Die Hard (film series) memorable." James Berardinelli wrote that the film "represents the class of modern action pictures and the standard by which they must be judged." Critic Desson Howe wrote that "Willis has found the perfect vehicle to careen wildly onto the crowded L.A. freeway of "Lethal Weapons" and "Beverly Hills Cops"." Willis was also called "perfect as the wisecracking John McClane" and "an excellent casting choice as a sardonic action hero." Alan Rickman's portrayal of villain Hans Gruber was described as "marvelous" and "a career-making performance." Gruber also ranked 46 on the villain side of AFI's 100 Years...100 Heroes and Villains. In
Live Free or Die Hard in the previous films. He also said that this film was the best of the four: "It's unbelievable. I just saw it last week. I personally think, it's better than the first one." In the United Kingdom, the British Board of Film Classification awarded the film a 15 rating (including the unrated version, released later), the same as "Die Hard with a Vengeance" and "Die Hard 2", albeit both were cut for both theatrical and video release, (the first film in the series originally received an 18 certificate). All films have been re-rated 15 uncut. Die Hard 4.0 was released