Die Hard. The name connotes testosterone-fueled action movies that inspired many imitators, including a slew of sequels, and not many that lived up to the original. The fifth film in the franchise finds NYPD cop John McClane heading to Moscow to hunt down his wayward son, who has landed himself in Russian prison. But things are not as they seem, as the younger John McClane is involved in a convoluted undercover operation to try to retrieve sensitive information from a Russian political prisoner. But none of that really matters, does it? We want a Die Hard movie for a few things: cowboy references, explosive mayhem, gunplay, and John McClane getting progressively more beat up and bloodied throughout the ordeal.
Basically, if you like Die Hard movies, you’re going to like this movie. If you don’t, then you’re probably not going to. And cue “Ode to Joy” and we’re off…
So what does it say that this film is released the week of Valentine’s Day as an obvious attempt to counter-program the new Nicholas Sparks film and other lovey-dovey treacle? Can we assume the film doesn’t exactly stand on its own, lest it would get a summer tentpole release?
Well, a little. This movie works when it is a balls-to-the-wall action flick. While a little self-aware, its loving nods and homages to the earlier films is a smart move.
But it has faults as well. Some of the action is so frenetic, especially an early car chase through the streets of Moscow, that it makes it harder to follow what is going on. It telegraphs some pretty obvious moves, likely because someone somewhere decided that subtlety and foreshadowing would not get through to a lot of the brain dead zombies who just want to see stuff get blowed up pretty.
But its biggest problem is it has to tack on this sappy father-son psychodrama which is almost unbearable.
“Oh it’s so hard being your son.” “No, it’s hard being your father.”
**twenty minutes later**
“Well, now that we’ve killed some bad guys together, we’re all better.” “Yay! Let’s go kill more bad people.”
Boooooo.
There’s still a lot to love. The plot is fun enough, with enough twists and turns to keep it interesting. It’s good to have an R-rated Die Hard again, especially with a few of the more violent bits. Nothing beats a good death by helicopter rotor or Die Hard trademark villains falling from incredible heights with the look of terror on their faces. It is good to pair John McClane with someone who can keep up with him, in this case Jai Courtney, who fans of Spartacus: Blood and Sand may recognize. I love Justin Long, but he was not the best sidekick. And I mentioned the car chase– I should qualify that. It’snot so much cars as an MRAP armored truck. And Rusophiles like myself will appreciate the excellent Russian dialogue– Jai Courtney even passes for being fluent. Everyone else will probably get annoyed by having to read so many subtitles.
Still, in terms of the franchise, this film rates squarely in the middle of all of them. It’s not as good as the original or Die Hard With a Vengeance, but it is better than Die Harder and Live Free or Die Hard, but not by too much. Bruce Willis and the producers have expressed interest with making a final Die Hard 6 as a way to end the series. Here’s hoping they knock that one of the park, as this one is only above par.
2 1/2 stars.