A Good Day to Die Hard

A good day to die hard is nothing short of abysmal...it makes 4.0 look quite the exception.

Ah, how things have changed since the Nakatomi plaza was over-run and saved by an average Joe in a tank-top. A sequel and a third completed what was quite a fantastic trilogy in my opinion. Fast forward, with a brief mention of how 4.0 was mediocre, the latest instalment stars Bruce Willis in a movie that should not be classed among the rest. In fact to call what I am about to review a Die Hard movie is insulting its predecessors.

Following the arrest of his forgotten son, John McClane (Bruce Willis) is once again on the road headed for Russia in an attempt to bring him home. Little does John know (or maybe he does) chaos awaits them both as his son Jack (Jai Courtney); a CIA operative, is determined to stop a nuclear heist. John on the other hand, consistently reminds us of how he is on vacation and just wants to get them both home safe. Given John's past, he can't help but get sucked into a 15 minute car chase that eventually leads to a movie mashed up of sequences of loud noise and over the top stunts, bad CGI and irrelevant explosions...oh and a Yippee Kai Yay without the Motherfucker!

John McClane's return is poorly played out with a dumbed down act of what he once was. Fans of the franchise will fail to recognise this nice, happy-go lucky soccer dad wanna-be that just doesn't fit the character we once knew. He is overshadowed by his son's irritating ego, having a moan in every sequence about how he never had a father-son relationship. The catchphrases and references of the past are scrapped, with a plethora of family cliche's and nonsense shoot-outs along with aiming for a younger demographic has ultimately distinguished the gritty elements that made the originals so popular.

The one thing that stood out in the originals was the fact that each movie supported a significant bad-guy that McClane struggled to cope with, but inevitably came out on top. However the latest is just a rampage of bad-guys coming and going; Alik (Radivoje Bukvic) is one of them who completes a cast that failed to make any real impression. Heck, even 4.0 had Timothy Olyphant who wasn't great, but was not bad either. We don't even get a Timothy Olyphant this time around!

This is unfortunately another bad movie from John Moore; responsible for Max Payne (2008) and The Omen (2006). John's Die Hard is painted with exaggerated action attempts that in parts are visually fantastic, but far from believable. The heavy music over each shoot-out is typical of modern day block-busters that aim to grab your attention visually, not logically. When Die Hard 4.0 was released in 2007 there was a critical parade of disgust due to its PG12 rating. So there was high hopes for Die Hard this time round with its R-rated 15s but its lack of logic, significance and drama - Jai Courtney sums up what is a silly action movie that should by all means distant itself from the die hard franchise.

3/10