Jai Courtney is great as McClane’s son and is sure to be the next up and coming star to get the Hollywood treatment after already making his mark in the hugely successful Jack Reacher. He could potentially be another action star in the making.
John Moore, who after directing the disappointing Max Payne, The Omen and 2004′s Flight of the Phoenix manages to pull some reasonably decent action sequence, including an impressive chaotic motorway car chase through Moscow, which is a step up from his previous films.
There are also some nice nods to original films, including familiar villains, humor and the twists and turns of Die Hard 2.
A Good Day to Die Hard
A Good Day to Die Hard: The Bad
The film has a lot of plot holes and lack of dialogue scenes, this is probably due to the fact that there is an uncut version on the way [probably have to wait for dvd release to find out].
The villains also feel underused especially Radivoje Bukvic’s carrot chomping, dap-dancing villain, “Alik” who has potential, if given more dialogue and screen time, to be just as memorable as Alan Rickman’s “Hans Gruber.”
The U.S got an uncut version whilst the UK only gets a cut version, which is unfinished, too short and looks cheap in places. You get the sense that the studio was in a rush and couldn’t wait to get the picture out in order to make it appeal to younger audiences as it only gets a 12A rating as opposed to a respectable 15.
Conclusion
Overall, A Good Day to Die Hard, has a lot of potential to be a great movie as it entertains in places and occasionally hits the right notes, but it’s the weakest installment of the franchise so far and with a 6th film already in the pipeline it won’t be a good day for Die Hard fans.
