein of ''Home Alone''.
170* ''Film/FinalScore'' - starring [[Wrestling/{{Batista}} Dave Bautista]] and Creator/PierceBrosnan - is essentially "Die Hard in a football[[note]]"soccer" to the Americans[[/note]] stadium". (And for authenticity, was filmed at West Ham United's old stadium The Boleyn Ground / Upton Park.)
171* The BMovie ''Film/FinalVoyage'' is ''Die Hard'' on a cruise ship, and features Erika Eleniak along with Ice-T as the terrorist leader.
172* ''Film/Firestorm1998'' is ''Die Hard'' in a forest that is burning up.
173* ''Film/{{Firewall}}'' is Harrison Ford playing the same kind of character in ''Air Force One'' with Mary Lynn Rajskub playing the same type of helpful hacking heroine as her character Chloe O'Brien on ''24''. Together, they team up to save Harrison's family from a gang of thieves, thus making it feel what the end result would be if you combined ''Die Hard'' with ''Desperate Hours'', ''Ransom'' and ''Swordfish''.
174* ''Film/TheFirstPurge'' turns into ''Die Hard'' on Staten Island once [[spoiler:the mercenaries are deployed onto the island to start killing people]]. The climax, meanwhile, is ''Die Hard'' in the projects, as Dmitri climbs an apartment tower to take out [[spoiler:the death squad headed after Nya and Isaiah]]. He even wears a white tank top like John [=McClane=].
175* ''Film/Flightplan2005'': Creator/JodieFoster is on a plane where her young daughter goes missing and some kind of conspiracy aboard the plane may be responsible.
176* The 2002 DirectToVideo movie ''Film/GaleForce'' is ''Die Hard'' on an island that is about to be hit by a hurricane, with the hostages being a RealityShow cast and crew. The [=McClane=] of the tale is a forcefully retired CowboyCop that was put amongst the cast for security purposes, played by Treat Williams... and the biggest "what the hell?!?" part is the use of StockFootage of ''Film/LastActionHero'' for the ActionPrologue (so we are talking ''Treat Williams'', the dad from ''Series/{{Everwood}}'', dressed as Arnie for five minutes).
177* ''Film/GameOfDeath'' (1972), directed by and starring Creator/BruceLee, is essentially "''Die Hard'' in a pagoda tower" (also predating ''Die Hard''). In ''Game of Death'', Lee ascends a pagoda tower while defeating bad guys along the way in martial arts battles. The 1978 version is set in a variety of locations, which removes the trope.
178* The Netflix film ''Film/GameOverMan2018'' has been described as "''Die Hard'' as a stoner comedy."
179* ''Film/Gremlins2TheNewBatch'', like ''Film/{{Alien}}'', is a TrappedWithMonsterPlot in a gigantic, high-tech tower going haywire, and could be described as "Die Hard with Film/{{Gremlins}}".
180* ''Film/{{Gridlock}}'' is ''Die Hard'' in the Federal Reserve Building with Creator/DavidHasselhoff.
181* ''Film/HalfPastDead'': ''Die Hard'' in a prison.
182* The third act of the Creator/JohnWoo classic ''Film/HardBoiled'' is essentially ''Die Hard'' in a Hospital in true HeroicBloodshed style, as the bad guys take everybody hostage at the hospital. Tequila and Alan, along with the rest of the force in the hospital, have to get everyone out before the bad guys blow everything to hell. It's pretty badass.
183* ''Film/HardRain'' is ''Die Hard'' in... [[BattleInTheRain rain]]. [[MakesJustAsMuchSenseInContext And a major flood. Also, a church full of stolen money and corrupt cops]].
184* ''Film/HighRisk'' is "Die Hard in a Hotel", starring Creator/JetLi.
185* ''Hijack'd''(AKA Cabin Pressure): A fully automated commercial jetliner is prepared to make its maiden voyage. Without an on-flight pilot, the craft relies on satellite linking for its course. But when the plane suddenly deviates from its determined route and establishes a circular pattern over Seattle, it becomes evident that the craft has been hijacked by a disgruntled former airline employee who has hacked into the flight's computer system from his apartment, somewhere in the United States. Now, a former discredited Navy pilot and an oddball technician must race against the clock to find where the angry employee is, and regain control of the plane before it crashes into the city.
186* ''Film/HeavensFire'' is ''Die Hard'' in a treasury building that's on fire.
187* While ''Film/HomeAlone'' spends most of its time showing the comedy of a KidHero living [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin home alone]] for almost a week, the climactic (and Trope-codifying) HomeAloneAntics sequence could be described as "''Film/DieHard'' as an all-ages comedy, with the [=McClane=] being a TrapMaster".
188* Empire magazine called the French horror movie ''Film/TheHorde'' the ''Die Hard'' of zombie flicks.
189* The 2005 movie ''Film/{{Hostage}}'' is ''Die Hard'' in a house. Bonus points for having Bruce Willis as the main character. Although the "[=McClane=]" character is a 10-year old kid--Willis is a hostage negotiator who is trying to retrieve an important package from the house.
190* The NoBudget DTV film ''Hostile Takedown'' is ''Die Hard'' in a shopping mall.
191* The 2001 MadeForTVMovie ''Film/{{Hotel}}'' is a comedic version of ''Die Hard'' in, you guessed it, a hotel. Foreign terrorists take a British hotel hostage, in aid of kidnapping the American President, not realizing that the assistant manager has a [[ReturningWarVet convenient military background]] and happened to get out of the captured hotel due to a series of wacky hijinks. (Notable mainly for happening to feature [[Creator/PeterCapaldi two]] [[Creator/PaulMcGann actors]] who've been cast as the Doctor on ''Series/DoctorWho''.)
192* ''Film/TheHurricaneHeist'' is ''Die Hard'' in an Alabama town that has a Federal Reserve storage facility with $600 million in cash and is in the path of a Category 5 hurricane, the crooks exploiting the fact that the storage facility has been mostly evacuated and hope the devastation will cover their tracks. The duty of the [=McClane=] of this film is split between the facility's supervising federal marshall (who holds the code to open the vault) and two brothers, one of which is a storm chaser and brings a [[CoolCar heavily-armored car]] to the fight.
193* ''Film/{{Icebreaker}}'' is also ''Die Hard'' at a ski resort.
194* Most of ''Film/Interceptor1992'' is ''Die Hard'' on a C-5.
195* Another film named ''Film/Interceptor2022'' was released in 2022 on Creator/{{Netflix}}, and is a ''Die Hard'' in an anti-missile interceptor sea platform in the Pacific Ocean. The [=McClane=] of this scenario being a [[ActionGirl veteran soldier]] ReassignedToAntarctica and the bad guys being a bunch of terrorists out to destroy the rig so a bunch of stolen Russian [=ICBMs=] can nuke the United States.
196* ''Film/IrresistibleForce'', which featured a two-person team in the [=McClane=] role in the form of Creator/StacyKeach's older cop and Creator/CynthiaRothrock's younger cop.
197* The film "''ISS: International Space Station''" is Die Hard in the International Space Station, with WorldWarIII igniting down on Earth and the cast divided between the astronauts who have been ordered to get their hands on the MacGuffin in the station (an experimental AntiRadiationDrug) at any cost and the astronauts who are trying to approach the situation without becoming cut-throats as the collective [=McClanes=]. [[spoiler:Good thing it's a group because [[CharactersDroppingLikeFlies casualties mount up like crazy as the film goes on]].]]
198* The short ''Joyride'' is ''Die Hard'' in the trunk of a car.
199* ''Film/KeyLargo'' made in 1948 was essentially "''Die Hard'' at a resort hotel" [[UrExample before there was a formula for this kind of film]]. A gangster (Creator/EdwardGRobinson, because who else?) holds a small group of hotel guests hostage while exchanging money. It isn't until the end that it develops more into the traditional ''Die Hard'' plot when Creator/HumphreyBogart is taken to drive the getaway boat, which is when he starts sneaking around, bumping off the goons one by one.
200* ''Film/TheKingdom2007'' starts off as a ''Heat''-meets-''CSI'' clone with FBI agents vs. terrorist groups then transcends into John [=McClane=] and even much like the TV show ''24'', where it's a race against the clock all within one big Saudi Arabia hideout.
201* The little known movie ''Film/TheLastHour'' AKA ''Concrete War'' can also be classified as ''Die Hard'' in an office building, but in reverse: it's the two good guys who are invading the building the baddies are holed up in.
202* ''Film/TheLastSiege'': A prestigious senator and the passengers on board a train are kidnapped by a militia group. A gallant ATF Agent who happens to be a passenger on the train is the one man who just may be capable of both freeing the hostages and defusing the bomb before time runs out.
203* The Canadian b-movie ''Film/LethalTender'' is ''Die Hard'' in a water treatment plant.
204* 1971's ''Film/TheLightAtTheEdgeOfTheWorld'' is ''Die Hard'' "on a lighthouse island in 1865".
205* ''Film/Mach2'': Secret Service agents target a presidential candidate by hijacking the Concorde he is on and kill the pilots. It's up to an Air Force officer, nicknamed "Washout" because he can't fly a plane, to land the Concorde.
206* ''Film/{{Lockout}}'' is ''Die Hard'' in a futuristic space prison (and borrows so liberally from ''Film/EscapeFromNewYork'' in terms of concept that Creator/JohnCarpenter actually sued for plagiarism '''and won''').
