A Good Day to Die Hard

Ah, liked the other Die Hard films.

Even Die Hard 3.

Live Free or Die Hard was a big surprise, seeing how it was the franchise's 4th instalment and disseminated one of its best narratives.

Bearing this in mind, I was excited when I heard that A Good Day to Die Hard was being released, naively figuring that they would at least sustain Die Hard 4's momentum with another deep script packed with the expected explosive cast of supporting characters.

In other words, I completely forgot that this was Die Hard 5.

Bruce Willis still excels at playing John McClane. There weren't any moments where it seemed as if he had lost touch with the hands-on hardboiled lawperson whose gifts for instantaneously outwitting ingenious villains in the heat of the moment flexibly manifests an endearing contextual psychocorporeality.

But no single performance could have saved this film, with its brutal lines, shoddy editing, improbable scenarios (usually you try and set up an elaborate situation whose intricate details, improbable though they may be, at least cleverly conceal the improbability), and rather one-dimensional depiction of Russia.

The idea behind the script is solid. Send Mr. McClane to another country where he must contend with the wicked with the help of his son (Jai Courtney as Jack McClane) thereby quasi-globalizing his law enforcement instinct while strengthening his commitment to family.

The film's best moments see John and Jack airing their grievances while preparing for another round of improvisational hyperactivity, and its best line is "Tough to kill a McClane."

But Die Hard 5 can still be categorized with Rocky V and Star Trek V, more concerned with its image than the traditional kinetic synthesis of action, dialogue, stitch, and kitsch that produced it.

Remember the cold war? The creative forces behind Die Hard 5 sure do.

Ugh.