John McClane is back again for his fifth adventure, this time teaming up with his grown-up son to take on a group of political radicals in the heart of Russia. There is just one problem with this; A Good Day To Die Hard is not really much fun and as a Die Hard fan it hurts a bit to watch.
As this Die Hard opens up we see that John McClane’s son Jack has gotten himself arrested for murder and is facing Russian justice so he heads off to Moscow to try and help out his “misguided” son. Truth being that Jack is in actuality a C.I.A. agent that has placed himself in his situation to rescue a Russian prisoner and get him out of Moscow in return for a mysterious file.
One of the best things the first three Die Hard’s did so well was great setup and character development. A Good Day to Die Hard abandons all this and literally within the first fifteen minutes McClane has found out where his son is, said goodbye to his daughter, had a taxi ride with a singing Russian, survived a courthouse bombing and is chasing down Jack and the Russian baddies through the streets of Moscow while causing rampant destruction. While you watch this it feels like you are about 30 minutes ahead of what your watch says. While that may work for standard action movies these days, for a Die Hard movie it seems like lazy filmmaking. There is no character development at all to this film. But we will get to that a bit later.
Photo courtesy tumblr.com
When Live Free or Die Hard was released back in 2007 it was the first in the series to abandon the “everyman” John McClane. That is one of the reasons the first three movies in the franchise worked so well. He was a cop. He made mistakes. He was a smartass and he had a sh**y family life. It was just that he was in the wrong places at the wrong (or right) times. LFODH set up McClane as almost indestructible. Like a bald, American James Bond who could take out helicopters with taxis. A Good Day to Die Hard continues this formula and even goes more over the top with some of the things that should break any normal man, but this McClane barely has a limp.
The sad part about this is that Willis can play the role of John McClane in his sleep. He does it here. The swagger, the chuckle, the smart ass comments. It’s all here, but the characters and script around the character are so very weak.
Pacing and character development are two of the serious offenders like I mentioned earlier. The movie’s breakneck speed, which may help action movies these days, is a detriment to a Die Hard movie. There is no time to develop any of the characters like Jack or the villains because the movie is too busy going from one explosion set piece to another. I really feel sorry for Spartacus alum Jai Courtney as Jack McClane. He is a great actor and could have worked a whole lot better as Willis’ son….if he had more to work with.
The presence of a memorable villain is non-existent. While I was not a big fan of Live Free or Die Hard, I did think that Timothy Olyphant’s role was a good one and worth remembering. This go round there are so many multiple Russian who all have there own agendas that by the time the main villain is revealed (20 minutes before the movie ends mind you), you really have given up even remotely caring about why he is there.
This is by far the shortest of the Die Hard’s. Where most run right at two hours or a little over this entry clocks in at only 97 minutes. Which is easy to see why when you watch the movie and see that there was not much material to work with and abandoned all hope of making you care about the players.
Photo courtesy inquisitr.com
I hope A Good Day to Die Hard does well in theaters which may sound weird given what I have just written, but here me out. There is still good material left for the John McClaine character. I have no doubt there is. I hope that A Good Day to Die Hard does not make people jaded towards the franchise. They just need to scale back the super-hero John McClane and get back to what made the first one so great. Develop a memorable villain, good setup and put in a worn down NYC cop who just happens to be there trying to do his best.
A Good Day to Die Hard is disappointing and not because of Willis. He was made to play John McClane, but the McClane character has got to get better and more realistic aspects working for him. If this was a normal run of the mill action flick it would be on the decent side, but being this is Die Hard we are talking about there is a higher standard that this needs to reach. Now I am going to celebrate the franchise’s 25th anniversary by watching the first three entries.
So how much John McClane can you handle in one day? So far my answer is three movies because that is how many Die Hard’s I have watched in a one day period. Well it looks like 20th Century Fox is giving me a chance to best my record and in a theater no less!
On Wednesday, February 13th theaters across the nation will commemorate the release of A Good Day to Die Hard with a four film marathon of every movie in the franchise (Die Hard, Die Hard 2: Die Harder, Die Hard with a Vengeance and Live Free or Die Hard) that will lead to the first showing of the fifth entry, A Good Day to Die Hard. That’s a lot of yippee ki-yay’s . No pricing or theater locations have been announced yet.
Don’t forget all you romantics that A Good Day to Die Hard opens on Valentine’s Day.
A brand new trailer has gone online for the fifth Die Hard entry, A Good Day To Die Hard. It is not very different from previous trailers but if you are a Die Hard fanatic (raises hand) then you know what to expect. John McClane heads to Russia to help his son who is on the heels of a Russian terrorist with nuclear weapons. Does it sound different from most action movies? No. Do I care? No, it’s Die Hard. Check out the new trailer below.
