Review: A Good Day To Die Hard

Review: A Good Day To Die Hard

Mission: Impossible meets The Avengers in the most ridiculously over the top Die Hard movie yet. 

Spectacular stunts do not a movie make, and while Bruce Willis is as charismatic as ever during his portrayal of kick-ass detective John McClane, a weak narrative, poor comedy and the requirement to suspend disbelief makes A Good Day To Die Hard (or Die Hard 5) the weakest instalment in a franchise which has now become a shadow of its former self.

Whereas the original trilogy had McClane in believable, real peril facing off against deadly terrorists on his own, Die Hard 5 sees him teaming up with his estranged son Jack, portrayed with no particular enthusiasm by Jai Courtney. When Jack is arrested in Russia John departs New York and sets off to help his son, only to find that Jack is actually an undercover CIA Agent attempting to thwart a terrorist plot to unleash weapons-grade uranium on the world. Together the newly formed family team fight side by side to defeat the "scumbag bad guys." Sounds like an okay plot for a passable two-player video game, but the Die Hard series deserves better.

What follows is action scene after action scene, car chases galore and ridiculously unbelievable shots of Willis and Courtney dodging helicopter rotors making them seem more like superheroes rather than cops. Just when it seems as though it might finally be time to sit down and try some exposition or character development, the father-son duo get shot at again to keep them on the move. While it's good that the film is excitingly action packed, it can be frustrating as the script fails to delve into its potential regarding John and Jack McClane getting to know each other after so many years. 

Perhaps the fault is down to Jai Courtney's dull representation of Jack - it's hard to believe that someone as badass as John McClane could produce such a one-dimensional, boring offspring who can only pull off one facial expression. To cut a long story short, Courtney is no Samuel L.Jackson in Die Hard With A Vengeance - in fact, even Justin Long was a more enjoyable sidekick in Live Free Or Die Hard.

Even the usually witty comedy misses its mark this time around with lines regarding John's fish-out-of-water status in Russia resulting in some cringe-worthy jokes - and don't even get me started on the hideously inappropriate punchlines poking fun at a real-life Russian disaster which cost many lives.

There are a few nods to the original Die Hard flicks which raise a grin or two though, such as broken glass shots or building falls, but when they come at the end of a movie that has nothing on its predecessors, it's hard to wish you weren't watching one of them instead of this loud, pointless riot of a movie.

Summary

I wanted to love Die Hard 5 but it just didn't happen. A lot of the blame can be directed at the narrative,  with shoddy writing, a blatantly unintelligent plot and one-note villains failing to raise any interest. The action is exciting enough, but too much of a good thing quickly makes it tiresome and when it becomes as unbelievable as the film's climax one begins to question whether or not John McClane has turned into a superhero overnight. Still, equipped with trademark smirk Bruce Willis is always entertaining to watch especially when he is in full kick-ass mode. Overall though, A Good Day To Die Hard is a bad day for the Die Hard series.

3/10 - Yippee-Ki-Nay.

See it if you liked: Die Hard 4.0 (2007), Mission Impossible 4 (2011), Jack Reacher (2012)