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That's where a movie like Die Hard managed to find its footing amidst a sea of overly macho Hollywood action films. Word has it that Bruce Willis's career-defining role was also one he was never really in the running for. The 20th Century Fox execs ran the gamut of action stars - some current, some not so current - and found them either ducking out at the last minute or passing on the role altogether. Bruce Willis was, quite literally, the last guy even they expected to see headlining an action flick. Cast purely by chance, it proved to be a move that's benefited Fox and Bruce Willis for years. Willis's John McClane worked so well because he looked, acted, and talked like any other number of Americans that would have found themselves in his situation. He was a flawed husband, father, and cop & really wanted no part in the situations he often fixed. McClane did what he had to do because there never seemed to be any one else to do it.
With the latest entry in the long-running franchise, A Good Day to Die Hard, this series has found itself the center of critical scorn it's never received before. Each of the four previous entries have been extraordinarily well-received with 2007's Live Free or Die Hard in particular being the most favorably reviewed among professional critics since the first. Just how poorly was A Good Day to Die Hard reviewed? Head on over to Rotten Tomatoes and take in that 14% Fresh rating. That's not just a poor score for a Die Hard movie, that's a remarkably low score by any standard.
The biggest problem critics and audiences alike seem to be having with A Good Day to Die Hard is that, whether you wanted them to or not, the action sequences have progressed from moderately believable to complete spectacle. As has become tradition with each Die Hard film, most of the movie's big set pieces were pulled off practically with very little CG augmentation. Throughout this extended cut's 101-minute runtime you'll see McClane flip a truck, get hit by a car, jump through a luxury hotel's ballroom room window onto the many tiers of scaffolding below, get thrown from a truck dangling out of the back of an attack helicopter, drive over traffic, and more. It's all a bit silly, but at this stage in the game when the goal is to one-up themselves with each sequel, I can't say it isn't expected. For a man that looks to be in his mid 50s, the mere fact that John is able to take just as much abuse as his CIA agent son, Jack (portrayed by Australian newcomer Jai Courtney), is astounding. You see, McClane once again finds himself in the wrong place at the wrong time after seeking out his estranged and often troubled son in Russia during a tumultuous political shift. John finds out his son is an undercover CIA operative.
Unfortunately, the movie's brief 101-minute runtime doesn't allow for much time to explore their relationship, although the extended cut adds in some much needed character beats and the film is better for it. The popular opinion seems to be that Courtney and Willis shared very little on-screen chemistry. I'm in the minority here, but I thought the two worked remarkably well together. Courtney did a fine job as McClane's son, pulling off the tough guy routine admirably, ably expressing emotion through body language and facial expressions, and even giving the elder McClane a run for his money in the banter department. The movie wanted me to believe that they were family and I honestly had no trouble buying into it.
What constitutes most of A Good Day to Die Hard's 101 minutes then? Action, and lots of it. The 20-minute mark begins a huge car chase - one that involves a heavily armored transport vehicle in thick Russian traffic - that goes on for a good 10 minutes and is as over-the-top as you can imagine. Thankfully, nothing in A Good Day to Die Hard approaches the ludicrous self-parody of McClane surfing a fighter jet in Live Free or Die Hard's climactic set piece. The action sequences in this film are much more grounded than the previous entry's, eschewing its overdone theatrics for a grittier presentation more in line with With a Vengeance. Going for the R rating helps this one out too: squibs, bloody headshots, McClane dropping F-bombs, and the unforgettable sight of a villain mulched to a gooey pulp by a helicopter blade. The stunt work throughout is top-tier and director John Moore (2001's Behind Enemy Lines and 2008's videogame adaptation Max Payne) proves why he's one of the more underrated action directors in the business.