207* ''Film/MaidenVoyage'' is Die Hard on a cruise ship. Kyle Considine, (Casper Van Dien) former fire fighter and Special Forces officer is hired to evaluate security on a cruise ship while traveling with his son Zach. Soon after leaving port, the ship is hijacked by terrorists demanding a ransom and threatening to blow up the liner.
208* A planned sequel to Creator/KevinSmith's ''Film/{{Mallrats}}'' was ''Mallrats 2: Die Hard in a Mall'', purposefully invoking this trope right down to the name.
209* Lampshaded in ''Film/Masterminds1997'', where the student trapped in a taken-over private school observes "We've got a ''Die Hard'' situation here."
210* ''Film/MaximumSecurity'' and ''Film/MaximumConviction'' are both ''Die Hard'' in a correctional facility.
211* The 2008 film ''Film/MaxPayne'', has enclosed building shoot-outs and ambushes much like the games that have a ''Die Hard'' feel to them.
212* ''Film/MeanGuns'' is ''Die Hard'' in a prison with a twist: it's a LastManStanding scenario. Ice-T starred in a similar movie by the same filmmakers called ''The Wrecking Crew''.
213* ''Film/{{Mistrial}}'' is a 1996 HBO movie which reads as ''Die Hard'' at a court hearing.
214* ''Film/MoneyTrain'', written by a ''Die Hard 2'' scribe is essentially what would happen if the anti-heroes took over a train and had to escape from the police and a psychopath on-board.
215* The BMovie ''Film/{{Nautilus}}'' is both ''Die Hard'' on an oil rig and a submarine. The twist is that the submarine is a time machine that came from a borderline-apocalyptic future to try to stop the terrorists on the oil rig from unleashing a weapon that would create said future... and once they are done with, several members of the crew pull off TheMutiny because they want to use the submarine ''and'' the weapon to try to TakeOverTheWorld.
216* ''Film/NoContest'' is ''Die Hard'' at a beauty pageant. Its sequel ''No Contest 2'' is ''Die Hard'' in a museum.
217* ''Film/NorthSeaHijack'' aka ''ffolkes'' and ''Assault Force'' is ''Die Hard'' on North Sea oil rigs. Actually a subversion, since the film is quite slow-paced and focuses more on the protagonists' carefully-planned tactics rather than action.
218* ''NotSafeForWork'' is ''Die Hard'' in a building, just with a single hitman instead of terrorists.
219* ''Film/NonStop'': An air marshal springs into action during a transatlantic flight after receiving a series of text messages demanding $150 million into an off-shore account, or someone will die every 20 minutes.
220* The 2013 [[DuelingWorks/{{Film}} dueling films]] ''Film/OlympusHasFallen'' and ''Film/WhiteHouseDown'' are both ''Die Hard'' in the White House. The former was followed by sequels titled ''Film/LondonHasFallen'' and ''Film/AngelHasFallen''.
221''Counterstrike'' and ''Maiden Voyage: Ocean Hijack'' are also ''Die Hard'' on a ship. Granted, all the other ''Film/OperationDeltaForce'' films qualify as ''Die Hard'' clones.
222* ''Film/OpenFire'' is ''Die Hard'' in a chemical plant.
223* ''Film/{{Octopus}}'': ''Die Hard'' on a sub, then on a boat, with Russian terrorists. Oh, and a really big octopus.
224* ''Operation Delta Force 2: Mayday'' is Die Hard on a ship, though none of the other films in this franchise really qualify for this trope.
225* ''Operation Wolverine: Seconds To Spare'': When a deadly assassin hijacks a passenger train, he threatens to detonate a deadly can of poison that can wipe out an entire city, if he isn't given a 25 million dollar ransom. While the cops are attempting to thwart the madman, they decide to call Former DEA agent Paul Blake the one man who can possibly stop the fiendish plot.
226* ''Film/{{Passenger 57}}'': ''Die Hard'' on a plane. Just blacker.
227* ''Film/PaulBlartMallCop'' is ''Die Hard'' in a mall as a comedy. The sequel is ''Die Hard'' in a casino/hotel as a comedy.
228* ''Film/ThePeacekeeper'' is ''Die Hard'' in a missile silo.
229* The similarly titled 1997 action thriller ''Film/ThePeacemaker'' borrows from ''Die Hard'' and James Bond by having another ''on-a-train'' scenario then having the action lead back to New York.
230* The 1995 ''Film/{{Phoenix}}'' is ''Die Hard'' in space on a mining colony with killer androids.
231* The 1998 DirectToVideo Creator/MickeyRourke film ''Point Blank'' (not to be confused with the Creator/LeeMarvin film) is the same plot as "Paul Blart", but done seriously, and with the [=McClane=] being the brother of one of the villains.
232* ''Film/{{Plane}}'' is another ''Die Hard'' on a plane as the title implies, this one involves a plane being taken over by rebels after having been forced to land on a war-torn island to avoid a lightning strike, and the only person who can stop them is an accused murderer being transported by the FBI.
233* ''Film/PoliceStory2013'' is ''Die Hard'' in a nightclub.
234* The 2005 made-for-TV remake of ''Film/ThePoseidonAdventure'' changes the plot to this, the ship capsizing as a result of a terrorist bombing instead of a [[GiantWallOfWateryDoom giant wave]] and some of the terrorists still being alive.
235* ''Film/{{Primal}}'' is ''Die Hard'' on a cargo ship with a bunch of escaped wild animals.
236* ''Film/ProjectShadowchaser'' is ''Die Hard'' in a hospital in the future, and its sequel is ''Die Hard'' in a chemical facility. The twist in the first film is that the bad guys have the titular Project (a robotic SuperSoldier played by Frank Zagarino throughout the series) as their trump card to take out any attackers and that the protagonist is a former criminal who was kept in a cryogenic prison(who is thawed out because he also happens to be the architect of the hospital and as such is the only person who can find a way to design a surprise raid). The other films of the series don't count, being a rip-off of ''Film/TheThing1982'' and something really weird involving AncientAstronauts in Africa, respectively.
237* ''Film/RedHill'' is a NewOldWest ''Die Hard'' in a town deep in the Australian Outback, with a OneManArmy escaped convict standing in for an entire crook force, and similar to ''Film/DayOfTheWolves'' the first thing he does is to cut communications, forcing the rookie sheriff to try to fight him in his own while other town members try (and fail miserably) to stop the con.[[spoiler:TheReveal? It is more of a modern adaptation of ''Film/AndGodSaidToCain'' and the escaped convict is ''the [=McClane=]'', in a RoaringRampageOfRevenge to avenge his murdered wife (that the townsmen framed him for), with the acceptance that it's a SuicideMission.]]
238* ''Film/RedWolf'', released in 1995, though having a ''Die Hard'' situation on an ocean liner makes it closer to a ''Film/UnderSiege'' clone. It does have a few shoutouts to ''Die Hard'', like the hero Alan jumping off the ship's deck with a firehose and crashing through a lower window using the same camera angles like John [=McClane=]'s rooftop stunt.
239* ''Remote (1993)'': In the same vein as ''Home Alone'', a kid with remote-controlled toys takes on burglars in a real estate company's "Model Home".
240* ''Film/ReindeerGames'' is ''Die Hard'' in a casino ''at'' a ski resort... and even [[AnAssKickingChristmas set on Christmas]], too.
241* The 1990s [[HomeAloneAntics "Home Alone" rip-off]] ''Film/{{Remote}}'' is "''Die Hard''" inside of an exhibition home of an [[MiddleOfNowhereStreet abandoned suburban project]], in which a bunch of StupidCrooks hide in after a heist, leaving the KidHero (a remote-control toy enthusiast who was using the home's attic to hide his gizmos that his parents wanted to toss away and is now trapped) to think of how to contact the cops and fight the goons.
242* ''Film/TheReplacement'' (or ''The Substitute'' or ''The Alternate''--starring Eric Roberts, so you can look it up that way) is ''Die Hard'' on a Los Angeles hotel. The twist being that the titular WrongManInTheRightPlace was part of the hijacking team (hired to replace a sick member on a security breach simulation) up until he figured out that his teammates were performing terrorism for real.
243* ''Film/TheRiverWild'' is ''Die Hard'' in a whitewater raft.
244* ''Film/RobinHoodTheRebellion'' is ''Die Hard'' in a medieval castle. The advertising even describes it as '''Film/TheRaid'' meets ''Film/DieHard'' with a medieval twist'.
245* ''Film/TheRock'' is ''Die Hard'' on Alcatraz.
246* ''Film/{{Run}}'' is ''Die Hard'' in Atlantic City.
247* ''Film/RunawayTrain'', a 1963 Creator/AkiraKurosawa screenplay that became a 1985 Hollywood film, predating ''Die Hard''.
248* ''Film/RunHideFight'' is ''Die Hard'' in a high school during a [[AxesAtSchool mass shooting]]. The villains aren't out to rob anybody, but simply to kill people while livestreaming their massacre, and the [=McClane=] is the daughter of an ex-military outdoorsman who puts the skills he taught her to use.
249* The third act of ''Film/SantaWithMuscles'' is effectively ''Die Hard'' in an orphanage. As a bonus, it involves breaking into a vault near Christmas. And Blake effectively being the RightManInTheWrongPlace.
