Empire's A Good Day To Die Hard Movie Review

A Good Day To Die Hard
From Russia with whatevs…

Plot
John McClane (Willis) goes to Moscow when his son is arrested for murder, only to discover that Jack (Courtney) is a CIA agent on an undercover mission. The McClanes go on the run in Russia, pursued by ruthless enemies.

Review

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The odds against Anything 5 being outstanding are fairly steep, and while he’s overcome worse in the past, John McClane doesn’t beat them. A Good Day To Die Hard also suffers from being the second footnote to a cycle which the first three Die Hards satisfactorily wrapped up into a trilogy.

Director John Moore, whose CV is littered with remakes (The Omen) and game adaptations (Max Payne), has  a slight edge on Die Hard 4.0’s Len Wiseman, and CGI augmentation of the explosions and stunts is less clunky this time round, but a trip outside the US does the franchise few favours.

Post-Cold War jokes like “It’s not 1986 any more” fall flat while the McClanes embody US foreign policy by going abroad to “kill all the scumbags”, though it turns out they don’t know who the real scumbags are. It’s not as if Russia were underexposed in action movies – the chases through a wintery, traffic-clogged Moscow have a Pierce Brosnan Bond feel and the helicopter-bothered climax makes less effective use of a recreation of the city of Chernobyl than the minimally-budgeted Chernobyl Diaries did.

Besides the flagging enthusiasm of star Bruce Willis as he suffers the same shit for the fifth time, this is handicapped by a misunderstanding of what made the first three work. The traditional Die Hard supporting characters of imperiled family member and action sidekick are combined to partner up McClane with his secret agent son, and Jai Courtney (the hitman from Jack Reacher) dutifully matches Willis in grumbly demeanour, while plot twists and shoot-outs are punctuated with whiny father-son bonding it’s impossible to care about.

The key relationship in Die Hard (reprised in 3 and bungled in 4) was between lo-tech McClane and a witty, ingenious, well-resourced nemesis – but the baddies here are rote scowling Russians with little screen presence, with a few key moments of violence noticeably trimmed to secure a 12A certificate.

Verdict

Reviewed by Kim Newman

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Average user rating for A Good Day To Die Hard


Kinda film action film but it doesn`t really fit into the Die Hard franchise. It`s too over the top (even for a Die Hard flick this one pushes it) and the ending is just plain ridiculous. Bruce Willis can still do it but, speaking with the wise words of Danny Glover, he`s getting too old for this sh*t. Good thing though that in Jai Courtney they found a good replacement. 6,0/10 ... More


Posted by TheGodfather at 21:57, 17 May 2013 \| Report This Post



RE: What I wanna know...
L: MonsterCat L: Whistler Jai Courtney's comments at the London premiere are hilarous: "It offers everything that we've come to expect from this sort of franchise." "People won't be disappointed, that's for sure." "The care chase is gonna have people on the edge of their seats." et's be honest here, at least he's more enthusiastic about it than Bruce. hat's true, but I think his enthusiasm comes more from being excited by the fact that he scored a role... More

Posted by Whistler at 19:23, 03 March 2013 \| Report This Post



RE: What I wanna know...
L: Whistler Jai Courtney's comments at the London premiere are hilarous: "It offers everything that we've come to expect from this sort of franchise." "People won't be disappointed, that's for sure." "The care chase is gonna have people on the edge of their seats." et's be honest here, at least he's more enthusiastic about it than Bruce. ... More

Posted by MonsterCat at 18:58, 03 March 2013 \| Report This Post



RE: YOU LOT ARE SAD FACT!!!
L: sbm76 Die Hard 5 was never going to be a classic (neither were 2,3&4). But when we are stuck in the middle of award season where most of the films (not all) are made by pretensious tossers and suicidely boring (lincoln anyone) its good to see a far fetched action flick to have a bit of fun. I found it to be far better than parts 2&4 with good humour as always. As for bruce not looking interested its just the character showing that this has happened to many times before and he is bor... More

Posted by Whistler at 18:48, 03 March 2013 \| Report This Post



RE: What I wanna know...
Jai Courtney's comments at the London premiere are hilarous: "It offers everything that we've come to expect from this sort of franchise." "People won't be disappointed, that's for sure." "The care chase is gonna have people on the edge of their seats." ... More

Posted by Whistler at 18:47, 03 March 2013 \| Report This Post



RE: What I wanna know...
I love action movies, especially the Die Hard movies. This was not quite as great as the others, but I did get a kick out of it. ... More


Posted by Lisamoviegeek at 18:32, 03 March 2013 \| Report This Post



RE: What I wanna know...
Fuck me... I really wanted to like this film. For what its worth, John McClane was spot on and i thought it was surprising to hear the bad language back. It had some awesome actiony moments but most of the film was fucking terrible. Such a shame to end on this shitty note. On a side note, Sheffield Odeon, screen 6, what is this? A cinema for ants?! Edit: ok not spot on, on reflection, but quip wise yes. ... More

Posted by kumar at 00:43, 03 March 2013 \| Report This Post



die hards dieing a slow death
This is not good. I came away hoping for much more. Willis is ok but he's far away from the John McClane of the first 3 which was also the case in die hard 4 as for the rest I don't care about the casting. No point really in making another one but I'm sure they will and why of why is this a 12a! This is the worst one of the die hards to date. ... More


