A Good Day to Die Hard

The fact that Skip Woods suffers from screenwriting elephantiasis, and that anyone with a heightened sensitivity to moronic dialogue and story in general will probably get cancer while watching the new McLane escapades is unfortunately pretty much covered up by the fact that, from a directorial standpoint, this bullshit is surprisingly innovative and masterful. In fact, the alpha and omega of AGDtDH is that 20 or so minute car chase in downtown Moscow, where all the trump cards are laid out and, in fact, justify the entire existence of this film. The authenticity of the clashes here is aided by the multiple shots of the same situations from different angles, as well as the editing, which cuts away from the collision that the next shot records from somewhere else. Imho, it was purely deliberate that one of the shots ends at an angle where we see a crew member in a helmet along the right edge, controlling the vehicle on which the camera is placed. Combined with the senseless (but impressive) destructiveness of the entire scene, this makes every impact doubly felt and almost brings back that good old feeling of crossing your fingers for the stuntman, wishing him a speedy recovery. Moreover, the armored transport starring in this scene is actually the link between the chase scenes in Terminator 3 (a slow, multi-ton, virtually indestructible crane) with those in The Bourne Supremacy (fast, punchy, unconcerned with consequences), thanks to its destructive potential and not inconsiderable speed. In fact, everything before and partly after – the camera, for example, hiding fearfully behind a car during a gunfight, the shooting of situations from inside passing cars, the escape on the roof that we see from an aerial shot and hear only the echoes of gunfire – are the viewer's preparation for this scene. ________ Yeah, but otherwise it's really terrible crap, which in places defies the very basic creative precepts ("The whole room is contaminated with radiation" "Don't worry, luckily we have a secret substance with us 24/7 that will get rid of the radiation" – no kidding!) and the characters work about the same as in the snuff videos. McLane isn't in this movie, but I think he'd like it on TV. (19/06/2013)

A masterful funeral of the best action series of all time that can only be accepted at this symbolic level. Putting this material, which for three decades reflected and pushed the possibilities and the nature of Hollywood action films in an original way, into the hands of an average B-movie director like John Moore, with a script that suppresses, if not downright ruins everything that made McClean fun was an idea worthy of immediate defenestration. I can’t be bothered to describe everything that irritated me and I don’t even know why it shouldn’t end at 1*. Maybe out of respect for Willis’s best role and for a couple of solid action scenes, but it’s better to quickly forget about it. (18/01/2020)

McClane gives up everything that is so great about him so he can go save his son's ass. That is, he gives up everything so he can spend his vacation trying to get his son to quit selling drugs... And what a great vacation, because of course daddy and son kiss and make up, share a laugh, get a little moist, get a little radioactive. Just a great vacation in the former Soviet Union that can make you go blind. (30/12/2015)

McClane's back, say and write what you want. It's still him. Yes, the reconciliation between father and son is hellish and we've seen it many times and better (Indiana Jones IV), but is that what A Good Day to Die Hard is all about? Don't be discouraged by the generally low rating and go see for yourself. What I saw was a pretty honest action movie that I perhaps enjoyed more than the second Expendables (but less than The Last Stand). Imaginative action scenes (the car chase, the helicopter ending, which is better than the fighter jet ending from the last film and is a typical McClane yippee-ki-yay improvisational moment), Beltrami's music, the visual effects, the jokes, of which there were more than I would have expected ("Need a hug"), the charismatic Sebastian Koch, references to the first film in the series (Beethoven, the villain's slow motion fall)... No problems at all. However, Jai Courtney really got on my nerves, and it seems that somebody also hurt the film badly in the editing room, as many scenes from the trailer didn't make it in (especially the taxi dialogue with the cop/lawyer makes me sad). I wish there was a longer version on DVD. Three and a half red stars.__P.S. The longer version was only released on BD, so I'll probably never see it. (23/03/2013)

Merciless crap. It starts slowly and smells like a cheap production from Bulgaria. It is beautifully apparent how most of the budget went into action scenes (I must add that everything had to be completely blown to smithereens, of course), but their clarity is incredibly bad. I felt sorry for it and wondered where the director's talent from the Behind Enemy Lines era went – I didn't even breathe during the jet shooting scene, and that scene is already an immortal legend. Unfortunately, it is not just about the chaotic and bad action, the humor doesn't work either. There are only two or three interesting gags, and that's it. The R rating is basically pointless. I liked the cccasional self-parody (whether it’s intentional is another question) and the escapades like the Maybach in Chernobyl, but the casting is awful, and so is the script. Basically, it's a patchwork with 3 or 4 big action set-pieces, of which only one is truly memorable – no filters, work with lighting, low-angle shots like Michael Bay. A big disappointment. The fourth installment is indeed "the most decent" by far, but it's packed and no expense was spared on it. Here, the only evident thing is the attack on viewers' wallets to squeeze the last bit of money from the legend. (31/03/2013)