A Good Day To Die Hard releases on February 14, 2013.
This article was going to have some kind of catchy title like “13 movies to see in 2013” but truth be told there are way more films that I (and you) should be excited about next year. We get to return to Oz, Metropolis, and Middle-Earth. The Wolfpack as well as The Wolverine are back. M Night Shyamalan will try and make us interested in his movies again (with Will Smith no less) and Bruce Willis is in three, count em three, franchise movies this year.
So let’s take a look into the future and check out the movies of 2013.
Warm Bodies (February 1)
Wait what? Yeah I know you may be surprised this is on here. I am too because I actually want to see it. Warm Bodies was already on my radar with my girlfriend being a fan of the book so I had an idea of what to expect. Don’t lump this into the Twilight group without taking a look at the trailer which is pretty funny.
A Good Day To Die Hard (February 14)
OK, so Live Free or Die Hard was the least of the the John McClane shoot-em ups but even a sub-par Die Hard gets me in the theater and this one has me more interested with McClane yippee ki-yaying his way to mother Russia to get some quality shooting practice with his son.
Oz: The Great and Powerful (March 8)
Sam Raimi directs this “prequel” that has James Franco playing the future wizard as he finds his way to the land of Oz. It is produced by the same people who had a hand in Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland which should be obvious by the look of the preview.
Carrie (March 15)
Yes it is another remake of a great book and classic movie but this one I am not writing off because of the cast. Hit Girl herself , Chloe Grace Moretz, takes over the role from Sissy Spacek and Julianne Moore will get all religious as Carrie’s mother.
G.I. Joe: Retaliation (March 29)
This sequel was originally supposed to be released last June but was pulled a mere month before its release. Paramount said they wanted to convert the movie to 3D while some stories had the actors re-shooting scenes to have more Channing Tatum in it since he is the new Hollywood “it” guy. Supposedly he bit it early in the flick and they had a change of heart.
http://youtu.be/mwtH2CBeZ5M
The Evil Dead (April 12)
How many years have we Evil Dead fans read rumor after rumor of Evil Dead 4 or a remake? I honestly never thought we would get a proper sequel so I will gladly settle for this, especially since it apparently carries the Sam Raimi and Bruce Campbell seal of approval.
http://youtu.be/ceBXUyuv4Q0
Iron Man 3 (May 3)
Now that The Avengers has come and gone it is time for Marvel to get started on Phase 2 and that begins next year with Iron Man 3. Shane Black is the new director and is bringing shellheads greatest enemy to the screen with The Mandarin played by Oscar winner Ben Kingsley.
Star Trek Into Darkness (May 17)
JJ Abrams followup to his 2009 reboot sees Kirk and the Enterprise going up against Benedict Cumberbatch’s villain. I say villain because as of right now it is still unknown who exactly he is playing. Gary Mitchell? Khan? Someone new? Either way he looks to be plenty menacing. Remind me not to piss Sherlock off.
The Hangover Part 3 (May 24)
The Wolfpack is back and this time they are taking a road trip. It looks like there won’t be a wedding this go round and that the gang will be getting into more messed up adventures in more than one locale.
Fast & Furious 6 (May 24)
I was never a fan of the F&F series so I was more than surprised when I actually had fun with Fast Five which was the highest grossing of the franchise. Now Vin Diesel, Paul Walker and Dwayne Johnson are back for more. Yeah I think it is odd that this series has six installments too.
After Earth (June 7)
M. Night Shyamalan returns after pissing off a whole lot of people with The Last Airbender. This time he has Will Smith and son Jaden playing (spoiler) father and son in the future who crash land on Earth that has adapted to kill all humans. The preview is interesting enough but will it be enough to make Shyamalan a premier director again?
http://youtu.be/qaRigzlDUi4
Man of Steel (June 14)
Hard to believe it has been almost seven years since Superman last flew across a movie screen. After Superman Returns tripped up Warner turned to Christopher Nolan to fix the world’s most recognizable superhero. Nolan hand-picked Zack Snyder (300, Watchmen) and has his friend and Batman Begins co-writer David S. Goyer write the script that hopes to make the man of tomorrow relevant to today’s movie audiences.
This Is The End (June 14)
It’s the end of the world as we know it and Seth Rogen, James Franco, Jonah Hill, Jay Baruschel, Danny McBride and Craig Robinson are just the people to follow and see how our society falls.
World War Z (June 21)
Brad Pitt stars in this very loose adaptation of the novel which sees the zombie apocalypse in its beginning days. This production has been the definition of the world “troubled” having gone way over budget, massive script rewrites and even having to go back and film a huge section of the movie over again.
