Review of A Good Day to Die Hard (2013) by Randy V — 13 Aug 2013

Very few franchises make it to a fifth outing. There are the established franchises ('Star Wars', etc.), those based on books ('Harry Potter', etc.), comics (take your pick from 'X-Men' to 'Superman'), or other properties ('Resident Evil', etc.

) that have, for better or worse, stood the test of time. However, with action franchises, it's difficult to find one that has successfully made it past level three, if you will. Oh, sure, there are your 'Indiana Jones' of the cinematic world, but most would probably like to pretend that a fourth entry in that franchise doesn't exist.

The same could probably be said of this film. The fourth entry into the 'Die Hard' franchise wasn't a bomb, but it wasn't truly memorable. How many times can John McClane foil terrorists? Don't get me wrong, Bruce Willis (Looper) as McClane is one of my favorite action characters, but in this one, the franchise goes to Europe - where it seems all franchises go to die.

It's too bad, really, because Willis has still got game, and Jai Courtney (Jack Reacher), Sebastian Koch (Unknown), Mary Elizabeth Winstead (Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter), Rasha Bukvic (Taken), and Yuliya Snigir don't hurt the picture.

It's the uninspired plot, the by-the-numbers action, and the whacky direction from John Moore (Max Payne) that bog this flick down. As much as I'd love to see another good 'Die Hard' movie, it's probably best that the franchise, well, dies.