Review: A Good Day to Die Hard | People's Critic: Film Reviews ...

All good things must come to an end. The good thing: The Die Hard franchise. The end: A Good Day to Die Hard.

I?m not sure where to begin. Going in, my expectations ranged from ?Early 2013 hit? to ?At least very entertaining?. Sadly, AGDTDH is almost as boring as it is forgettable. It was how I imagined this franchise would die ? only I wasn?t imagining, it was happening in front of my face.

The movie opens with McClane traveling to Russia after learning his son Jack is on trial for murder. In true Die Hard fashion, as soon as McClane arrives in Russia, things get crazy. Within the first 15 minutes there?s an explosion at the courthouse, a shootout, a car chase/monster truck show through the streets of Moscow, another shootout, and a helicopter assault.

Throughout the insane action medley we learn 1) Jack is a CIA agent, not murderer. ?2) McClane and Jack need some time to work out family issues. 3) Jack was on trial to help save Russian guy #1 who was ?on trial to snitch on Russian guy #2. ?4) The file everyone wants to get their hands on has something to do with Chernobyl. 5) None of this interesting ?at all ? and that?s the biggest problem with the film.

Over the 25 years of Die Hard we?ve had everything from cyber terrorist shutting down the country, to heavily armored bad guys looking to steal millions in bonds from a rich business man. No matter how ridiculous the premise, the plot was always interesting. The elements that made the other Die Hard films enjoyable are completely absent in AGDTDH. There are no messages to decode. No puzzles. Nothing McClane is forced to figure out. No sarcastic conversations. No imminent threats. ?Things just sort of happen to McClane throughout the film and he rolls with it.

The Die Hard franchise had mastered the formula for an impossible action film with a ?smarter than normal? plot, great villains, and lots of action. I?m not sure why they went away from that. It?s unclear what the AGDTDH villain?s motivations are. Why was the file so important? What did they plan to do with stuff at Chernobyl? ?Why have a tattooed badass who doesn?t fight anyone?

There are a few challenging aspects to the film that begins with the plotline revolving around Chernobyl = a plot that isn?t exciting to anyone under 35. Even when the plot twists and focuses on the villains true motives, it?s just as uninteresting Chernobyl files. The other challenge is the film being chalked full of one note characters that are impossible to care about. The film attempts to give its two lead characters depth with father and son back=and-forth banter, but those scenes are painful to watch since they?re uncomfortably squeezed between action scenes.

AGDTDH?s most entertaining parts are when it pays homage to the original Die Hard ? the best example is during the helicopter assault during the final scene when Jack has his showdown with a Russian bad guy.

A Good Day to Die Hard is real good reason to stay home. It?s sad to see John McClane take such an ugly exit after 25 years of great service. At least we?ll always have that night at the Nakatomi Towers when the Christmas party got out of hand. Those were the days.

Grade: C-

Source: http://blog.seattlepi.com/peoplescritic/2013/02/14/review-a-good-day-to-die-hard/

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