250* The "family comedy" film ''Secret Headquarters'' is the story of how a young boy, staying at his absentee father's cabin, finds out that his father is really superhero "The Guard" (basically Green Lantern with an Iron Man suit and a talking 3D printer that makes gadgets). The Guard's underground lair is then invaded by badguys looking for a baseball-sized glowing McGuffin called "the Source" that came from a crashed UFO. The film then becomes "Die Hard In The Batcave" with a side-order of ''Film/HomeAlone''.
251* The Creator/AntonioBanderas DirectToVideo film ''Film/{{Security|2017}}'' is ''Die Hard'' in a mall meets ''Film/AssaultOnPrecinct131976'', with Banderas' former Marine character leading a mall cop RagtagBunchOfMisfits into trying to keep at bay a criminal mercenary force that wants to get into the mall and kill the teenage witness that ran inside while escaping from the massacre of her U.S. Marshal security detachment.
252* ''Film/ShotgunWedding2023'': ''Die Hard'' as a RomanticComedy. Specifically, it's ''Die Hard'' at a tropical island resort hosting a wedding, with the bride and the groom sharing the John [=McClane=] role after a team of mercenaries [[spoiler:hired by the bride's jilted ex-fiance]] take everybody hostage for $45 million.
253* The 1996 film ''Film/{{Skyscraper|1996}}'' (no relation to the Wrestling/DwayneJohnson film described below) is a rehash of the original ''Die Hard'', also taking place in a highrise. It stars Playboy Playmate Anna Nicole Smith and, because it was made for Cinemax Channel at the height of its "Skinemax" era, adds a bunch of sex scenes and fan service that have no real use on the plot (even having Smith's character stopping mid-film to have a nooner flashback to some prior time she had sex with her husband just because).
254* ''Film/{{Skyscraper}}'', starring Wrestling/DwayneJohnson, is essentially a combination between ''Die Hard'' (taking place on a (fictional) super-skyscraper-experimental-Arcology) and ''Film/TheToweringInferno'' of all things (that means that, yes, the hijackers were crazy enough to ''set the mile-and-a-half-tall building on fire while they were in it'' as part of their scheme). Creator/BobChipman referred to it as "''Die Hard'' [-[[IncendiaryExponent ON FIRE!!!]]-]"
255* ''Film/SnakesOnAPlane'': ''Die Hard'' on a... [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin you can probably guess.]] With snakes.
256* ''Film/SnakesOnATrain'': A powerful Mayan curse causes snakes to hatch in the stomach of a young woman, eating her inside out. She needs to get from Mexico to Los Angeles in order to have the curse lifted by a powerful Mayan shaman. On the brink of death she boards a train headed for L.A. Unfortunately the passengers are now trapped on board, and left to fall victim to these vicious, venomous vipers.
257* ''Film/SonicImpact'': When a deranged criminal is caught, he is then being transported by plane, along with some other criminals. Through a stroke of luck he is able to subdue the Federal agents assigned to bring him, free the other criminals, and take over the plane. He then threatens to crash the plane into a populated area unless his demands are met. The FBI agent who captured him then decides to get on the plane while in flight to do something.
258* ''Film/SororityHouseMassacre 3: Hard To Die'' is basically ''Die Hard'' as a slasher, with a group of women trapped in a deserted skyscraper with someone possessed by the spirit of a serial killer. It should be noted the director went on to direct the above-mentioned ''Final Voyage'', ''Demolition High'', and ''Gale Force''.
259* ''Film/{{Spacejacked}}'' is ''Die Hard'' on a cruise ship in [[JustForFun/RecycledInSpace outer space]].
260* ''Film/{{Speed}}'' is ''Die Hard'' on a bus, with a twist -- it's a ''[[RunawayTrain moving]]'' bus. A MadBomber plants a bomb on a Los Angeles city bus that arms when it reaches 50 miles per hour [[GoFastOrGoBoom and will detonate if it goes below that]], then demands a ransom of millions of dollars. The [=McClane=] role is shared by the bomb squad officer trying to disarm the explosive and a passenger who's forced to take the wheel of the bus and keep it moving after the driver is injured. Its plot wound up parodied almost as much as ''Die Hard''[='=]s was in the '90s.
261* ''Film/Speed2CruiseControl'', the sequel to the above, is more straightforwardly ''Die Hard'' on a cruise ship.
262* ''Film/StashHouse'' is another Dolph Lundgren film that's described as being like the ''Die Hard'' clones ''Panic Room'' and ''Hostage''.
263* ''Film/{{Stranglehold}}'' (1994) (not to be confused with the Creator/JohnWoo game of the [[VideoGame/{{Stranglehold}} same name]]) is ''Die Hard'' in a chemical weapons facility.
264* ''Strategic Command'' is Die Hard on a plane. Rick Harding is a former Marines officer, now working in the FBI as a chemical weapons designer. While packing up for the night, a group of armed soldiers led by wanted criminal Carlos Gruber, break into the FBI research lab.
265* ''Film/{{Submarines}}" is Die Hard on a Soviet nuclear sub. Having seized a Soviet nuclear submarine, the terrorist group's general Sajid Khan sail to the coasts of California decided to raze Los Angeles with a rain of nuclear missiles. American intelligence services are, however, on alert and the Admiralty Majesty instructs the submarine to intercept the enemy and prevent the threat before it happens the irreparable. The mission is entrusted to the Captain William Arlington, who, though fallen foul of a court martial incident spent at sea, has the necessary qualities of courage and determination to handle such situations.
266* ''Film/SuddenDeath'' has Jean-Claude Van Damme as a security guard trying to stop ''Die Hard'' in a hockey arena... during UsefulNotes/{{the Stanley Cup}} Final.
267* ''Film/{{Swiri}}'' (A.K.A. ''Shiri'') mixes ''La Femme Nikita'' with various key scenes of ''Die Hard''.
268* ''Film/TailSting'': A pack of massive genetically altered Scorpions escape containment on an airplane, turning passengers into victims and forcing one ordinary woman to confront her worst fears.
269* ''Film/TheTakingOfBeverlyHills'' is ''Die Hard'' in the [[UsefulNotes/LosAngeles City of Los Angeles]].
270* ''Film/TC2000'' is ''Die Hard'' in a factory.
271* ''Film/TerminalRush'' is ''Die Hard'' in Hoover Dam. It features "Rowdy" Wrestling/RoddyPiper as TheDragon.
272* The infamous LiveActionAdaptation of ''Film/{{Thunderbirds}}'' smacks a bit of this -- the Hood fires a missile at ''Thunderbird 5'' (International Rescue's orbiting space station) to draw the other Tracys off their island base and trap them aboard the now-wrecked space station; having done that, he then plans to hijack the rest of the Thunderbird craft and use them to rob the world's largest bank, pinning the blame on International Rescue in the process. Only thing is, he and his underlings didn't count on the youngest Tracy brother, the daughter of the housekeepers and the son of the resident technical genius to interfere. Ultimately, the Hood is able to hijack ''Thunderbird 2'' and [[DrillTank the Mole]] and the climax takes place in London, thus subverting the trope.
273* ''Film/TigerHouse'' is ''Die Hard'' in a BigFancyHouse.
274* ''Film/{{Top of the World}}'' is ''Die Hard'' in a Las Vegas casino.
275* ''Film/LaTourMontparnasseInfernale'' is a French spoof of ''Die Hard'', also taking place in a skyscraper.
276* ''Film/TheTower'' (1993) is "''Die Hard'' without the bad guys!" Seriously, Paul Reiser is trapped inside an evil, sentient office skyscraper.
277* ''Film/ToySoldiers'' is ''Die Hard'' in a boarding school. In a twist, the SpannerInTheWorks is also one of the hostages, and has to make sure the bad guys don't notice him sneaking off to mess with their plans.
278* ''Film/Trespass1992'' (starring Music/IceT, William Sadler and Creator/BillPaxton) is ''Die Hard'' in an abandoned apartment building, with a twist of GreyAndGrayMorality -- an escalating battle between gang-bangers and petty crooks for the control of a long-lost (and thus pricey) relic.
279* Speaking of ''Trespass'', there's a {{similarly|NamedWorks}} titled [[Film/Trespass2011 2011 movie]], except it plays off as more of a home invasion movie and stars Creator/NicolasCage.
280* ''Film/{{Tube}}'' is ''Die Hard'' in a subway.
281* The ''Film/{{Turbulence}}'' series is ''Die Hard'' on a plane.
282* ''Film/UnderSiege'' is ''Die Hard'' on a warship.
283** ''Film/UnderSiege2DarkTerritory'': Casey Ryback hops on a Colorado to LA train to start a vacation with his niece. Early into the trip, terrorists board the train and use it as a mobile HQ to hijack a top secret destructive US satellite.
284* The Japanese drama ''Film/{{Unfair}}'' had a movie that can basically be described as ''Die Hard in a Hospital.''
285* One of the worst rip-offs is ''Film/TheVault'', which is ''Die Hard'' in an art museum.
286* The b-movie ''Film/VelocityTrap'' is ''Die Hard'' on a spaceship, starring Olivier Grunner and (in one of her first roles) Creator/JorjaFox as one of the bad guys.
287* ''Film/ViolentNight'' is ''Die Hard'' in a BigFancyHouse with SantaClaus -- yes, ''[[BadassSanta that]]'' Santa Claus -- as John [=McClane=] using his magic to thwart the bad guys, taking the popular meme about ''Die Hard'' being [[AnAssKickingChristmas a Christmas movie]] and taking it to its logical conclusion.
