Film Review: A Good Day to Die Hard

"We're not a hugging family." - Jai Courtney

In the beginning, John McClaine was just an average guy, an off-duty cop caught up in a crazy situation that just got worse and worse. And that's pretty much the story of his life, but each new movie in the Die Hard series tried so hard to one-up their respective predecessors. It was originally just McClaine stuck in a single building, taking out bad guys one by one. Then they took it to the airport. Then they took it to an entire city. Then they endangered an entire nation. So naturally, the only thing left is the world itself.

This fifth film in the series takes John McClaine to Russia, to deal with his son. Then everything hits the fan, and action ensues. When the action hits, it's incredibly loud and hard-hitting. In the first act, there's a car chase that's just loaded with cars flipping, flying, smashing, and crashing all over the place; the mass carnage is incredible. Plenty of shootouts and fights follow that. It ultimately leads to a final showdown at the end, featuring some of the most beautiful (and gratuitous) slow-motion explosions and window-breaking stunts ever filmed in an action movie.

However, the action is also quite rough, thanks to frequent use of a bouncy camera work and choppy editing. As great as the car chase is, I couldn't help but to feel a little lost, since the film seemed to string endless crashes and explosions together without showing the actual geography or progression of the chase.

Similarly, I was also a little lost with the plot, at least in the beginning. The story has some twists that makes things clearer toward the end, but it's still a very incredulous story with massive plot holes that suck up all the logic. The best that can be said is that the film tries so hard to bring John McClaine back into the spotlight, and develop some chemistry with his son, which not only makes for some of the film's more amusing moments, but also sets things up for a potential "next generation" of Die Hard. You know, the same kind of stuff they tried to do with Indiana Jones 4. I was also pleased to see some definite nods to the original Die Hard film; you'll know them when you see them.

As mentioned above, the film looks really rough with the camerawork and editing, and it can be nerve-wracking. I couldn't shake the feeling that this film is basically more of the same as most other action films of today, thanks to this erratic style. Acting is fine and dandy: Bruce Willis started off pretty dry, but eventually tapped into that playful John McClaine energy as he went along, and turned out to be a fun watch. Everybody else fulfills their roles fine enough. Writing has a few bright spots. This production has fine and dandy sets, props, costumes, and special effects. Music is alright; expect to hear the same kind of tune as the first film.

Best recommended for diehard Die Hard fans, and action junkies.

3.5/5 (Entertainment: Good | Story: Marginal | Film: Pretty Good)