Movie Review: ‘A Good Day to Die Hard’ Starring Bruce Willis, Jai Courtney

It’s hard not to be a fan of anything ‘Die Hard’ related. The iconic franchise, which started in 1988, has given us some of the most memorable action movies over the past 25 years. Even with a 12 year gap between Die Hard: With a Vengeance and Live Free or Die Hard, it seemed like John McClane never missed a beat. Now almost six years later he is doing it again. Although it seems the magic that was once there may not be quite the same, it still produces a fun action movie that should keep fans of the series happy.

After three years of never speaking with his son, John McClane (Bruce Willis) is given information that his son Jack (Jai Courtney) has been arrested for murder and is awaiting sentencing in Russia. Unbeknownst to McClane, Jack is actually working undercover for the CIA – on a mission to extract Yuri Komarov (Sebastian Koch) who is a target due to information he has on Russian defense minister Chagarin. Jack’s plan is unintentionally ruined by McClane, who doesn’t have any idea what is going on with his son. The two are forced to team up to protect Komarov, while trying to keep each other alive as well.

The scripts is certainly the weakest of the five films in the franchise, but I can’t say that it completely ruins it. Most action movies don’t win Academy Awards for acting or best screenplay, so I think you have to get over that from the start. The most important things on the checklist are: massive explosions? Check. Epic car chase with a ridiculous destruction? Check. Tons of unbelievable and ridiculous firefights? Check. All of the elements of a good popcorn flick are there, teamed with an A-list actor who we know and love from the last four movies. Although it wasn’t the best thing I’ve seen all year, and it’s only February, I didn’t have that much to complain about.

Unlike the last film, A Good Day to Die Hard is rated R. This works much better in the ‘Die Hard’ world, not only because of the amount of gunfights there are, but also because McClane can be McClane. Willis’ character is supposed to curse, and be a bit rough. That is who he is, and who we have come to know and love. It seemed like his character could be a bit more of himself in the fifth installment.

There were definitely several moments that I couldn’t help but to shake my head at. The dialogue at times was terrible, and the jokes were overused while several even seemed to be dubbed in post-production. But at the end of the day, as a fan of the ‘Die Hard’ franchise, I was there to see John McClane stir things up and cause massive destruction. And that is exactly what he does. There is plenty to keep hungry action fans happy, and I was thoroughly entertained from beginning to end.

A Good Day to Die Hard is a B-