288* In ''Film/ViolentSaturday'', Shelley stages a "''Die Hard'' in a barn" (ItMakesSenseInContext), although this is only a small part of the overall story.
289* ''Film/VirtualAssassin'' (AKA Cyberjack) is "Die Hard" in an office building [[JustForFun/RecycledinSPACE in the future]].
290* ''Film/WelcomeToSuddenDeath'' is ''Die Hard'' in a basketball stadium.
291* The Japanese film ''White Out'' is ''Die Hard'' on a dam.
292[[/folder]]
293
294[[folder:Literature]]
295* ''Literature/AnnaPigeon'': ''Destroyer Angel'' is "Die Hard in a National Forest". Anna is on a camping trip with some friends. While she is floating alone in a canoe on the river at night, a gang of kidnappers abduct the others. When Anna finds out what has happened, she pursues the gang through the forest with almost no equipment.
296* ''Literature/ArtemisFowl'''s author Creator/EoinColfer has described the first book in the series as "''Die Hard'' with [[TheFairFolk fairies]]." But in this case, the protagonist is the kidnapper.
297* ''Literature/CiaphasCain'':
298** The short story ''Traitor's Gambit'' is ''Die Hard'' [[JustForFun/RecycledInSpace on a spaceship]], complete with Cain taunting the head terrorist over a vox unit [[spoiler: and the terrorist's leader being more in it for financial gain than for the cause]].
299** ''Cain's Last Stand'' has a scene where a survivor of an alien attack is hiding in the vents. The fact he's still alive when the Tyranids almost always gravitate to the vents (and attack through the same vent moments later) is the first clue [[spoiler: they weren't the original attackers]].
300* ''Literature/TheContinentalOp'': In "The Gutting of Couffignal", the Op finds himself the only resistance when a gang of thugs invades an otherwise deserted island community intent on TakingOverTheTown.
301* The second half of the Literature/DoctorWhoMissingAdventures novel ''System Shock'' is Die Hard in a huge computer hub.
302* The ''Literature/DoctorWhoNewAdventures'' novel ''[=GodEngine=]'' traps thirtieth-century cop Chris Cwej in a Martian military base, upon which he promptly proceeds to wreak mayhem using a strategy his partner informs us is officially known as "The [=McClane=] Protocol".
303* The ''Literature/DreamPark'' novel ''The Moon Maze Game'' is basically a {{LARP}} turned ''Die Hard'' on the moon.
304* {{Parodied|Trope}}/{{Lampshade|Hanging}}d in ''Literature/FullMetalPanic''. In this case, it's the good guys pretending to be terrorists in order to catch real terrorists, and they nickname the heroic troublemaker among the passengers "John [=McClane=]".
305* The latter chapters of the ''Literature/HonorHarrington'' book ''In Enemy Hands'' is Die Hard on a Starship, followed by ''Film/TheGreatEscape'' [[JustForFun/RecycledInSpace In Space]].
306* Gemina in ''Literature/TheIlluminaeFiles'' features this on the [[OurWormholesAreDifferent jump station]] Heimdall. After a group of elite mercenaries take over the station, the only two people on the station not accounted for are the heroes Hanna Donnelly and Nik Malikov. All of the actual security officers have ID tags that are tracked.
307* The fourth ''Literature/LauraCaxton'' book ''23 Hours'' is essentially "''Die Hard'' in a prison... with vampires".
308* ''[[https://web.archive.org/web/20120202003434/http://www.michaeldobbs.com/novels/harry-jones-thrillers/the-lords-day/ The Lords' Day]]'' by Michael Dobbs (who also wrote: the original ''House of Cards'') is ''Die Hard'' in the Houses of Parliament. A quote on the cover calls it "Die Hard with a Stiff Upper Lip".
309* A lot of Creator/AlistairMacLean's books, including ''South by Java Head'' (on a life boat), ''The Golden Gate'' ([[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin on a bridge, duh]]), ''Breakheart Pass'' (on a train), ''Seawitch'' (oil rig), and others.
310* Naturally, there's ''Nothing Lasts Forever'' by Roderick Thorp and ''58 Minutes'' by Walter Wager, the two novels that the first two ''Die Hard'' films were respectively adapted from.
311* ''Literature/PoorMansFight'' by Elliot Kay's second half can best be described as this. A somewhat ordinary soldier is trapped on a starship taken over by criminals and moves through the air ducts to eliminate them one by one.
312* Judith & Garfield Reeves-Steven's novel ''Quicksilver'' is ''Die Hard'' in the Pentagon.
313* In ''Literature/RhythmOfWar'', (the fourth book of ''Literature/TheStormlightArchive'') a significant part of the book deals with [[OurOrcsAreDifferent the Fused]] invading and capturing Urithiru, a massive ancient MagiTek tower-city at the heart of the [[PortalNetwork Oathgate network.]] Several characters are trapped inside and each of them has to work in their own ways to resist and eventually defeat the invaders. Making things more complicated is that the human Radiants, who normally have different magical powers, [[BroughtDownToBadass have their abilities suppressed]] by the Fused subverting Urithiru's defenses. Use of AirventPassageway is quite common as the heroes sneak around the ancient tower.
314* ''Literature/VerticalRun'' by Joseph Garber is ''Die Hard'' in an office building, where the John [=McClane=] of the story is the only target.
315* The ''Literature/YoungBond'' short story "A Hard Man to Kill" is ''Die Hard'' on an ocean liner, starring a teenaged Literature/JamesBond.
316[[/folder]]
317
318[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
319* ''Series/TwentyFour'' did this basically OnceASeason, in addition to drawing enough tonal influences from the original movie that "''Die Hard'' [[RealTime on the clock]]" is not a bad description for it. ''The Unit'', ''Spooks'', ''Ultimate Force'' and ''Strike Back'' are also similar in concept to having ''Die Hard'' type moments even though they're also trying to reflect upon real-life post-9/11 terror attacks.
320* In an episode of ''Series/ThirdRockFromTheSun'', a retiring professor says that he's going to work on his screenplay, which he describes as "''Die Hard'' only set in an office building".
321-->'''Dick:''' ''Die Hard'' '''was''' in an office building.
322-->'''Professor Sutor:''' *glaring* Up yours.
323* ''Series/{{Alias}}'': "The Box" is ''Die Hard'' in SD-6 headquarters with the Hans Gruber copy-cat BigBad played by Creator/QuentinTarantino.
324* The ''Series/AlmostHuman'' episode "Are You Receiving?" is ''Die Hard'' with robots.
325* ''Series/{{Arrow}}'': In the episode "[[Recap/ArrowS4E17BeaconOfHope Beacon of Hope]]" the Bug-Eyed Bandit takes over Palmer Technologies HQ.
326-->'''Felicity:''' We're in a Die Hard movie with bees.
327* ''Series/{{Battlestar Galactica|2003}}'' does this in "The Oath" and "Blood on the Scales," with mostly Lee and Kara (and a bit of Tigh/Adama) as the [=McClane=]. Even Tyrol gets to play [=McClane=] as he crawls through [[AirVentPassageway service tunnels and air ducts]] for most of the episode. So this would be ''Die Hard'' [[JustForFun/RecycledInSpace In Space]]!
328* The ''Series/{{Baywatch}}'' episode "The Tower" has it on the beach and in a lifeguard tower. Naturally, it is Mitch who saves the day.
329* Parodied on ''Series/TheBenStillerShow'' playing Creator/BruceWillis in a ''Die Hard'' sequel... set in a supermarket.
330* ''Series/TheBlacklist'' episode "Anslo Garrick" is "''Die Hard'' in a top secret FBI compound". As an additional ShoutOut, FBIAgent Elizabeth Keen loses her shoes early on and has to run around barefoot, just like John [=McClane=] in the original movie.
331* ''Series/BlakesSeven'' did it in the episode "Power Play" (by Terry Nation). Although bad guys taking over the Liberator wasn't exactly a rare occurrence...
332* ''Series/BrooklynNineNine'': There are many references to ''Die Hard'' throughout the series; Peralta calls it his favorite movie, and states outright he wants to be in such a situation. [[Recap/BrooklynNineNineS5E09NineNine "99"]] features the team visiting the Fox Plaza building- the real-life setting of Nakatomi Plaza- allowing Peralta to indulge his fanboy tendencies such as taking photos at key sets. [[Recap/BrooklynNineNineS3E10YippieKayak "Yippie Kayak"]] is an [[AnAssKickingChristmas ass kicking]] ChristmasEpisode where Peralta, Gina and Boyle get locked in a department store after closing and discover robbers. However, StrawLoser Boyle ends up saving the day in a tank top instead of Peralta, but misheard Bruce Willis' catchphrase and shouts "Yippee Kayak, other buckets!".
333-->'''Jake:''' Oh my god--it's real-life ''Die Hard!'' ...I mean, "Oh no! Crime!"
334* ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'' / ''Series/{{Angel}}'':
335** A second-season episode of ''Buffy'' ("School Hard") admits that it's ripping off this device by entitling the episode where everyone is trapped in a vampire-infested school (''Die Hard'' at Sunnydale High) with Buffy as their only hope.
336** The Bronze is also a popular location for hostage-takings ("The Harvest", "Doppelgangland").
337** ''Angel'' featured an episode where a band of humans take over the demon-owned nightclub Caritas, which happens to be a frequent watering hole of the heroes. The twist is that most of the clubgoers, while demonic, [[NotEvilJustMisunderstood are fully-assimilated and peaceful]], [[HumansAreTheRealMonsters while the gun-toting humans]] [[VanHelsingHateCrimes have devolved into hunting demons for sport even if they haven't done anything wrong]].
