Actually, it *WAS* a Good Day To Die Hard

When you have a beloved film franchise, every time they make a sequel you're just waiting for the other shoe to drop. Indiana Jones, Alien, Terminator: the law of averages works harder against you in Hollywood than almost anywhere else on the planet. When I first started watching the Die Hard series, I hadn't equated this pattern to the franchise yet.   Now we're into the 4th sequel since Bruce Willis started proving his badassery in 1988 and with every upcoming sequel announcement I wince a little. "Oh, god: still?! Ok, you've had a great run so far. Is this the one that stops the money train?"  I finally had the chance to see A Good Day To Die Hard and, as of this writing, I have some mixed feelings about it.  The plot revolves around John McClane (Willis) hearing his estranged son, Jack (Jai Courtney), is being held in a Russian prison. McClane travels to Moscow to help his son out of whatever bind he's found himself in only to get entangled in a terrorist plot (In true McClane fashion).  

The movie itself is crammed with action and director John Moore (Behind Enemy Lines, Max Payne) has proven he can direct an action scene like no other.  The car stunts in this movie were particularly spectacular, rivaling even the car-ramped-into-a-helicopter moment of Live Free Or Die Hard.  The feeling I'm left with is that these were a lot of amazing action shots threaded together with a small, loosely stitched plot of John McClane trying to reunite with his distant son.  I think even Bruce Willis might be tired of delivering his "Yippe-kai-yay" line.  There are quite a few redeeming qualities to the movie.  First and foremost, plot aside, it did have *most* of the "Die Hard" feel and I think that's thanks to Bruce Willis who, so far, is the only cast or crew member to work closely on every Die Hard installment. One of the greatest moments (no spoilers) was during the third act in what *had* to be a wonderful homage to the first movie (or an incredible coincidence).  I felt my wife and I were the only ones who hooted and applauded at this.  I might have felt the movie was poorly driven, but it didn't feel empty. I didn't walk away feeling like I was missing something. 

The movie, in all of its quirks, was still fulfilling. I'd give it a B+ in action, but a C overall.   The biggest redemption of this movie? Unlike Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, I was marginally OK with the idea of a spin-off franchise starring John McClane Jr. It may be too soon to tell, though: Jai Courtney has quite a few projects ahead of him before he can successfully don the snappy one-liner and dirty undershirt of his predecessor.  All-in-all, it may not end up being my favorite installment, but I'll accept it into the fold and finally stop giving Die Hard 2 so much crap.