As sagas go Die Hard has always delivered dependable, solid action adventures, despite often outlandish plots. Three ingredients have lead to their success: Bruce Willis, explosive action, and well delivered one-liners.
This fifth instalment begins with retired police officer John McClane (Bruce Willis) deciding that it is time to re-establish a relationship with his estranged son. Flying to Moscow, he is surprised to find Jack (Jai Courtney) now works for the CIA. He kindly ends up assisting him on a mission to smuggle a wrongly imprisoned dissident who has information capable of bringing down a corrupt Russian executive.
McClane’s retirement has rubbed off on Willis who seems to have lost any passion for the role. The poorly written script is delivered with little enthusiasm and the attempts to create sentimental moments between father and son are utterly cringe-worthy.
The film fails to redeem itself with its action scenes, which are so over-the-top that they turn the whole film into a sort of cartoon. In previous films, there was always some aspect of realism, a chance that McClane could die, but in this film he is transformed into a superhero figure that suffers near to no injuries whilst battling villains in super slow motion.
A Good Day to Die Hard is a perfect illustration of an outstretched saga drawing in loyal audiences who will find a big budget disappointment, created with little imagination, or wit.
No day is A Good Day to Die Hard. My advice would be to just stay at home and watch the first four films instead.
Verdict: 2/10