Movie Reviews

In an effort to post the reviews in a more timely manner, I've created a simple blog of just my movie reviews. Let's hope I can keep current. Make sure to check Robin's World (thebigfatcat.com) for the complete list.

Thursday, April 4, 2013

February Movie #8: A Good Day to Die Hard

Starring: Bruce Willis, Jai Courtney
Run Time: 1 hour 37 minutes
Directed By: John Moore

Die Hard 4 was about John McLean's adult daughter Lucy. Die Hard 5 is about his son Jack. When John finds out that his son is in jail in Moscow for shooting someone, he heads to Russia to help his son.

Die Hard. I've loved most of the Die Hard movies (except 2). I did not love this one. Maybe it's because this one was in Russia, which seemed like a stretch to take a NY cop to a whole 'nother country.  Part of liking a movie is being able to believe it.  I just didn't believe this one. I didn't buy that a cop from NY, who, after running into his escaping son after a bomb exploded in the courthouse, would harass him as much he did. There was obviously something going on and a smart cop like McLean should have figured that part out. And then I don't think a cop would injure innocent bystanders in pursuit of his son. That seemed reckless and selfish. And then there's the whole Chernobyl scene. While I was fine with them breathing in contaminated air (there are animals who live there), I was not fine with falling into the water. That just seemed to be a contaminate you just should avoid.  I was also not fine with the tool thing that sucked the radiation out of the air. Um, if they had that, why didn't they send it in before they started walking around?

I liked the twists. They were fun. I liked the spy son. I liked several of the references back to 1, like the bad guys fall off the building, reminiscent of Hans Gruber. But the two together were really cowboys and they should have had a tougher time and more injuries. And the injuries they had didn't seem to slow them down - like how did they stop the bleeding after john pulled thee rebar out of jacks side?

It was entertaining. It wasn't as good or as funny as the 4th one. Concept was a little far fetched. Dialog between the two Mcleans  wasn't very interesting or believable. There wasn't much chemistry, even for an estranged father-son. There was an attempt at humor but most of those lines just fell flat. It was enjoyable. Stuff blew up. There was a lot of action. It wasn't a horrible experience. I was just hoping for a little something more from John McLean.



1 comment:

  1. It's a Die Hard film in name only. That’s about it. Utterly and totally disappointing. Good review Robin.

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