Film review: A Good Day to Die Hard Not about to die… hard!

MANILA, Philippines - If you’re familiar with the action flick, Die Hard, then you certainly know who John McClane is. Back in 1988, actor Bruce Willis invaded the hard action genre and was introduced to the public as the fearless, never-say-die New York City cop, John McClane.

Since then, McClane has become an iconic character in the action arena with four other Die Hard sequels that came out through the years. The first Die Hard was based on the best-selling novel Nothing Lasts Forever by Roderick Thorp.

Initially, the title of the novel was nowhere near the action genre. But the film was too successful enough to show the seemingly non-stop action pursuits of McClane and his never-ending quest for justice through the police force.

The latest in the highly-successful franchise is A Good Day To Die Hard which takes McClane to the streets of Moscow to look for his son, played by Australian actor Jai Courtney. He was earlier seen in Jack Reacher.

There are no big stars in this latest Die Hard sequel unlike in earlier films, but that was never a downer. Bruce, ever the big star that he is, was enough to propel the film on his own. And the action scenes were really spectacular and high-octane in the production’s conscious effort to surpass previous Die Hard films.  

It will be remembered that Alan Rickman (he later played Snape in the Harry Potter series) was McClane’s German nemesis, Hans Gruber, in the first Die Hard film, which took place in Los Angeles.

Die Hard 2 (1990) saw McClane battling out soldiers led by William Sadler, who took over Dulles International Airport in Washington D.C. to free a Latin American dictator (Franco Nero). While waiting for the plane of his wife, McClane stumbled upon the plot of the terrorists and hatched his own plan to help the airplanes land.

Then, Jeremy Irons played Hans’ brother, Simon Peter Gruber, on a vendetta in Die Hard With a Vengeance (1995). The action took place in New York City, where McClane uncovered Gruber’s real plan, to steal the US gold reserve. Samuel L. Jackson played a Harlem storekeeper who helped McClane solve Gruber’s many riddles and prevent any bomb from exploding.

Justin Long was a computer hacker in Live Free or Die Hard, the fourth sequel (2007). Together, Justin and Bruce teamed up to battle a cyber-warfare in the US. The film featured Timothy Olyphant as the villain and introduced McClane’s daughter, Mary Elizabeth Winstead.

In A Good Day To Die Hard, McClane is in another country for the first time to find his son, Jack (Jai), only to discover that the latter works as a CIA operative out to prevent a nuclear weapons heist. This time, McClane teams up with his son and together they battle strong forces in Russia.

Jack may be an ideal anathema to his father when they’re apart, but together, their chemistry was undeniable. They worked as a team and proved to be the perfect foil to their Russian nemesis. They were able to hurdle every scene with a great partnership onscreen.

John McClane was never a disappointment. Evidently, Bruce still delivered. If you think that the action superstar already gave it all in this movie, think again. To date, the film grossed more than a hundred thousand dollars in the US, much more than its actual budget.

Since the film had a new foreign setting, there were interesting characters (but lesser-known stars) introduced who were important to the plot. The car chases, explosions and gun battles were all adrenalin-pumping and will undoubtedly keep you on the edge of your seats.

The non-stop action scenes like how father and son escaped being captives of their Russian enemies were really something to look forward to. Those scenes made the story all the more gripping and heart-pounding.

John Moore (Behind Enemy Lines, The Omen) directed the new Die Hard franchise. A number of moviegoers who saw the film maintained that Bruce  should retire McClane’s character. But the 56-year-old action star said he is even ready to play McClane (maybe one last time) in Die Hard 6.

That remains to be seen. But for sure, every fan of Die Hard will still be excited to anticipate that. We remain optimistic.