A Good Day to Die Hard

[JasonEvans]

Saw this flick a couple days ago at a screening and wanted to post some quick thoughts.

First, the good. I really enjoyed the action and the stunts in the film. It is some of the best action you will see on screen all year. Sure it is utterly implausible and our heroes can manage to face down anything while merely coming away with a few scratches or perhaps a deep cut that won't bother them after 2 minutes of worrying about it, but that is why the movies are called Die Hard -- because it is really, really hard to kill a McLean.

The fist 20 minutes of the film features a car chase that probably wrecks well over 200 vehicles. No special effects or CGI here, just metal crashing into metal with glass flying. It sets the tone for the rest of the movie, with stunts and action sequences that sure look real and well-done. They spent some money to make this thing look good.

Too bad they didn't spend more money on a plot... sigh.

The bad is the story, which is utter nonsense. It makes no sense whatsoever. You can barely follow who is a good guy and who is a bad guy and you don't really care either. One of the hallmarks of a Die Hard movie is that we develop the bad guy and he seems really menacing. In this movie, we barely meet the bad guys and their motivations are unclear. Stuff just happens as a convenient excuse to put John McLean and his son in sticky situations and then get them out. By the time you reach the end, you will be groaning and rolling your eyes every few seconds.

It is a pity because there could have been some fun stuff done with McLean being a fish out of water in Russia, but we get little of that. The film is noticeably short on humor. McLean screams, "I'm on vacation!!" at least 5 or 6 times in the movie, which is probably supposed to be his new catch phrase from this film ("yippie kay yay..."), but even that doesn't make any sense as he is not in Russia on vacation, he has come there for a very specific reason (to see his son and help him get out of a jam).

Nothing makes sense!! Once some of you have seen it we can talk about some of the things that make no sense, if you want, but I don't want to spoil anything now. The bottom line is that this thing is so stupid, it goes beyond, "turn off your brain and have fun."

Anyway, consider yourself warned. It isn't awful, but it is close. It is probably the worst of the Die Hard movies... but it is going to make a lot of money and will play huge overseas, no doubt leading to Die Hard 6.

-Jason "I knew this thing was being released in February for a reason" Evans

[BD80]

... The bad is the story, which is utter nonsense. It makes no sense whatsoever. ... this thing is so stupid, it goes beyond, "turn off your brain and have fun." ...

I hear the "Please Silence Your Phone" advisory will also recommend turning off one's brain. Of course, based upon my recent forays into the theaters for action movies, I don't believe the warning will be necessary.

[Jim3k]

Compared to Jason's review, the LAT is downright positive; but hardly good.

[JasonEvans]

So, did no one go to see this over the weekend?

[Jim3k]

So, did no one go to see this over the weekend?

I'm waiting for Olympic Fan's report.

[Olympic Fan]

I'm waiting for Olympic Fan's report.

I'm still trying to find time to see it ...

But, hey, Die Hard knocked Identity Thief out of the No. 1 spot in the box office ... so it's earned at least some good will!

[accfanfrom1970]

JasonEvans
So, did no one go to see this over the weekend?

Went to see it - just okay. Pales in comparison to Live Free, Die Hard. The villians in that movie (Timothy Olyphant sp? and the Asian chick) were great. Here, the Russian villians were not so great. My wife wanted to know where the Justin Long character went...

Went to see it at a Cine Bistro, almost any movie is better with a cold beer and lobster mac & cheese....but I wouldn't see it again.

[davekay1971]

JasonEvans
So, did no one go to see this over the weekend?

Went to see it - just okay. Pales in comparison to Live Free, Die Hard. The villians in that movie (Timothy Olyphant sp? and the Asian chick) were great. Here, the Russian villians were not so great. My wife wanted to know where the Justin Long character went...

Went to see it at a Cine Bistro, almost any movie is better with a cold beer and lobster mac & cheese....but I wouldn't see it again.

I found Live Free or Die Hard to be entertaining, but I can't say anything better than that. When someone says that a movie "Pales in comparison to Live Free, Die Hard", that is fairly damning! Ouch.

Die Hard movies:

A Good Day to Die Hard...pales in comparison to:
Live Free or Die Hard...which pales in comparison to:
Die Hard With a Vengeance...which is ok compared to:
Die Hard II: Die Harder...which pales in comparison to:
Die Hard

Or, put another way:
Die Hard>>>Die Harder=Die Hard with a Vengeance>>Live Free or Die Hard>A Good Day to Die Hard

In other words:
I think I'll put in my Die Hard dvd and stay home tonight.

[HK Dukie]

Huge Die Hard fan from the early days.

The plot in this movie was distracting. Dialogue nonsensical. Action pretty good.

If I heard those three characteristics from a movie review I would still go see it. I like action movies. This was just a 6/10 though.

One Plot Note: Chernobyl is in Ukranie, not Russia. So when they go to Chernobyl all shot up, and make no mention of going to another country, it's a bit weird. But hey USSR=Russia right?