338* ''Series/BurnNotice'':
339** In one episode Michael and a rival go ''Die Hard'' in a Bank.
340** A later episode played with the formula. Michael infiltrates a gang of criminals who take over a small airport and take hostages (including Michael's mother). What does Michael do? Sabotage the operation from within and direct the blame towards a nonexistent airport employee.
341* ''Series/{{Chuck}}'':
342** Not only do bad guys take over the Buy More, but Al from ''Die Hard'' also appears, as Big Mike's cousin.
343** In a different episode, different bad guys take over the store after Black Friday when Morgan, Jeff and Lester are the only ones inside. The bad guys take Jeffster hostage while Morgan was in his office taking a foot bath...in a tank top...without shoes. Yes, he uses the vents to get around, yes, he knocks a box of tacks off a shelf...and steps on them. Yes, he decides to make a rescue with a gun taped to his back.
344* The ''Series/{{CSINY}}'' third-season finale "Snow Day" is another example. The NYPD Crime Lab is located in a high-rise(albeit a high-tech one); Mac, Stella & Sheldon are still in the building after the bad guys (an Irish gang intent on getting their seized drug horde back) engineer its evacuation; meanwhile, Danny & Adam are held hostage in a warehouse. Cell phone service goes out in the area for most of the episode. One of the perps shoots another (thinking he's Mac); Mac writes "Find the bullet" on the guy's forehead and sends him down the elevator to Sheldon in the morgue. At another point Stella crawls down the elevator shaft to get the re-stolen drugs back. Mac constructs a pipe bomb and a LaserHallway out of [[LockingMacgyverInTheStoreCupboard things in the lab]] and blows the baddies (not to mention the lab) to smithereens.
345* The episode "All the Queen's Horses" of ''Series/DueSouth'' was ''Die Hard'' on a train full of horses.
346* In the pilot of ''Series/{{Entourage}}'', Vince gets pitched a script that is described as "''Die Hard'' at Disneyland."
347* Happens in Global Dynamics in ''Series/{{Eureka}}'', with Jo Lupo and Zoe Carter.
348* ''Series/{{Farscape}}'':
349** "I Shrink Therefore I Am". ''Die Hard'' is even mentioned by name.
350** "I-Yensch, You-Yensch" has a pair of StupidCrooks take Rygel, Scorpius, [[TheBigGuy D'Argo]], and [[TheDragon Braca]] hostage in a diner while they negotiate. Interestingly, they don’t get out through fighting, but through Rygel and Scorpius being their usual MagnificentBastard selves.
351* The ''Series/FBIMostWanted'' episode "Run-Hide-Fight" was described as "''Die Hard'' in a mall" as terrorists invade and take a mall hostage [[AnAssKickingChristmas during the holiday shopping season]], trapping two of the agents in the mall along with [[RetiredBadass a former police officer]].
352* ''Series/TheGoldbergs'' explored ''Die Hard'' inspired plots in the episode "Yippie Ki Yay, Melon Farmer". After seeing the original film, Adam gets the idea to make his own movie based on it. He looks through several variants before settling on "Die Hard in a treehouse" with the help of his Uncle Marvin.
353* The ''Series/{{Highlander}}'' episode "Bad Day in Building A" is notable in that it borrows the ''Die Hard'' formula to the point of its TechnicalPacifist hero ''killing'' enemy mooks, including at least one he had clearly already succeeded at tying to a chair. Because the Power of Willis is such that even [=Duncan MacLeod=] must kill for it.
354* ''Series/HumanTarget'' has had ''Die Hard'' On A Bullet Train ["Pilot"] (complete with air vent crawl!) and ''Die Hard'' In A Monastery ["Sanctuary"].
355** And who could forget ''Die Hard'' At The Opera ["Imbroglio"]?
356* ''Series/ItsAlwaysSunnyInPhiladelphia'' has "The Gang Gets Taken Hostage". Frank is stuck in the air vents while the[= McPoyle=]s hold the rest of the gang hostage. He even has to walk over broken glass and tape a gun to his back. And at one point he yells "Yipee Ki Yay Mr. Falcon!"
357* The short-lived series ''Series/JohnDoe'' had an episode called "Doe or Die", which was previously titled "Doe Hard".
358* In the ''Series/{{Leverage}}'' episode "The Radio Job", part of the con involves making an FBI agent ''think'' this is what's going on. Eliot manages to get off a "Yippee ki-yay, [[CurseCutShort motherf--]]!"
359* In the ''Series/LoisAndClark'' episode "Fly Hard" (yep, they weren't even trying to hide it), robbers take over the ''Daily Planet'' building and drill the floor, searching for [[BriefcaseFullOfMoney prohibition-era money]]. Of course, part of the humor is that ComicBook/JimmyOlsen slips through the terrorists' fingers when they lock up the hostages (while Clark Kent, of course, is rounded up with everyone else). Jimmy deludes himself into thinking ''he'''s Bruce Willis and is going to save everyone's lives in a rather hilarious InternalMonologue held while crawling through an air duct. He, of course, ends up accomplishing nothing much in particular until Superman finally "arrives" to save the day.
360* ''Series/{{Lucifer}}'' had an episode where some of the main characters were among the people taken hostage in Lucifer's nightclub, Lux. This episode's title? "[[DoubleEntendre Expire Erect]]".
361* ''Series/MacGyver1985'': "Phoenix Under Siege", where the headquarters of the Phoenix Foundation is taken over by criminals, trapping Mac and his grandfather (who had returned to the building to retrieve some hockey tickets) inside. And yes, the hockey tickets play a role in the ultimate resolution. The TV movies ''[=MacGyver=]: Lost Treasure of Atlantis'' and ''[=MacGyver=]: Trail to Doomsday'' also end up referencing ''Die Hard'' and ''Indiana Jones'' cliches.
362* ''Series/MadAboutYou'' played with being Die Hard in a Hospital because the hospital is sealed off after Bruce Willis gets hurt filming the latest ''Die Hard'' film, ''Die Already''. He ends up wandering the hospital ("Do I look concussed?") and helping Paul Rieser's character make it to his daughter's birth.
363* ''Series/TheMiddleman'' episode "The Clotharian Contamination Protocol", in which ''Die Hard'' is referenced repeatedly, both by the characters and via in-jokes. The HQ is aided by the [[ShoutOut Nakatomi]] Protocol, which [[AirVentPassageway widens the air ducts]] and initiates a lockdown. Toward the end of the episode it becomes [[spoiler:Die Hard [[FantasticVoyagePlot In An Android]]]].
364-->'''Dubby:''' How often does the HQ get invaded?
365-->'''The Middleman:''' About three times a year.
366* The ''Series/{{NCIS}}'' episode "The San Dominick" which featured pirates hijacking a ship. It's even lampshaded when Tony says that it's like "Die Hard on a ship".
367** Also episode "Lockdown" is "Die Hard in a biotech lab", with Abby Sciuto hiding from the bad guys and crawling through the air vents.
368* The ''Series/NCISLosAngeles'' episode "Spiral" actually does take place in an office building and has several ''Film/DieHard'' references.
369* ''Series/TheNewAdventuresOfRobinHood'': In "The Birthday Trap", Robin goes to the fiftieth birthday party of his step-mother, where he encounters an old girlfriend. But a band of thieves enter the castle and interrupt the festivities. They round up the guests and steal all their money and trinkets. Robin is seriously wounded in the battle to recover the stolen items. Knowing the castle well, he relies on his cunning to separate the thieves, and lay traps for them in the rooms they find themselves locked in. But Robin faces his biggest battle high on the castle walls.
370* As the characters repeatedly {{lampshade|Hanging}}, Jim & George's subplot of the ''Series/NoOrdinaryFamily'' episode "No Ordinary Detention" is ''Die Hard'' in a police station. The trope is also {{invoked|Trope}}, as they explicitly base their plan on [=McClane=]'s actions. George compares himself to Sgt. Powell ("Let me be your black dude"), and Jim at one point uses the family-friendly half of [=McClane=]'s catchphrase.
371* In the 9th season, ''Series/{{Roseanne}}'' copied ''Film/UnderSiege2DarkTerritory''... of course, it was AllJustADream.
372* ''Series/RushHour'' episode "Oh Hostage My Hostage" was Die Hard in a concert hall. Captain Lindsay Cole is the character (in bare feet) who hides when the rest of the hostages are rounded up. Detectives Carter and Lee climb through an air vent to enter the hall and rescue her.
373--> '''Cpt. Cole:''' I saw your picture in the duffel bag of a gunman who I had to knock out with a bottle of champagne tonight. That was totally Die Hard of me, wasn't it? I'm like Bruce Willis ... but with highlights.
374* ''Series/{{Scorpion}}'' had an episode that was mostly ''Die Hard'' at a tech convention. The invaders try to force one tech giant to use his new banking app to transfer a bank's funds to their account. Who represents Creator/BruceWillis in this situation? Cabe Gallo.
375* ''Series/TheSentinel'' had an episode called "Dead Drop", which involved the main character trying to catch the bad guy by going up elevator shafts, [[StairwellChase running up stairs]], and, in a true ''Die Hard'' moment, swinging in through a window.
