A Good Day to Die Hard Review

A Good Day to Die Hard

Director: John Moore

Cast Headliners: Bruce Willis, Jai Courtney

Original Release Date: February 14th, 2013

            Die Hard is a franchise which has adapted to the time period it’s in. The 80’s are thought of as a time of manly action films. One of the reasons for this is that the first Die Hard set the paradigm for testosterone-fueled shoot em up adventures. 2 were more of the same, and 3 and 4 were experiments to match the 90’s and 00’s respectively. A Good Day to Die Hard, or “Die Hard 5”  is technically apart of the modern era, but it feels like it’s stuck in the past for a few reasons.

            John Mcclane never really has time to rest does he?  McClane (played by the real life version of the character Bruce Willis) is going about his normal life when he hears that his Jack (Courtney) has gotten into a plot in Russia and is in danger. McClane, always the hero, travels there. Jack’s storyline is very interesting, as he is working to free a prisoner named Yuri Komarov.  That is the start of the film, and I don’t want to spoil the details because one of the movies strengths are the twists and turn which happen.
            Another of the great aspects of this and all Die Hard movies are the action scenes. They have been more ridiculous in scale with each installment, and the ones here inspired claps from the audience I was in. The car scene involving re-uniting father and son McClane is wonderful thrilling. Tons of damage is done to Moscow, and the pacing is great.  Another highlight is the finale, which has some extremely awesome explosions.

            The main problem with this film is , while when it does happen it’s great, there is not enough action. The run time is less than two hours, making the whole thing end just as it starts to get interesting. There is some great father/son humor, and their chemistry together is something I would want to see in future Die Hards. But their time together is so short it’s a bit hard to appreciate what they have going for them. McClane Jr is a badass character every bit as crazy as his father, and Courtney is a perfect addition the series. It’s a shame that it takes a while for the two to start to get along.

            The film just kind of happens; it lacks a depth the old ones have. Yuri, who I won’t say where his allegiance lies, is a decent character but has the dialogue of a Russian stereotype,. Every antagonist commander and henchmen feels like a stereotype, but not in a good way. They are like Saturday morning cartoon villains in comparison to Hans Gruber for example. The way the plot is given is a bit disjointed as well. These two factors are reminiscent of b-films from the 80’s.  There is some decent fun to be had, but Die Hard has finally become like a knock off of the genre it helped define. Willis is looking a bit old to be saving the world too I might add. 7.6 out of 10.