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A GOOD DAY TO DIE HARD (2013)

Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

Maybe it is because odd-numbered movie sequels never quite work. Maybe it is because Bruce Willis doesn't carry the show this time. Or maybe it is because there is nothing left to explore in a series that ignited with a firecracker of an action movie in 1988, leaving each sequel to gradually lose focus of what made the original so great to begin with. "A Good Day to Die Hard" feels like flavorless leftovers from the 1980's.

Yep, Willis is back as John McClane, older but less witty yet still packing a lot of heat. John visits Moscow to visit his jailed son, Jack McClane (Jai Courtney), who is actually a CIA agent. There is some business involving a secret file that is kept at Chernobyl, yes that Chernobyl, where the bad guys have to wear gas masks but not our heroic father-son team. John, by the way, is on vacation which is no more of a contrivance than going to Moscow where Russian baddies still exist yet Chechen rebels keep their weapons in the trunks of their cars!  The plot hair dangling from a supersonic helicopter (the best character in the movie) deals with a political prisoner who knows the file's contents and may have other secrets he is harboring. The prisoner's daughter is not what she seems and we get the usual cliches and double-crosses, spurious gunfire, spurious explosions and a truly unbelievable car chase that is so cartoonishly manic with such excess mayhem that I am surprised all of Moscow didn't just shut down after all the vehicle collisions. John and Jack jump through so many panes of glass and fall through so many wooden boards that it is a miracle no one suffers a broken bone. I know the series has become cartoonish ("Die Hard With a Vengeance" is even more implausible) but I still think back to John's bloodied, wounded feet after walking through so much broken glass in the first "Die Hard." A dose of reality would have been nice.

"A Good Day to Die Hard" is a bland, boring, by-the-numbers action picture with none of the thrilling hallmarks that marked the earlier entries. The concept of John reluctantly fighting terrorists, especially confined to a singular setting, is gone. Willis does get a chance to shed a little light on his McClane character, stating that work kept him from paying attention to his kids. It is so cliched and so slight that ultimately, after five movies, I would think McClane can express something other than stiff dialogue. Alas, no.