Wuchak
RELEASED IN 2013 and directed by John Moore, "A Good Day to Die Hard" is the Third of (currently) five installments in the Die Hard series. In this one John McClane (Bruce Willis) travels to Moscow to aid his unruly son, Jack (Jai Courtney), only to discover that Jack is an undercover agent. Father & son team-up to stop a nuclear weapons heist. Sebastian Koch is on hand as a focal point in the heist.The Die Hard flicks fill the bill if you're in the mood for big, dumb, fun action thrills. Don't get me wrong because a lot of work goes into making these kinds of films and it takes talent & genius to pull them off. I mean "dumb" in the sense that the focus is on unbelievable action rather than deeper themes beyond "genuinely good people may be flawed and somewhat profane, but they're courageous and never give up in the face of evil." Thankfully, this installment throws in some entertaining father/son character development in between the wild action sequences. McClane's daughter also appears for good measure (Mary Elizabeth Winstead).The story isn't quite as engaging as "Live Free or Die Hard" (2007), but it was good enough and the action scenes are out of this world, including a long vehicle chase in Moscow in the opening act. Director Moore ups the ante with quick-editing for this one. Some parts are eye-rolling absurd, but everything's done with a quasi-realistic tone, which sorta helps the viewer go along with the ridiculousness rather than tune out.The Die Hard flicks are the natural progeny of over-the-top films like 1977's "The Gauntlet" where the action scenes are so overdone they're cartoony, but entertaining. There's a thin line that filmmakers must tread with these kinds of blockbusters because they can easily fall into overKILL, like 2001's "The Mummy Returns." Thankfully, "A Good Day to Die Hard" pretty much evades that ditch by giving us entertaining protagonists & antagonists, amusing one-liners, worthy bits of character development and a compelling comic booky story. Speaking of the story, one of the highlights is the infamous Russian location of the final act. Another highlight is hottie raven-haired Yuliya Snigir.THE MOVIE RUNS 1 hour, 38 minutes and was shot in Budapest, Hungary, with the Chernobyl scenes done at Old Soviet Air Force Base, Kiskunlacháza, Hungary, along with establishing shots of Moscow. WRITERS: Skip Woods.GRADE: B/B- (6.5/10)
sacerongray-96208
Die Hard has really lost its way. What worked so perfectly for the first film, and so great in parts two and three, is now all gone. He's not an everyday kind of cop like he was, doing some pretty wicked but real world believable things and just barely scraping by. Now he's doing things like jumping onto flying jets, piloting them, firing missiles, taking on the entire nation of Russia, and so on.This movie is just not very good. Even the comedy lines are falling flat. They need to get back to what made this franchise so great or just pack it in.
Tweekums
As this episode opens Yuri Komarov is about to go on trial in Moscow. It appears that he has upset the wrong people; most notable Viktor Chagarin, a corrupt official and former friend who wants an incriminating file that Yuri possesses. Around the same time American Jack McClane is arrested and agrees to testify against Komarov. Back in the United States his father, police officer John McClane, hears what has happened to his son so flies out to Moscow. Just as John gets to the court in Moscow a massive explosion rips the building apart. The attackers want Yuri but Jack has helped him away from the scene. He is briefly united with his father and it is clear that they do not have a good relationship. Jack and Yuri drive off in a van, followed by the villains in a heavily armoured vehicle and John in a small truck. After a spectacular chase John and Jack are reunited and we learn that Jack is now a CIA operative hoping to get Yuri and his file out of Russia. There are complications though and before the dust has settled there will be numerous twists and a spectacular confrontation in the remains of Chernobyl.This film has some good points and one real problem. That problem is that it doesn't feel like a 'Die Hard' film; I feel it would have been much better had the character been renamed and the film been released without being connected to the previous films. I guess that would be less profitable though. On the plus side that at least means it can be enjoyed by anybody who has never seen a Die Hard film. The story is decent enough and there are some pretty good twists. There is also a lot of spectacular action from start to finish. The action is ridiculously over the top but, if you can suspend your disbelief it is rather fun. The action includes numerous explosions, a car chase and even an attack from an Mi-24 Hind helicopter! The acting is decent enough but nothing special; this is a film you watch for the action not the acting. Overall I don't think this is as bad as many other reviewers do but it is certainly a bit disappointing for a 'Die Hard' film.
