Die Hard 5: A Good Day to Die Hard has been released in theaters. We find our John McClane, New York policeman, ending up in the wrong place at the wrong time yet again. For our greatest pleasure? Oh no.
When a Die Hard movie is announced in cinemas, many fans get excited. You have to say it’s kind of THE reference when it comes to action movies. An ordinary cop who finds himself in extraordinary situations and still makes it through with plenty of punches, machine guns, and sharp (now legendary) lines. The franchise started in 1987 with the excellent “Die Hard,” followed by two equally honest films that fulfill the heavy task of entertaining the audience. No false sentiments, we laugh, we marvel at the special effects, that’s all we ask for.
But then, after a 12-year break, Die Hard returned with a fourth episode that was somewhat below its predecessors. Bruce Willis puts back on his plaid shirt and, without a hair on his head, our cop finds himself forced to save his daughter and, as long as he’s at it, save America from evil terrorists. We don’t expect a complex story in this type of film, especially since the fashion is for females in distress after the excellent Taken, but it must be noted that this one struggled to convince. Slightly lacking compared to the first three, this Die Hard was disappointing but still fulfilled its mission with its load of action and lines. So after an episode that can be called a failure, why on earth continue down this path?
Die Hard 5 is simply a betrayal. An excuse for an avalanche of special effects (not always successful) with disastrous editing and an utterly poor script. John McClane goes to Moscow to see his son who is held in prison. He turns out to be a CIA agent whose mission is to save a former Russian terrorist who holds crucial information. The son is angry at his father (don’t expect to know why) but they will still cause as much havoc as possible. Once again, we don’t linger on the plot, but still! The least we could do is provide a solid foundation on which the film can be built. Here, it’s a total mess. The evil Russians who dislike the good Americans with a ridiculous father-son relationship in the middle. Even Bruce Willis seems not to know what he’s doing here. The actor solely fulfills his role … of just being present. His charm evaporates, his lines barely cause a smile (one must say that recycling the same jokes over and over from previous installments eventually becomes tiresome) and pushing the aging aspect of the character nearly borders on the ridiculous. Is it the actor’s fault?
It’s John Moore’s fault. A glance at his career was enough to understand that the film was going to disappoint. The director of the absolutely dreadful Max Payne took a mischievous pleasure in destroying the saga initiated by John McTiernan 26 years ago. He is one of those weak directors who constructs a movie like a video game. That is, showcasing explosions everywhere without bothering about the rest. This is what’s called taking people for fools. Yet, this past decade has shown us that it’s entirely possible to make “intelligent” blockbusters. Take the Jason Bourne movies (except the last one), the Dark Knight trilogy by the excellent Christopher Nolan, or Avengers by Joss Whedon. Here, not only is it bad, but on top of that, the charm of the saga has disappeared. And it’s full of editing errors! Congratulations to John Moore who has finally managed to destroy the saga, a task that the fourth installment had already well started.
So to recap: A charisma-less John McClane, an editing we will avoid qualifying not to be vulgar, a script worthy of a bad video game, and our tears to cry. Goodbye John McClane!