A Good Day to Die Hard does unfortunately suffer from Moore's action chops. The action is there in spades, but the story suffers. The plot feels rushed along, as if Moore just has to get to that next envelope-pushing action scene. To Moore's credit, they're exceedingly well-shot and the sound design is second to none. It's positively explosive. But as the action has gotten more outrageous over the years, the physical punishment John McClane is forced to endure has gotten less and less believable. Right from the start he's put into situations no normal human being should be able to walk away from. This is the same guy that had a tough time removing pieces of glass from his feet, let alone flipping a truck three or four times only to open the door, fall out, and lie on the ground with a look on his face that says, "That hurt a little bit more than I thought it would." Still, McClane seems a lot more human here than in his last outing. He grimaces, winces when hurt, stumbles along after big falls, groans in pain, and at times seems legitimately surprised at some of the things he's preparing to do. One scene finds McClane ramming his jeep through a glass barricade and crashing down onto the cars beneath him. John doesn't play it stoic as he's prepping, instead he slinks back in the driver's seat, the look of fear in his eyes, and exclaims, "Oh, God."
Then there's the consistent criticism about Willis turning in a completely phoned in performance, looking disinterested and bored throughout. I wholeheartedly disagree. John McClane is first and foremost a reluctant hero. If Willis looks as if he doesn't want to be there it's because McClane doesn't want to be there. Fans' complaints of McClane being stripped of that reluctance couldn't be more inaccurate, I feel. During the first hour of the film John does nothing but try to pass Komarov off to whomever will take him which promptly receives a scolding from his son. Sardonic as ever, McClane makes no qualms about just how much he doesn't want to be apart of what he's stumbled into. "8,000 miles for this?," he asks while dodging gunfire. "Why don't we just drop him off at the embassy and we can go home?," he suggests to his son. "Whoa, Nijinsky! I'm not in the gang, I just got off the plane. I'm still jet-lagged," he exclaims. Always the smart-ass, McClane finds himself on the receiving end of a harsh blow to the face, recovers, and chuckles lightly. "Nice one," he jests. As father and son load up their weapons for the final confrontation, John so matter-of-factly states, "Alright, let's go kill some motherfuckers." That's the McClane attitude the previous film just couldn't reconnect with.
I'll admit to being disappointed that Bruce doesn't do as much running around as he has over the last three sequels. The previous films did have him getting a lot more physical than he does here and the all-too-brief fistfight McClane has with Alik is disappointing. John trading blows with an antagonist has become a staple of this franchise and is A Good Day to Die Hard's one unforgivable oversight. Still, Bruce's one-liners are snappier this time out and the character overall seems a lot more cynical and world-weary than in his last outing. That trusty ol' McClane smirk is present and accounted for and an early scene involving Willis and a Russian cabbie (Pasha D. Lychnikoff) wouldn't have been out of place in one of these films 20 years ago. There's even a scene where McClane distracts the bad guys by laughing all the while being beaten and threatened.
Perhaps as time goes on fans will be kinder to A Good Day to Die Hard and more accepting of its flaws. Despite the missteps, there really is a lot to like. Whatever your feelings on John Moore, he's an obvious lover of the franchise - the film opens with a rendition of Michael Kamen's Ode to Joy for God's sake. Die Hard was a watershed moment for action films, so fans are inevitably going to hold future sequels to its unusually lofty standards. A Good Day to Die Hard doesn't hold a candle to the original. But, really, how many action movies do? Does that make it a bad movie? Certainly not. John Moore takes risks and tries things within the series' universe most directors wouldn't dare attempt. I know I'll catch flack for this, but further distancing the franchise from its roots is a wise decision. Whether you love it or hate it, A Good Day to Die Hard isn't a retread and I'm thankful for that. If you're anticipating a "return to form," then I can say with all certainty that you're not going to like this one bit. Is that the result of an incompetent filmmaker that doesn't "get" the essence of Die Hard or a director's conscious decision to break out of the franchise's comfort zone? Fans seem to have already made up their minds but I vote for the latter. Different, but enjoyably so. A Good Day to Die Hard gets better and better each time I watch it.
8/10
