Happy to die... once more!

A Good Day to Die Hard (2013)
Certified: 12
Duration: 97 minutes
Directed by: John Moore
Starring: Bruce Willis, Jai Courtney, Sebastian Koch, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Yuliya Snigir, Radivoje Bukvic, Cole Hauser, Amaury Nolasco, Sergei Kolesnikov
KRS release

Bruce Willis returns to the screen for a fifth outing as New York tough cop John McClane. Here he discovers that his son Jack (Jai Courtney), with whom he has lost contact, has been accused with murder and is under arrest in Moscow.

The film is at its best when explosions and gunfire dominate the screen

He travels to Russia when a terrorist attack is triggered at the Moscow courthouse. The terrorists are attempting to capture Komarov (Sebastian Koch), a political prisoner who is awaiting trial. John eventually discovers that his son is a CIA agent tasked with protecting Komarov.

Things get complicated when McClane ends up bumbling his son’s plans. Father and son go on the run and soon clash with Yuri (Sergei Kolesnikov), a criminal who wants to get his hands on a computer file that would tie him up with the Chernobyl fracas.

Embroiled in the plot are also Irina (the beautiful Yuliya Snigir), Komarov’s not entirely trustworthy daughter, and Alik (Radivoje Bukvic), Yuri’s top man, who has a point to prove.

The McClanes leave a swathe of devastation in their path and the fate of the world also falls in their hands. However, they must first learn to get along.

It is very hard to believe that the Die Hard franchise is already celebrating its 25th anniversary. Each movie in the franchise has added characters and more and more over-the-top action along the way.

The franchise could never recapture the magic of the original but its promise of bigger and more exaggerated action scenes has been maintained. This is once more the case in A Good Day to Die Hard.

This film also marks the first time the character of John McClane ends up outside US soil and solving an international crisis.

Willis walks through the movie with a sardonic smile that gives him a cool and nonchalant attitude. He may be ageing but he is still as bullet-proof as action heroes go. He gives Arnie and Sly – who are both contemporary action stars of the 1980s – a good lesson: how to keep looking tough without becoming a parody of one’s own image by simply embracing it.

Courtney is all tough and strong but he plays second fiddle to Willis.

The plot involves a chase for a hidden file and this basic premise is milked for all its worth. The film is at its best when explosions and gunfire dominate the screen. The dialogue that comes in between is there only to provide a little but much-needed breathing space.

A Good Day to Die Hard is high on popcorn entertainment, especially in the first half. However, when Willis utters such lines as “Let’s go kill some scumbags!” you cannot help but not smile. Maybe it’s the nostalgia catching up with me!

Box-office results will determine if we get to see a sixth Die Hard movie. With the way things are going so far, it seems McClane’s days are not over.