Hans Gruber famously asked: “Who are you, then?”
“Just the fly in the ointment Hans. The monkey in the wrench, the pain in the ass.”
That was Bruce Willis as John McClane, the iconic character from Die Hard (1) that set its stamp on the Hollywood action genre forever.
But the Bruce Willis in A Good Day to Die Hard (Die Hard 5) is a mere shadow of his former self.
He is a man who has been given a lousy screenplay, dismal direction and repetitive lines. Remove these weaknesses and we get John McClane – it’s just that by the time we finish peeling those layers, the movie is over.
This film shouldn’t have been called Die Hard. It is hardly an ode to the legend. In comparison to its prequels this is definitely not the best Die Hard, and very likely will not be a contender for an Oscar for best picture.
Critics have panned the movie, saying it offers nothing new and doesn’t do justice to the potential of the McClane character.
But old habits die hard and its failings aside, it’s still a pleasure to see what’s left of McClane on the screen again. This film does bring back to the screen something of the iconic character of John McClane and audiences will probably delight in seeing him walk tall again. And that Bruce Willis does with panache.
While a far cry from the original Nakatomi Plaza-centred Die Hard hero, this New York City detective with his classic smirk and ‘I-give-a-damn-attitude’ is what audiences expect, and if the box office results are anything to go by, that’s exactly what they got.
The plot is straightforward: McClane (Bruce Willis) travels to Russia to help out his estranged son John “Jack” McClane Jr (Jai Courtney), only to find out he is a CIA operative working undercover.
McClane is on “vacation”— as he repeats often in the movie—but has to help out his son so goes for the spoils. To our delight, father and son join forces and fight the underworld. Some twists and turns in the plot but eventually they save the day.
The setting is Russia, something that works in favour of the movie: after all, how long did we expect McClane to fight in one country? It was vital to broaden the horizon.
The movie would probably have done better with critics as a stand-alone action thriller without the Die Hard tag as expectations would have been lower.
And it does have some great moments – some fantastically choreographed action sequences, probably one of the best car chases on screen yet, and an exciting guns-and-bullets-smeared climax.
Where the film also disappoints is that instead of McClane avoiding trouble, he purposely walks into it, losing his character’s innate knack for being at the wrong place at the wrong time.
But Die Hard 5 does show McClane doing what he does best: perform unbelievable stunts, shoot, kill, make many sarcastic comments, fight his way out of all situations and rely heavily on his luck.
And yes, it does have the one thing that makes this a certified Die Hard movie: he does say “Yippee-K- Yay M#$#$%R” again!
Let’s hope Willis soon comes out with a sixth sequel to silence the critics.
A Good Day to Die Hard released in Australian cinemas on March 21. It may not satisfy your quest for John McClane but is definitely worth a watch.
