A Good Day to Die Hard Review

There is one good stretch here and it lasts about eight minutes. The Moscow highway chase, an armored truck grinding through traffic while McClane pursues in a borrowed Mercedes, uses real vehicles and real damage and briefly resembles an action film. Everything on either side of it is inert. John Moore shoots the rest in gray murk and cuts the fights so fast that no punch has a destination, and the Chernobyl finale, where two men spray a liquid that neutralizes radiation, plays less as laziness than as contempt.

Willis appears to have decided not to act. He delivers his lines in a bored monotone, and a character once defined by fear and improvisation is now an invulnerable man complaining that this is ruining his vacation. Jai Courtney is asked to carry the emotional half as the estranged son and gives nothing back, so the reconciliation that is the entire reason for the film's existence never registers once.

The script produces a double cross with no setup and a villain who announces himself by dancing. The catchphrase is deployed twice, both times as a wink at the audience. This is where a great character finally became intellectual property.