A Good Day to Die Hard

Big, dumb, fun action flick in Russia dies hard to entertain RELEASED IN 2013 and directed by John Moore, "A Good Day to Die Hard" is the Third of (currently) five installments in the Die Hard series. In this one John McClane (Bruce Willis) travels to Moscow to aid his unruly son, Jack (Jai Courtney), only to discover that Jack is an undercover agent. Father & son team-up to stop a nuclear weapons heist. Sebastian Koch is on hand as a focal point in the heist. The Die Hard flicks fill the bill if you're in the mood for big, dumb, fun action thrills. Don't get me wrong because a lot of work goes into making these kinds of films and it takes talent & genius to pull them off. I mean "dumb" in the sense that the focus is on unbelievable action rather than deeper themes beyond "genuinely good people may be flawed and somewhat profane, but they're courageous and never give up in the face of evil." Thankfully, this installment throws in some entertaining father/son character development in between the wild action sequences. McClane’s daughter also appears for good measure (Mary Elizabeth Winstead). The story isn't quite as engaging as "Live Free or Die Hard" (2007), but it was good enough and the action scenes are out of this world, including a long vehicle chase in Moscow in the opening act. Director Moore ups the ante with quick-editing for this one. Some parts are eye-rolling absurd, but everything's done with a quasi-realistic tone, which sorta helps the viewer go along with the ridiculousness rather than tune out. The Die Hard flicks are the natural progeny of over-the-top films like 1977's "The Gauntlet" where the action scenes are so overdone they're cartoony, but entertaining. There's a thin line that filmmakers must tread with these kinds of blockbusters because they can easily fall into overKILL, like 2001's "The Mummy Returns." Thankfully, "A Good Day to Die Hard" pretty much evades that ditch by giving us entertaining protagonists & antagonists, amusing one-liners, worthy bits of character development and a compelling comic booky story. Speaking of the story, one of the highlights is the infamous Russian location of the final act. Another highlight is hottie raven-haired Yuliya Snigir. THE MOVIE RUNS 1 hour, 38 minutes and was shot in Budapest, Hungary, with the Chernobyl scenes done at Old Soviet Air Force Base, Kiskunlacháza, Hungary, along with establishing shots of Moscow. WRITERS: Skip Woods. GRADE: B/B- (6.5/10)

A Good Day to Die Hard (2013) is the weakest entry in the series, losing everything that made Die Hard great in the first place. The plot is thin, the script feels hollow, and the father-son dynamic that should have added some depth comes off as forced. The action is big, but without a strong story or real stakes, it all feels empty. Bruce Willis looks like he is just going through the motions, and the villains are completely forgettable. Instead of feeling like a Die Hard movie, it plays out like a generic action flick that just happens to have John McClane in it. The directing is a mess, with an overuse of shaky cam and quick cuts that make the action frustrating to watch rather than exciting. The cinematography lacks the creativity and tension of previous films, making everything feel flat despite the high production value. The score does its job, but it does not leave an impact, much like the rest of the movie. It is all explosions and gunfire with no heart, making this a disappointing and unnecessary sequel. If there was ever a sign that the franchise should have stopped earlier, this was it.