The action in A Good Day to Die Hard never lets up

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      Starring Bruce Willis and Jai Courtney. Rated 14A.

      For those of you still bothering to keep score, A Good Day to Die Hard is the fifth movie featuring Bruce Willis as Det. John McClane. Over the years, the indestructible McClane has dodged more bullets than a moving target at a Texas firing range. This time around, he travels to Moscow to bail out his troublesome son (Jai Courtney).

      Things heat up fast after McClane learns that his estranged son works for the CIA. It would be unfair to reveal much of the plot. Let’s just say that McClane and his kid find themselves protecting a Russian millionaire (Sebastian Koch) from a corrupt politician. They travel through an endless landscape of bad tailoring and clunky cellphones while brooding bad guys try to kill them.

      None of the increasingly bloated sequels can come close to matching the first outing for genuine suspense. But Willis, who manages to keep his trademark smirk on simmer, can still be a lot of fun to watch. Director John Moore makes a worthy attempt to toughen things up here. Compared to the last sputtering effort in the series, the plot seems a tad less flabby and predictable.

      The over-the-top action—including a brazenly extended car chase through the streets of Moscow—never lets up. In fact, if you’re not into constant explosions, it’s almost enough to give you a headache. Are there any concessions to realism? Not really. This is the kind of movie where people bleed profusely but don’t bother stopping for so much as an aspirin.

      The script attempts a few heartwarming father-son moments between bursts of machine-gun fire. They come across as forced and a bit embarrassing, but, if nothing else, they’re a brief respite from things that go boom.

      Watch the trailer for A Good Day to Die Hard. 

      Comments

      2 Comments

      LZH

      Feb 21, 2013 at 3:06pm

      I'm glad you enjoyed it! I did too. Part 4 was enjoyable but this one had some better action sequences and Jai was better than I thought he would be as Jack. His arms are huge! Especially the final action sequence...some of those shots were wicked!!! Definitely had a few shots that were throwbacks to the original -- SPOILER - Hans Gruber getting thrown off building in part 1 with the camera facing him as he falls/same in this one but with a bloody twist. And the scene where Mclane jumps off the building with the firehose and smashing into the window/getting thrown into a window slow-mo. That was awesome!

      ArchibaldOne

      Jun 22, 2013 at 7:00am

      I believe this review was far too kind. This movie was bad. Really bad.