A Good Day to Die Hard: Movie Review

A Good Day to Die Hard: Movie Review

Cast: Bruce Willis, Jai Courtney, Sebastian Koch, Yuliya Snigir
Director: John Moore

Did you know it's nearly 25 years since Bruce Willis first went out as John McClane?

Bruce Willis and Jai Courtney star in A Good Day to Die Hard

In the fifth outing for the iconic cop, McClane's off to Russia to help his estranged son, Jack (Courtney) after he ends up on the wrong side of the law.

But, the son's not that keen on seeing the dad and when he winds up slap bang in the middle of a clash between the Russian underworld and the corrupt government, John McClane's got only one choice - to grab a gun and do what he does best.

Shoot people and save the day. And deliver some memorable quips and one-liners as he does so.

Except with A Good Day to Die Hard, that's really not on offer this time around.

In Die Hard 5, Bruce Willis looks unenthusiastic and even tired throughout the flick and the bond with the son (who I don't believe we've ever heard of before in the entire 4 other films) is strained at best. That's despite the best efforts of Spartacus star Jai Courtney, who in turns grimaces and looks angry as he tries to keep up with a) the betrayal plot and b) the enormous number of car chases throughout.

But, where is the fun in Die Hard 2013?

It's a faceless, dour and dare I say it, at times, dull and flat affair which transpires on the screen; formulaic and soulless, it's lacking any of the humour of the previous Die Hard movies. Even the bad guys this time around are from the rent a shop, Euro-baddies (where Taken 2 brought in most of their last outing as bad guys) - they're not memorable at all or even worthy of facing off against the pair.

Yuliya Snigir in Die Hard 5

Even shots of Yuliya Snigir flashing the flesh early on aren't enough to inject some life into this flagging, flaccid Die Hard movie. Director John Moore seems to jerk the camera around so much during the car chase sequences or in set up scenes that it loses focus right away - and with leaden dialogue not helping out either, A Good Day to Die Hard is nothing short of a letdown to fans of the John McClane franchise.

Which is a real shame because there are some moments when they've got this new Die Hard right. A sequence where the two McClanes drop through scaffolding like an old school cartoon and through windows to escape offers up something a little new to the action franchise - and even gives us a bit of sorely needed bonding and banter between the pair afterwards. Likewise, a scene where McClane Sr rues the times he's let down his son give the weary looking Willis an edge he needs and a humanity that in later life his character desperately needs.

Ultimately though, A Good Day to Die Hard is a succession of dumb action sequences (mostly involving cars and trucks before a ludicrous fiery finale in Chernobyl of all places) which hammers home what exactly is missing from the latest one - a sense of humour, some memorable moments and a real sense of triumph when McClane saves the day.

In fact, you could almost say that this is indeed A Good Day to put this to bed.

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