Kick-Ass 2 (June 28)
Kick-Ass didn’t exactly light the box office on fire in 2010 so the fact we are getting a sequel to the awesome adaptation of Mark Millar’s comic is something of a miracle. Kick-Ass and Hit Girl are back and this time they have Jim Carrey as Colonel Stars and Stripes and Donald Faison as Doctor Gravity joining forces to take down Red Mist now know affectionately as Mother Fu**er.
The Lone Ranger (July 3)
Disney is taking a big gamble with Gore Verbinski’s The Lone Ranger. After John Carter’s 200 million dollar budget blew up in their face they have this 250 million dollar western coming this summer. One good thing is that Johnny Depp is normally easy money in big summer movies. Only time will tell.
Despicable Me 2 (July 3)
Gru, girls and minions return for more fun. I am assuming fun since I know nothing of the plot.
http://youtu.be/q6uoyPTcfic
Pacific Rim (July 11)
Director Guillermo del Toro brings this giant sized sci-fi epic to reality. In a future where creatures have invaded Earth we build giant mechs to deal with the attacks. Like Power Rangers and Voltron had a really violent American baby.
The Wolverine (July 26)
Hopes have to be higher for this sequel. It can’t possibly go any lower than X-Men: Origins Wolverine can it? Wait…can it?
RED 2 (August 2)
What did I tell you earlier? Here is Bruce Willis again revisiting his role of Frank Moses and his merry band of ex-operatives including Helen Mirren and John Malkovich. Anthony Hopkins gets in on the adventure this time too.
Elysium (August 19)
Neil Blomkamp follows up his Oscar nominated debut (District 9) with this sci-fi movie about a ravaged over-populated Earth and the struggle of its citizens as the rich live in splendor aboard a space station called Elysium. Matt Damon, Jodie Foster and Sharlto Copley star.
Riddick (September 6)
When we last left Riddick he had taken over the Necromonger army as their new leader. This third movie seems to be going back to the Riddick we saw in Pitch Black with a scaled down action flick and not so much wannabe sci-fi epic.
Sin City: A Dame To Kill For (October 4)
Taking their good sweet time, Frank Miller and Robert Rodriguez finally return to Sin City with a film version of Miller’s second story A Dame To Kill For. Mickey Rourke, Jessica Alba and Rosario Dawson return to the sequel of the 2005 noir hit.
The World’s End (October 25)
Simon Pegg and Nick Frost re-team with director Edgar Wright to complete their “Blood and Ice Cream Trilogy”. They have a lot to live up to with Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz becoming certifiable cult hit movies. This movie sees five friends reunite to attempt a pub crawl from their youth only to find out there are bigger things at work.
Ender’s Game (November 1)
Orson Scott Card’s classic sci-fi book gets the big screen treatment from director Gavin Hood. The story of Andrew “Ender” Wiggun who is sent off to a military academy to be taught how to defend the Earth from a coming alien attack. The cast assembled for this is impressive with Ben Kingsley, Harrison Ford, Abagail Breslin and Viola Davis among the players.
Thor: The Dark World (November 8)
The God of Thunder returns to fight a race of Dark Elves led by Malekith the Accursed played by Christopher Eccleston. Natalie Portman, Stellan Skarsgard and Anthony Hopkins return in the second movie on Marvel’s Phase 2.
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (November 22)
Katniss and Peeta are forced back into the 75th Hunger Games with previous winners as rebellion begins to break out across the districts.
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (December 13)
Bilbo, Gandalf and the company of dwarves continue their journey towards The Lonely Mountain and the dragon Smaug.
Anchorman: The Legend Continues (December 20)
After a long nine year wait Ron Burgandy, Brian Fantana, Brick Tamland and Champ Kind are back. Does it really matter what the plot is? News team assemble!!
Jack Ryan (December 25)
Chris Pine takes over the role made famous by Harrison Ford (Ben Affleck played the role in The Sum of All Fears) as he takes on a Russian plot to bring down America’s economy. Kenneth Branaugh pulls double duty as the villain and film director.
Die Hard is one of the greatest movies ever made. So now that you know that I am a man by that statement I will also say that I am a sucker for all of the sequels. They suck me in and there is no escape. Whether it is Renny Harlin’s over the top action or Bruce Willis walking around New York with a racial sandwich board I am there. I am even forgiving of the fourth entry and will say it was not a “bad” movie.
Now the fifth installment is on its way and a new trailer has just been released. A Good Day To Die Hard sees John McClane headed to Russia for another “fish out of water” story. It is kind of like the first movie where he is out of place coming from NY to LA, just on a much larger scale. It looks like it will be fun and let’s face it, that’s all we ask Die Hard to be.
A Good Day To Die Hard opens on February 14, 2013.
