After learning of his son's incarceration in Russia, John McClain flies overseas in an attempt to help his long-lost son in anyway possible. On his arrival and through the subsequent action sequence, John discovers that his seemingly wayward son, Jack, is not a criminal but actually a CIA operative working to prevent a nuclear-weapons heist. Being cut-off from communication with Langley, John teams up with his son Jack, to once again fight seemingly insurmountable odds. John Moore's A Good Day to Die Hard is another big, loud, action flick that feels nothing like the other films in the Die Hard series. Instead, this film is shiny, slick and over-the-top, having more in common with recent generic action films than the quintessential action film, Die Hard. For starters the narrative of A Good Day to Die Hard really doesn't fit the character of Jhon McClane. McClane has always been a character who just happens to find himself at the wrong place at the wrong time with no real desire to do anything that risks himself getting killed. In this version he is the one who shows up and promptly jumps into the mayhem to save his son. There is a paternal argument to be made, but really the biggest problem lies in the fact that McClane feels more like Rambo than the average man in a bad situation. The action throughout A Good Day to Die Hard is very over-the-top, with McClane looking unstoppable. There is absolutely no tension in this film or suspense as I never once felt McClane was in real danger. The script's narrative is certainly generic but what bothered me more is just now inorganic McClane's oneliners felt. It never felt geniune coming from Willis' mouth almost as if the filmmakers simply felt obligated but put absolutely no passion into the character. To be fair to A Good Day to Die Hard, there are quite a few fun, albeit ridiculous action sequences. I can't help but admit that the first major action sequence, being a massive pursuit sequence, was particularly well choreographed, exciting and fun. In the end this film had no reason to be a Die Hard movie and if it wasn't I may have even thought it was decent fun. Unfortunately it's the fifth Die Hard movie which couldn't feel further removed from the other films in the franchise. 4.5/10
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AuthorLove of all things cinema brought me here. Archives
June 2023
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