Posted by chrisharvey1551 at 00:13, 03 March 2013 \| Report This Post



RE: YOU LOT ARE SAD FACT!!!
who the fuck are you, Rafa Benitez? ... More

Posted by Normal Control at 00:13, 03 March 2013 \| Report This Post



YOU LOT ARE SAD FACT!!!
Die Hard 5 was never going to be a classic (neither were 2,3&4). But when we are stuck in the middle of award season where most of the films (not all) are made by pretensious tossers and suicidely boring (lincoln anyone) its good to see a far fetched action flick to have a bit of fun. I found it to be far better than parts 2&4 with good humour as always. As for bruce not looking interested its just the character showing that this has happened to many times before and he is bored of it al... More


Posted by sbm76 at 11:48, 01 March 2013 \| Report This Post



Sukkerz
Did ANYONE go into this expecting it to be good? And if you were expecting it to be shit, why give the Hollywood/Moroniplex fuckers more of your time and money? ... More

Posted by Normal Control at 20:33, 27 February 2013 \| Report This Post



RE:
very disapointed with "a good day to die hard" like many other franchises (lethal weapon, beverly hills cop to name two) it's become very different from the original. in the movie john mcclane crashes two vehicles & gets run over but doesn't have a scratch on him. it's like they thought we have a small plot idea so let's get mcclane to do this, then this & then that, with no real thought of a good story. and what's with all the emotional crap, it's a die hard movie for god's sake not the bloody... More

Posted by moviebuff73 at 22:17, 25 February 2013 \| Report This Post




Shit Hard ... More


Posted by Troubleshooter at 23:15, 24 February 2013 \| Report This Post



RE: A Good Day To Die Hard
I'm gettin' too old for this shit. ... More


Posted by spamandham at 02:40, 24 February 2013 \| Report This Post



RE: I liked the starting credits
L: ElephantBoy L: Dr Lenera I thought it was distinctly average, and easily the worst of the series ot as bad as some are saying. The whole thing has obviously been chopped down cript was mediocre and Willis on distintly weak form. But it's quite fun if you take it on its own, with some great, if often silly, action, though the opening chase is so good the rest of the film suffers. Don't understand complaints about shakycam and incoherent editing:I hate all that and constantly ra... More

Posted by Dr Lenera at 18:51, 22 February 2013 \| Report This Post



RE: I liked the starting credits
Still waiting for them to release my favourite one on 3D blu: er and Die Hard ... More

Posted by bennyboy1971 at 15:31, 22 February 2013 \| Report This Post



RE: I liked the starting credits
L: Dr Lenera I thought it was distinctly average, and easily the worst of the series ot as bad as some are saying. The whole thing has obviously been chopped down cript was mediocre and Willis on distintly weak form. But it's quite fun if you take it on its own, with some great, if often silly, action, though the opening chase is so good the rest of the film suffers. Don't understand complaints about shakycam and incoherent editing:I hate all that and constantly rail against it but did... More

Posted by ElephantBoy at 00:46, 22 February 2013 \| Report This Post



crap
how the hell did the DIE hard series end up like this. It has a vague plot and just two noisy action sequences in its short 95 mins. please let there be no more ... More


Posted by moviemaniac2 at 20:40, 21 February 2013 \| Report This Post



RE: I liked the starting credits
I thought it was distinctly average, and easily the worst of the series ot as bad as some are saying. The whole thing has obviously been chopped down cript was mediocre and Willis on distintly weak form. But it's quite fun if you take it on its own, with some great, if often silly, action, though the opening chase is so good the rest of the film suffers. Don't understand complaints about shakycam and incoherent editing:I hate all that and constantly rail against it but didn't think it was overl... More


Posted by Dr Lenera at 20:59, 20 February 2013 \| Report This Post



I liked the starting credits
Nothing to recommend here. I saw it in IMAX, and in the opening half hour about 8-10 people walked out, no joke. Wasn't packed either :( This made me sad, but it's just so uninspired! Terrible bad guys (no-one threatening or remotely charismatic), rubbish plot, boring locations, teriible, terrible script - what the hell happened to funny quipping John McClane? Did anyone involved with these movies watch any of the first 3 films? You see a little bit of humour and energy in the opening car chas... More


Posted by DextersLab at 10:24, 20 February 2013 \| Report This Post



RE: A good day to call it a day...
L: Rgirvan44 Hey, it turns out the writer of Wolverine wrote a shitty script! Who knew? as he behind it? Ahhh, that explains a lot! ... More

Posted by Qwerty Norris at 13:56, 19 February 2013 \| Report This Post



RE: What I wanna know...
did Empire do a feature in the magazine on AGDTDH? - i know there was no cover (a first for DH?) but cant seem to find any articles on it ... More

Posted by jackcarter at 11:08, 19 February 2013 \| Report This Post



RE: What I wanna know...
Saw it tonight.Definetly the weakest of the Die Hard series but found it to be a thoroughly decent actioner all the same. The action scenes didnt turn out to be as badly shot as i thought they would be given what i heard of the bloody shaky cam rearing its ugly head again like it does too often in action movies these days, but the truck chase through Moscow was pretty exciting stuff and was nowhere near Quantum Of Solace levels of incoherence.The gunship attack on the hotel and the Mclanes... More


Posted by Cool Breeze at 00:09, 19 February 2013 \| Report This Post



RE: What I wanna know...
I just assumed it is because none of us work for Empire and don't know the answer. ... More

Posted by Shifty Bench at 00:00, 19 February 2013 \| Report This Post



RE: What I wanna know...
excellent post dude, but is everyone ignoring my original question just to pi$$ me off? ... More

Posted by Normal Control at 23:57, 18 February 2013 \| Report This Post



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A Good Day To Die HardFrom Russia with whatevs…

A Good Day To Die Hard
From Russia with whatevs…