A Good Day to Die Hard Movie Review

Detective John McClane is one of cinema’s iconic characters. After a successful four-film run, a fifth installment was made. But this time, it isn’t Die Hard though they are trying to pass it off as a Die Hard Film.

A good Day to Die Hard is the latest installment of the franchise. This time around, McClane goes to Russia to save his son Jack who seems to have gotten himself into a lot of trouble. What John doesn’t know is that his son is a CIA spy. Things go wrong fast like in a Die Hard film but it stops right there.

A Good Day to Die Hard is an action film not worthy of the Die Hard name. It is an action film which happens to have John McClane in it. Don’t get me wrong, the action is exciting especially the car chases but it just didn’t feel like a Die Hard movie. Even John McClane is a little less than John McClane. You can see on screen. In this film, it appears his son has the spotlight even though a Die Hard film is about the dad.

For me, one thing that went wrong with this movie is the story. It has no solid back bone and the villains are not that intimidating of crafty. If you look at the past Die Hard films, the bad guys are smart and ruthless and there main goals are always carried out. McClane then saves the day by stopping them right before they succeed which is what makes Die Hard Die Hard. In this movie, the main villain is not directly introduced. There are twists in who the main villain is which doesn’t work in the Die Hard series. As we all know, McClane always has a chat with the main villains. He exchanges wit and the occasional jokes which add to the excitement of the film. And he gets to kill them personally. But in this film, there is no chat and he doesn’t kill the main villain directly.

The location of the film is also a reason why the film is bad. In the Die Hard films, McClane gets help from authority figures like the LAPD, LAX Police, NYPD and the FBI. And he can easily work the areas because it is in the US. But in this movie, he is on his own. And it appears he already know how Russia works even though he just arrived a couple of hours before the explosions started. He gets no help aside from his son who doesn’t have those partner characteristics that we saw in the previous Die Hard movies.

A Good Day to Die Hard does not live up to the Die Hard Name. It is an action film which has John McClane but it is not Die Hard. It is just a forgettable action film. I give it 5.5 out of 10.