But a bad day to waste two hours of your life…
This is not a good film. The dialogue is dreadful – “file this, file that”, blah, blah, blah … “John… What happened to ‘Dad'”, blah, blah, blah. The acting is only marginally better… Bruce Willis plays, well, Bruce Willis; Jai Courtney, as John McClane jnr is all scowls and rolling eyes (and his character’s acting was much better on the doorstep in Die Hard 1); all of the villains are classically unmemorable.
Even destroying several hundred cars through Moscow (actually St Petersburg) streets becomes singularly tiresome, and frankly was done much better by Pierce Brosnan in his tank.
And as a scientist, this film is torture. Helicopter blades so strong that they can scythe through solid stone unscathed and some sort of magic spray that “neutralises” radiation (Lord be praised, where was this for the Fukishima melt down?). Thankfully, John McClane’s white vest must be lead lined, else how will he ever survive through to “Die Hard 6: a good day to retire”.
John Moore – hailing from Dundalk – ‘directs’ the whole thing. I actually quite enjoyed his remake of Flight of the Phoenix ten years ago. This effort just shows that throwing money and a brand name at a wall just doesn’t stick.
Hans Gruber must be turning in his grave.
Fad Rating: F.