Movie Review: A Good Day to Die Hard 2013

Is this really a Good Day to Die Hard.. ?

Where it comes to the movie Die Hard, there are easily two camps. Those who love the cowboy, “Yippee Ki-Yay” hollering John McClane, and those who don’t. Those who refuse to let the sun set for a final time on the modern cowboy, and those who hope that the Die Hard franchise has finally come to an end.

I for one, love the cowboy.

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A Good Day to Die Hard, opens in Cinemas, 7th of February 2013

And in this installment, aptly named A Good Day to Die Hard, we see the older but still studly, John McClane, traveling to Russia to help out his seemingly wayward son, Jack, only to discover that Jack is a CIA operative working to prevent a nuclear-weapons heist. Inevitably, father and son team up against underworld forces.

And ever since the first “Die Hard” in 1988, John McClane has always found himself in the wrong place at the wrong time and this time is no different. Throw in the father-son connection, and what you have is a movie full of sarcastic filial banter and a couple of sound laughs as the movie unravels. McClane’s estranged son Jack is caught up in the daring prison escape of a rogue Russian leader, and father and son need to look out for each other to stay alive, and yes, to kick russian butt, while they are at it.

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A Good Day to Die Hard received an R rating, due to the violent content in the film. Of course this movie has some intense car chase scenes and a worthy enough violent ending (for the bad guys) but, the 1988 original film is an undisputed classic, and there is nothing really in this film, that can hold a torch to that initial McClane adventure. Yes, those were huge (cowboy) boots to fill indeed.

Unfortunately, for me, A Good Day to Die Hard did not measure up to the first film. For all its use of suspense, character-driven drama and extreme action, it still could not achieve that same magic or wow factor of that first Die Hard movie or even any of the installments after.

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That’s not to say that you won’t find tons of action violence, big explosions, bloody fighting sequences, strong language, and lots of peril as good guys face off against bad.. oh you will. It will be an entertaining, action packed movie, for sure. But it’s just not Die Hard worthy. Not even close.

Cumi:

There is always something wrong with a movie when a Hollywood production goes to a foreign land to shoot. I cannot explain it. It just doesn’t seem to work. There are too many wrong assumptions that an American screenwriter makes about a foreign land which makes it irritating to watch, especially for any discerning moviegoer. For the Die Hard franchise, this story removes McClane from USA convenience stores and puts him into Russian traffic jams with a singing taxi driver, which is very different from introducing a foreign tongued villain into a state-of-the-art American building, to wreck havoc on the democratic American way of life, and then having McClane become the reluctant hero who saves the day. There is nothing here that reminds us of Die Hard other than the movie title or the name John McClane. The script and screenplay is horrendous and missing all the great lines, humor and comeback action that McClane deserves. Gone is the ultimate evil ringleader that you hate to love but love to hate as well. McClane is the anti-hero which saves America in America, not on foreign soil. The producers made a big mistake with this one. I hope they don’t make the next installment as “Die Hard, My Son” where the son replaces father. Let’s just keep it to John McClane and let him die (hard) in peace.

Watch the Trailer:

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