376** The second episode of the series fit this trope as well, but it advanced the plot by forcing Jim to use his abilities around his boss several times, [[ReasonableAuthorityFigure letting him in on the secret]].
377* ''Series/StargateSG1''
378** Inverted in "Bad Guys". SG-1 itself is mistaken for a group of terrorists in an alien museum, and a bumbling security guard believes himself to be the [=McClane=]. [[GenreSavvy Naturally]], they lampshade it:
379--->'''Mitchell:''' [over radio while held at gunpoint] "Uh, we've got ourselves a bit of a [=John McClane=] here."\
380'''Daniel:''' What? What're you talking about?\
381'''Teal'c:''' ''Die Hard''.[[note]]The real joke being that [[PopCulturalOsmosisFailure Earthborn Daniel Jackson misses the reference]] and [[KlingonsLoveShakespeare Teal'c, an alien from another planet, catches it]].[[/note]]
382** They've played it straight a few times. The ''Prometheus'' has been taken over by alien or human bad guys on at least two occasions, and once SG-1 had to take it back from an alternate SG-1. (Long story.) The SGC has also been the target of this a few times. (In "Foothold", for example, the [[spoiler:aliens were masquerading as the regular characters, and Sam was the only one who was really herself]]). ''Die Hard''... In Colorado?
383* ''Series/StargateAtlantis'' is fond of this trope:
384** "The Storm" and "The Eye" is a very deliberate reference, because the BigBad (Acastus Kolya) is Robert Davi - who was one of the FBI agents in the original ''Die Hard''. "The Return" does it as well, and also the final season's "The Prodigal", which even ends with Teyla tossing series BigBad off the top floor of the Atlantis main tower. Note that "The Storm/The Eye", "The Return," and the above-mentioned SG-1 episode "Bad Guys" were all penned by staff writer Martin Gero, who apparently has a favorite movie.
385** Averted with "Midway". The Wraith have taken over the SGC, and there are only two people conscious on our side. Perfect time for another "Die Hard at the SGC"... except the two conscious people are [[TheBigGuy Teal'c and Ronon]]. Instead of sneaking around, they just start killing every Wraith they can find.
386* ''Franchise/StarTrek'' has done ''Die Hard'' on a spaceship for a number of episodes across the series:
387** ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'': "[[Recap/StarTrekS1E22SpaceSeed Space Seed]]". However, this aired before ''Die Hard'' was released. So ''Die Hard'' is sort of "''Space Seed'' in an office building"! Sort of...
388** ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'':
389*** The episode "[[Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS6E16StarshipMine Starship Mine]]" couldn't be more clearly an homage to ''Die Hard'' set on the Enterprise. The hero is running around an abandoned complex playing cat-and-mouse with the villains while a separate group are being held hostage. One captured villain calls the hero's bluff about killing him. The hero assumes the villains are terrorists, but they turn out to be thieves. The hero listens in on the villains' communications, and they trade barbs. The hero passes himself off as a civilian when confronted by the villains in person. The official French title for the episode is "28 minutes to live", a reference to the French title for ''Die Hard 2'' (''58 minutes to live'').
390*** "Rascals" has elements of this, with the added twist that several crew members have been turned into children prior to the main events.
391** ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'': For the first six episodes of Season 6, the eponymous station is in enemy hands, with some main characters staging an internal resistance while others plan to retake the station from outside. Also, the beginning of Season 2 sees the crew temporarily handing the station over to Bajoran radicals. And then there's the shrunken shuttlecraft episode, definitely the SpiritualSuccessor of ''[[Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration The Next Generation]]''. Finally, there's the episode "Civil Defense" from Season 3, where the station is hijacked by an automated defense system put in place by Gul Dukat during the Occupation (who, ironically, shows up only to get captured by his own system along with everyone else).
392** ''Series/StarTrekVoyager'': The Doctor was frequently the Bruce Willis, his ProjectedMan status making him immune to whatever incapacitated everyone else.
393*** "Basics, Part II". Voyager is taken by the Kazon-Nistrum and the crew abandoned on a primitive planet without technology. Three unlikely heroes (the Doctor at an early stage of his CharacterDevelopment, renegade Tom Paris, and a former SociopathicSoldier who discovered empathy after a MindMeld) evade the dragnet and have to outsmart MagnificentBitch Seska to retake Voyager.
394*** "Macrocosm". Captain Janeway finds herself the FinalGirl when she returns to Voyager and discovers the crew unconscious and the ship at the mercy of the MonsterOfTheWeek. Can Janeway save the day by stripping down to a [[FanService sweaty]] [[TankTopTomboy tank top]], strapping on a [[{{BFG}} compression phaser rifle]] and doing her best Creator/SigourneyWeaver impersonation?
395*** "The Killing Game", opens with Voyager having been seized by the Hirogen and the crew forced into {{Deadly Game}}s on the holodeck. It's Harry Kim, not the SpotlightStealingSquad of Janeway/Seven/Doctor, who kicks off LaResistance, which is only appropriate as the main holodeck program featured is a [=WW2=] French Resistance scenario.
396*** "Message in a Bottle". The EMH is projected to a Starfleet vessel in the Alpha Quadrant, only to find it's been seized by Romulan commandoes. With the rest of the ship's crew dead by the time he arrived, he has to team up with the vessel's EMH Mark Two to take it back. HamToHamCombat and HilarityEnsues.
397** ''Series/StarTrekEnterprise'':
398*** "Acquisition". The Ferengi make unofficial 'first contact' by taking over the ship and gassing the crew into unconsciousness, leaving Trip (who was in decontamination at the time) to mount an offensive (aided by Archer after he's woken up for the Ferengi to interrogate him).
399*** "Catwalk". With ''Enterprise'' facing a spatial anomaly that will kill the entire crew and can't be outrun, they have to hide in the shielded "catwalks" inside the powered-down warp nacelles, and later use their few spacesuits to mount an offensive when a race of aliens immune to the same anomaly try to take over the ship.
400*** "Chosen Realm". A group of religious extremists try to take ''Enterprise'' and use it as a weapon against their enemies, forcing Archer to trick them into thinking they've executed him while he's really transported to another part of the ship to begin his counter-attack.
401** ''Series/StarTrekDiscovery'':
402*** "There is a Tide..." and "That Hope Is You, Part 2" have ''Discovery'' taken by the Emerald Chain, with Burnham crawling through the Jefferies Tubes playing cat and mouse with Osyraa's mooks while the bridge crew stages their own resistance.
403* ''Series/ThatMitchellAndWebbLook'' featured a sketch in which a terminally ill man's last wish was to do Die Hard. As in re-enact the original movie for real. He's later disappointed when it's not as much fun as he hoped it would be.
404* A season finale episode of ''Series/ThirdWatch'' was essentially "''Die Hard'' in a hospital with five times more cops", and was very action packed for the type of series it was.
405* ''Series/Tracker2001'': "What Lies Beneath" probably qualifies. Zin and his minions break into the Watchfire bar because they've finally realized it's where the superweapon they're seeking is hidden. Zin thinks he's neutralized Cole by having a minion zap him with a gun that tampers with his powers, but they don't count on Mel finding out she's part alien and being able to reverse the effect and get Cole back to normal. Nestov claims he was doing a 'triple cross' as well, but it's left ambiguious as to whether he simply betrayed the heroes or actually was attempting to foil the plan.
406[[/folder]]
407
408[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
409* ''Buck Rogers XXV (in the 25th Century)'' adventure [=XXVCA3=] ''Deimos Mandate'' (1991). When the {{P|layerCharacter}}Cs are on Level 54, a group of pirates will break in and start taking hostages. The [=PC=]s are encouraged to [[AirVentPassageway enter some air ducts and move through them]] in order to ambush and defeat the pirates. One of the people in the room is the prisoner they're there to rescue. If the [=PC=]s attack the pirates they will threaten to shoot one of the hostages unless the players [[PutDownYourGunAndStepAway throw down their guns]]. If the [=PC=]s refuse the pirates will shoot the hostages one at a time until they do so or run away.
410* A common scenario in ''TabletopGame/FengShui'', and discussed in the supplement ''Literature/BlowingUpTheMovies''.
411[[/folder]]
412
413[[folder:Video Games]]
414* ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamAsylum'' is basically ''Die Hard'' in Arkham Asylum started by the Joker. Every predator section in the entire [[Franchise/BatmanArkhamSeries series]] is basically a highly condensed "''Die Hard'' in a room" scenario.
415* ''VideoGame/BrokenHelix'' is ''Die Hard'' on Area51, with [[SemperFi marines]], renegade scientists, and aliens [[MeleeATrois killing each other]]. The player gets stuck in the middle and [[spoiler:can even join either side]].
416* ''VideoGame/{{Chase the Express}}'', [[MarketBasedTitle aka.]] ''Covert Ops: Nuclear Dawn'' is ''Die Hard'' in a NATO armored train. Also counts as a ThrillerOnTheExpress.
417* ''VideoGame/CrisisBeat'' is ''Die Hard'' on a ferry. Complete with a Christmas setting.
418* ''VideoGame/DeadSpace1'' is Die Hard on a spaceship -- [[EverythingsDeaderWithZombies with zombies!]]
419* The opening level of ''VideoGame/DeepFreeze'' starts out like ''Die Hard'', but becomes more of a global adventure once it's over. That said, the final level becomes ''Die Hard'' on a warship just to balance it out.
