Okay, so, it appears I may not exactly be in agreement with the general consensus who believes John McClane's 5th installment: A Good Day to Die Hard is a complete disaster, but it was a fun way to spend an afternoon. The reality of the matter is, the film is a fairly ordinary action picture that brings nothing new to the table, save for some flashy action sequences. Add some daddy-issues to the mix and you've got some cinematic vodka with a forgettable aftertaste.
Some time after his last adventure, John McClane is in Moscow, expecting to see his son after a fiasco has landed him in court. Unfortunately for both of them, terrorists attack the courthouse, leading McClane Sr. in pursuit of Jr. He then discovers Jack is actually involved with the CIA, charged with protecting one of the terrorists. Eventually, they are led to Chernobyl, where they stumble upon a scheme to unearth billions of dollars vaulted away in an abandoned warehouse - the expected pyrotechnics ensuing.
It could have honestly been any other nondescript action movie, but it just happens to have the Die Hard monniker attached to it. There's nothing particularly ground-breaking or exciting that this film brings to the series, save for one decent car chase and a guy getting killed by helicopter rotors. Bruce Willis is even lacking his memorable spate of one-liners, reduced to a tired running gag where he spats some variation of "I'm on vacation" whenever given the chance. Much of the plot isn't very coherent, but then again, it probably wasn't meant to be.
It's a rather odd scenario when your PG-13 predecessor happened to be a much better movie, and didn't need much of the excesses that this one is dependent on. Off the top of my head: CGI and nearly every Russian stereotype from St. Petersburg to Siberia. Even still, if the screenwriter actually did his homework, he'd realize that Chernobyl is actually in the Ukraine, and a 12-hour drive from Moscow that McClane and son seem to accomplish within an evening. For what it's worth, Die Hard 5 is probably a rental at best, unless you're a fan with relatively tempered expectations.
5/10
Peace,
- Jon
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