Movie review for – A Good Day to Die Hard
Synopsis: John McClane travels to Russia to help out his seemingly wayward son, Jack, only to discover that Jack is a CIA operative working undercover, causing the father and son to team up against underworld forces.
Rating: R.
Run Time: 1 hr 38 min
Director: John Moore
Blu-ray Extra’s: Deleted scenes, featurettes, anatomy of a card chase, image gallery, commentary.
Nudity Factor: None
Of Note: The core idea for the film – the dynamic between John McClane and his son – came from Bruce Willis.
Recommendations:
I was skeptical going into this movie on if it was going to be any good. The story follows John McClane and his relationship or lack of relationship with his son. John has to head to Russia when he gets some intel that his son is in prison in Russia and about to be tried. John decides it is a good time to take a vacation to Russia and see if he can help him out. Of course, no well laid John McClane plan is going to go smoothly. It appears others are interested in the case, or actually the other guy also being tried at the same time. The dynamic between John and his son is not a new story, as this has been done many times before. It also feels way more forced that what you would think it should be. I really didn’t believe in the dynamic. I also thought the overall story felt hollow. It didn’t reach the level of excitement that you would expect from a die hard movie. The most memorable moment is the opening car chase, and then things go do from that point. It also takes some liberties with some things that just make the movie feel hollow.
Overall, I never got that into the movie. About 30 minutes in, I was looking at my phone and wondering if the movie would ever pick up some speed. Unfortunately, it really never does. The bad guys never reach the level of being worthy of John McClane. That leaves a flawed movie that never gets that exciting.