420* ''VideoGame/DieHardVendetta'', unsurprisingly, has these in ''all'' the levels. There's Die Hard in a museum, in a subway, a Hollywood studio, and the Holmes Observatory. The references even becomes full-circle with one stage being Die Hard in the Nakatomi Plaza where it all started!
421* ''VideoGame/{{Expert}}'' is ''Die Hard'' in a Japanese office building, where you're an elite JSDF operative against a group of WesternTerrorists.
422* The entire middle portion (About 60-70% of the game) of ''VideoGame/FirstEncounterAssaultRecon'' is "Die Hard in an Office Building", like the original Die Hard movie, except replace terrorists with psychically controlled super soldiers and one madder-than-hell StringyHairedGhostGirl playing merry hell with them and the others and [=McClane=] with a slo-mo using, round house kicking [[HeroicMime Silent Protagonist]]. Also instead of Hans Gruber we get a telepathic and psychotic cannibal named Paxton Fettel [[spoiler:Who is also your brother]].
423* ''VideoGame/FreedomFighters2003'' is essentially ''Die Hard'' in New York City. Specifically, the [[AlternateHistory city is under Soviet control]] and it's up to the player to rally the citizens to take it back.
424* ''VideoGame/HalfLife1'' is pretty much ''Die Hard'' in a research facility.
425** Not to mention an older example -- ''VideoGame/{{Doom}}'', anyone? Only replace "demons" with "aliens" and "hell" with "an alternate dimension".
426** Alyx lampshades Dr. Freeman's proclivity for air-vent exploration in ''Episode One''.
427* The obscure Creator/{{Sunsoft}} Platform/PlayStation game ''VideoGame/HardEdge'' is basically a ''very'' anime ''Die Hard'' on a research building.
428* ''{{VideoGame/Iji}}'' is essentially ''Die Hard'' in a Military Facility during an Alien Invasion.
429* The escape from the belly of the ''Leviathan'' in ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublic'' is either ''Die Hard'' on a spaceship, or a biblical reference.
430* ''VideoGame/MassEffect2'' has a Die Hard on the Normandy scene when Joker has to escape the Collectors and find Shepard to go rescue the rest of the crew.
431** The last section of the "Arrival" DLC, where Shepard has to fight through [[spoiler: the Indoctrinated Alliance team]] and destroy the Alpha Relay before the Reapers can establish a beachhead, can be summed up as Die Hard on an Asteroid.
432** In ''VideoGame/MassEffect3'', the plot of the "Citadel" DLC is essentially ''Die Hard'' on the Citadel, culminating with a frantic shootout on the ''Normandy'' as Shepard rushes to retake the ship. It's even chocked with characters, good and bad alike, who are spouting cheesy one-liners like an '80s action movie. ''Die Hard'' on the Normandy: Die Harder?
433* ''VideoGame/MetalGear'':
434** The original ''VideoGame/MetalGear1'' had a similar basic plot as ''Die Hard'', but came out one year before it. Solid Snake is an operative with the special forces group FOXHOUND sent to infiltrate the fortified rogue African state of Outer Heaven and destroy their titular HumongousMecha superweapon.
435** The sequel ''VideoGame/MetalGear2SolidSnake'' has him sent to infiltrate the rogue Central Asian state of Zanzibar Land to rescue a kidnapped scientist who had developed a revolutionary new alternative energy source.
436** ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid'' was ''Die Hard'' in an Alaskan nuclear disposal facility. After the events of the last two games, several members of FOXHOUND went rogue and took over Shadow Moses Island, threatening to launch a nuclear attack against the US with the weapons at the facility unless they received one billion dollars and the remains of their slain leader Big Boss. Snake is brought out of retirement and sent in to take them out.
437** ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid2SonsOfLiberty'' is ''Die Hard'' on an oil tanker in New York Harbor in its prologue. The tanker is carrying a top-secret new model of Metal Gear when it is hijacked by Russian mercenaries, and Snake, who was aboard the ship to obtain evidence of the new Metal Gear, fights back only to get framed for the attack. The rest of the game is ''Die Hard'' in the marine decontamination facility built to contain the oil spill from the sinking of that ship, with the leader of the terrorists claiming to be Solid Snake. [[spoiler:At least, that's what they tell Raiden initially. It's not that simple. [[MindScrew Not]] [[GainaxEnding at]] [[Recap/MetalGearSolid2SonsOfLiberty all.]]]]
438** ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid3SnakeEater'' was ''Die Hard'' in a Soviet military base during the Cold War. Naked Snake is sent to infiltrate the base to prevent a coup attempt against the USSR, destroy the superweapon that the coup plot's leader has under his control, and assassinate an American soldier (who is also his former mentor) who defected to the Soviets and is working with the villain.
439** ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid4GunsOfThePatriots'' is a bit like ''Live Free or Die Hard'' in the sense that Snake does quite a bit of traveling in the game. This game lets us add "''Die Hard'' in the Middle East, South America, Europe and Alaska" before coming back to being on a ship again (which this time around is more like StormingTheCastle).
440* The "[[Film/DrStrangelove No Fighting in the War Room]]" mission of the first ''VideoGame/ModernWarfare'' is ''Die Hard'' in a nuclear weapons facility. The mission "Turbulence" in ''Modern Warfare 3'' is basically "''Die Hard'' on the Russian President's plane". So, it is really more like "''Film/AirForceOne'' with Russians".
441* In ''VideoGame/PaperMario'', there is a "''Die Hard'' starring Princess Peach" [[UnexpectedGameplayChange segment]] after every chapter. The castle has been taken over by Bowser, and you have to use secret passages and disguises to sneak around and, at one point, [[ARareSentence stealthily bake a cake.]]
442* The Website/{{Newgrounds}} game ''[[VideoGame/{{Pico}} Pico's School]]'' is ''Die Hard'' in a school shooting.
443* The various ''Pokémon'' games include ''Die Hard'' in an [[VideoGame/PokemonRedAndBlue office building]], [[VideoGame/PokemonGoldandSilver a radio tower]], [[VideoGame/PokemonRubyAndSapphire a volcano, an oceanic museum, a weather institute, a submarine pen, a space centre,]] [[VideoGame/PokemonDiamondAndPearl a wind farm, two office buildings, another mountain]], [[VideoGame/PokemonBlackAndWhite a forest, a cold-storage warehouse, a castle,]] [[VideoGame/PokemonBlack2AndWhite2 a sewer, a crater,]] [[VideoGame/PokemonXAndY a solar power plant, a Pokeball factory, a cafe,]] [[VideoGame/PokemonSunAndMoon a whole walled city]] ''and then some''. In fact, there's pretty much a guarantee that you'll deal with a situation like this at least once in a Pokemon game (''VideoGame/PokemonMysteryDungeon'' [[VideoGame/PokemonSnap and]] [[VideoGame/HeyYouPikachu other]] [[VideoGame/PokemonChannel spin-offs]] [[VideoGame/PokemonRumble excluded]]). {{Justified|Trope}}, in that the villainous groups pretty much ''are'' Die Hard terrorists/crime syndicates, especially Team Rocket.
444* The first ''VideoGame/SystemShock'' is ''Die Hard'' on a space station. With a rogue [[AIIsACrapshoot homicidal AI and cyborgs]]. The [[VideoGame/SystemShock2 second one]] is set on two of humanity's first commercial starships. With even worse and more horrifying [[SurvivalHorror threats]]...[[spoiler:then it turns Die Hard in a ship-sized Body Horror, the Body of the Many.]]
445* The sci-fi arcade shooter ''VideoGame/SurpriseAttack'' have you playing as a SpacePolice officer dealing with a Die Hard on a Space Station.
446* The original ''VideoGame/TimeCrisis'' is ''Die Hard'' in a castle, while ''Time Crisis 3'' is ''Die Hard'' in a Mediterranean island. The spinoff ''Crisis Zone'' is ''Die Hard'' in an urban complex and around USefulNotes/{{London}}.
447[[/folder]]
448
449[[folder:Webcomics]]
450* ''Webcomic/BobTheAngryFlower'': From the people who brought you ''Submarine Action Movie'' and ''Airplane Action Movie'', now comes ''[[http://www.angryflower.com/traina.gif Train Action Movie!!!]]''
451* ''Webcomic/TheDragonDoctors'' arc "Thieves of life" is a "''Die Hard'' In A Hospital" scenario. Goro, the sickly surgeon, is fighting off four thieves while awaiting her LifeEnergy transplant.
452* In [[http://www.firmanproductions.com/?p=682 strip #349]] of Micheal Firman's ''Webcomic/{{Moe}}'', while not a reconstruction of this trope in itself, the titular character tries to pitch an action-romance movie based on this format, albeit without being able to think of any romantic movie to merge Die Hard ''with''.
453-->"I'm picturing something like Die Hard [[JustForFun/XMeetsY meets]]... That scene in Die Hard where he gets all gushy over his wife"
454* In ''Webcomic/{{xkcd}}'' [[https://xkcd.com/705/ "Devotion to Duty"]] the hostage takers are confronted by a sysadmin who climbs up the ventilation ducts and over the broken glass. He doesn't care about the hostages, he just wants to get the server back up.
455[[/folder]]
456
457[[folder:Websites]]
458* ''Website/SCPFoundation'': The tale "Game Day 1" is [[https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/game-day-1-die-hardest "Die Hard" in Site-17]], but GoneHorriblyWrong.
