Review - A Good Day To Die Hard

This Die Hard Dies

 

John McClane (Bruce Willis) is one of my favorite characters of all time. He has had that ability to be a smart wiseacre underdog that always finds a way.

 

I’ve loved the one-liners.

 

I’ve loved the resilience.

 

I’ve loved the action.

 

I’ve loved the explosions.

 

I’ve LOVED the Die Hard franchise.

 

But I didn’t love A Good Day To Die Hard.

 

Let’s do the short version on the plot here for everyone to bring you up to speed.

 

Jack McClane (Jai Courtney) is in trouble. A strange series of events has him in a Russian jail awaiting a hearing on killing a man. His dad John (Bruce Willis) tracked down his son and wants to reunite with him, but now travels from New York to Russia to try and free him from the law. And then…things get interesting.

 

You see, Jack is an agent of the CIA and was working deep cover on a case (which is why his dad hadn’t heard from him in awhile) when the alleged murder took place. Now, either John is in the wrong place at the wrong time…or he is just doing his job, as a New York City cop…in Russia; or his job as a father to bring his son home. Either way…a McClane always dies hard.

 

So now you know the story, or kind of know the story, but what did I think?

 

I’m a fan, so this is more a rant than a review.

 

I’ll be honest, I was prepared for this film to be “bad” and in the same breath be just what I wanted it to be. Unfortunately, it was just bad.

 

What I have come to love about John McClane is all of the things I mentioned above. Sure, I know the films have generally lacked realism…but I don’t care! In this film, they not only diminish realism they have neutered the life of John McClane.

 

What used to be a fun underdog that we all cheered for was lost. Sure he was still an underdog in this film, but the lack of a relatable surrounding hurt the character. We’ve seen LA, New York, Dulles Airport and the DC area on film a million times…and we can relate to the surroundings. Here we have a guy that is really out of place, that we just can’t believe how he got there and the process of events.

 

What used to be humorous and fun was gone. I think the screenplay is the biggest culprit here. There are ridiculous set ups and ridiculous leaps of faith that are taken to get the point across. And we don’t pepper it with a lot of humor. Instead McClane becomes generic action hero A. And that is NOT what he needs to be.

 

And while a couple of the explosions and action sequences DO pop, the bulk are just another scene type moments that will not go down in the annals of a fight with Hans Gruber. Which, by the way, is another thing missing here…a strong villain that you can hate from the get go.

 

But I think this can be saved…yes I’m an optimist. I’m sure many of the other reviews you will read will call for this to be the end of the Die Hard franchise, but I say NO!

 

They NEED to make a 6^th film in this series. They NEED to bring back the humor, the explosions, the action, the wittiness, the hectic recklessness, the cool villain, the heart and most of all the FUN that has made Die Hard movies become an institution.

 

Yes, I’m probably a bit nicer with my grade than most, I understand that, but I have a love affair with this franchise. It IS what made me love action films. And it can be again. But this Die Hard, and I’m sad to have to say this, just DIES.

 

C-

 

A Good Day To Die Hard

20^th Century Fox

 

Director: John Moore

Cast: Bruce Willis, Jai Courtney, Sebastian Koch

 

Rating: R for violence and language.

Runtime: 1 hour 37 minutes