459[[/folder]]
460
461[[folder:Web Videos]]
462* WebVideo/HonestTrailers discusses this during their video for the original ''Die Hard'' film. They point that it it is the original masterpiece that inspired several knock-offs, like: [[Film/{{Speed}} "Die Hard" on a Bus]], [[Film/{{Daylight}} "Die Hard" in a tunnel]], [[Film/{{Cliffhanger}} "Die Hard" on a mountain]], [[Film/OlympusHasFallen "Die Hard" in the White House]], [[Film/WhiteHouseDown "Die Hard" in the White House 2]], [[Film/PaulBlartMallCop "Die Hard" in a mall]], [[Film/Speed2CruiseControl "Die Hard" on a boat]], [[Film/UnderSiege "Die Hard" on this other boat]], [[Film/SuddenDeath "Die Hard" in a rink]], [[Film/UnderSiege2DarkTerritory "Die Hard" on a train]], [[Film/{{Passenger57}} "Die Hard" in a plane]], [[Film/ExecutiveDecision "Die Hard" in another plane]], [[Film/AirForceOne "Die Hard" in the president's plane]], [[Film/SnakesOnAPlane "Die Hard" in a plane... with snakes!]] and [[Film/AGoodDayToDieHard "Die Hard", but awful]].
463* Explored in WebVideo/TheBadMovieBible's ''Borrowing Blockbusters'' episode on [[BMovie (usually cheap)]] movies made to [[FollowTheLeader cash in on the success]] of ''Die Hard''. The videos group rip-off films into sections by which location they take place in: a skyscraper, a plane, a mall, a performance venue, InSpace, etc. The videos also highlight how these movies often copy ''Die Hard'''s other prominent tropes like RightManInTheWrongPlace, IHaveYourWife, a Powell-type character acting as a LivingEmotionalCrutch as well as MissionControl, and a WickedCultured villain.
464[[/folder]]
465
466[[folder:Western Animation]]
467* The ''WesternAnimation/AmericanDad'' episode "The Long Bomb" is essentially "Die Hard in a football stadium." Stan even wears a white tank top for it.
468* ''WesternAnimation/AvengersAssemble:'' A good part of "Under Siege" is "''Die Hard'' in Avengers Tower", even more so than the story it takes its name from, with Hawkeye stuck inside the tower up against a gang of criminals led by a German man looking to steal something. Bonus points for Hawkeye being barefoot like [=McClane=] was in the original movie.
469* ''WesternAnimation/TheAvengersEarthsMightiestHeroes'':
470** "Masters of Evil" has some of the Avengers' biggest villains at the time take over the Avengers Mansion, and capture five of the Avengers. ComicBook/AntMan, ComicBook/{{Hawkeye}}, and ComicBook/BlackPanther subsequently have to rescue their fellow superheroes.
471** "Alone Against AIM" was actually promoted once as, "''Die Hard'' at Stark Industries!" The Scientist Supreme cuts off the power at the main Stark Industries office building, and takes Pepper Potts hostage, while also stealing some of ComicBook/IronMan's armor. This leaves an un-armored Tony Stark having to stop AIM from blowing up the building, with the Technovore chasing him in pursuit of the arc reactor in his chest. One scene even shows Tony descending an elevator shaft together with Maria Hill.
472* Parodied in ''WesternAnimation/TheBoondocks''. Music/FiftyCent plays a heroic air marshal who has to stop a bunch of terrorists who've taken over the plane... by using the fat stewardess as a BulletproofHumanShield.
473* Done as a whole plot reference in ''WesternAnimation/TheClevelandShow'' in the episode "Die Semi-Hard".
474* Parodied in the ''WesternAnimation/CloseEnough'' episode "Man Up", where Emily's office building is taken over by armed thieves and her husband Josh subdues them with ease (in a tank top, of course) [[MagicFeather believing it to be an act]]. Once he realizes that it's real, the CentipedesDilemma kicks in and his badassery immediately goes out the window.
475* A clip show episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheCritic'' was framed around Jay's show being taken over by terrorists led by a Hans Gruber {{Expy}}. In the end [[BigDamnHeroes they were defeated]] by HighlyVisibleNinja Milton Berle.
476* The ''WesternAnimation/DextersLaboratory'' episode "Trapped With A Vengeance" had Dexter facing the janitor who wouldn't let him leave school, and had several {{Shout Out}}s to iconic scenes from ''Die Hard''.
477* The ''WesternAnimation/{{Fillmore}}'' episode "A Cold Day at X" is ''Die Hard'' In A Middle School.
478* ''WesternAnimation/InsideJob2021'': In "My Big Flat Earth Wedding", Glenn attempts this when the flat-Earthers take over the ship, but his fat gut gets him stuck in the AirVentPassageway.
479* ''WesternAnimation/RickAndMorty'': In "Rick: A Morty Well Lived", this is parodied and invoked when the alien arcade Rick, Morty and Summer are at get attacked by alien terrorists in what is frequently referred to as "doing a Die Hard". Summer, being a zoomer, never actually watched Die Hard and only really knows parts of the film via cultural osmosis, but gets the John [=McClane=] role. The Gruber parody reveals that he actually comes from a culture that reveres Die Hard and that [[WeHaveThoseToo various cultures throughout the universe have created their own versions of Die Hard]] with different names (including the sequels), with his entire EvilPlan simply being to reenact the film.
480-->'''Summer:''' [firing a blaster and throwing grenades] Die Hard Die Hard Die Hard!
481* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'':
482** [[Recap/TheSimpsonsS4E2AStreetcarNamedMarge The episode]] where Maggie rescues the other babies from a creche made a lot of references to ''Film/TheGreatEscape'', but was actually more like ''Die Hard'' In A Nursery.
483** Parodied in the episode [[Recap/TheSimpsonsS6E13AndMaggieMakesThree "And Maggie Makes Three"]] (bear in mind, this is something Homer is imagining in the spur of the moment to lie about why there's no pictures of Maggie):
484--->'''German Terrorist:''' Attention, American workers: your plant has been taken over by an all-star team of freelance terrorists.\
485'''Homer:''' Not on ''my'' shift! (''jumps into an overhead vent'').
486* The ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'' episode "[[Recap/SouthParkS12E7SuperFunTime Super Fun Time]]" is essentially ''Die Hard'' at Ye Olde Settlement, where a team of terrorists, complete with a Hans lookalike, takes a frontier-town educational park hostage after robbing a Burger King.
487* ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheCloneWars'': [[Recap/StarWarsTheCloneWarsS1E22HostageCrisis "Hostage Crisis"]] is basically "''Die Hard'' in the Republic Senate building", with Anakin as John [=McClane=] and bounty hunter Cad Bane as Hans Gruber. Instead of having no shoes like [=McClane=], Anakin has no lightsaber. Unlike most examples of the trope, Anakin does ''not'' stop the villains: [[TheBadGuyWins they successfully take over the building, make their demands and then make good their escape]]. Anakin himself is captured without putting any real dents in the villains' efforts and spends the rest of the crisis unconscious and held with the rest of the hostages. However, Anakin does get a redemption at the end of the episode when he saves the lives of the hostages [[ForTheEvulz when Cad Bane was going to blow them up after he had already gotten away]].
488* The ''WesternAnimation/SWATKats'' episode "Destructive Nature" actually is ''Die Hard'' in an office building -- only with a MadScientist and his {{Man Eating Plant}}s as the villains.
489* When ''WesternAnimation/StaticShock'' crossed over with ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague'' in the episode "A League Of Their Own, Pt. 1," Static and Gear were left on the League's Watchtower when the League answered a fake distress call sent by Brainiac who infiltrated the Tower's computer systems. When Static and Gear realize the space station is actually trying to kill them they have to work with the returning Justice League to take Brainiac down from the inside while the station's defenses and Brainiac's newly created MechaMooks get in their way. They succeed, no spoiler, but since the episode is a two-parter...
490* ''WesternAnimation/ThunderbirdsAreGo'': In "Fireflash", Kayo is riding aboard ''Fireflash'', a supersonic airliner that was recently improved by Brains, unaware that the Hood is planning to hijack it in mid-flight. While International Rescue notices the plane has suddenly vanished from their monitors and attempt to locate it, Kayo manages to avoid a powerful gas attack that has knocked out both the passengers and the crew, and is forced to not only confront the Hood, but also safely land the airliner when the craft is accidentally damaged and the landing gear fails to deploy.
491* ''Franchise/{{Transformers}}''
492** ''WesternAnimation/BeastWars'': "A Better Mousetrap" does this with a unique twist: it's the building where Rattrap is hiding that is trying to kill him. He sets off the security system and tries to deactivate it.
493** ''WesternAnimation/TransformersAnimated'': The episode "Decepticon Air" did ''Die Hard'' on an Elite Guard Spaceship. Complete with bomb-down-the-elevator-shaft and grumbling while crawling through the air vent.
494* ''WesternAnimation/{{Unikitty}}'' did a WholePlotReference to ''Die Hard'' in the episode "Top of the Naughty List," which was basically ''Die Hard'' in Santa's workshop.
495* The ''WesternAnimation/WhatIf'' episode," What If... Happy Hogan Saved Christmas?" is ''Die Hard'' in the Avengers tower.
496* In the ''WesternAnimation/{{Young Justice|2010}}'' episode "Home Front", Robin and Artemis, the {{Badass Normal}}s of the team, are hunted throughout their own base by a team of ridiculously powerful androids.
497[[/folder]]

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