Some friends and I decided to see the newest Die Hard film last night, and I decided I would post my thoughts on the film here. Obviously, there are gonna be spoilers here.
First, and foremost, I'll mention that I've never sat through any of the previous installments in this series. I've meant to, and had ample opportunity to, but just...never quite made it. That being said, I have seen my fair share of action movies, and more than a few Bruce Willis flicks in my time, so it's not like I'm unaware of what to expect.
That being said, this movie struck me as...okay. It wasn't anything spectacular as far as plot goes, and actually seems pretty rushed.
In the film John McClane (Willis) apparently calls in a favor to get info on his estranged son, Jack, who is being held prisoner in Russia for a number of things, the latest of which is shooting a man in a club. McClane heads to Russia to find out directly from his son what's been going on. Upon arrival, he discovers that the whole "incarceration" thing is a plot, and Jack is working for the CIA to get a file from a powerful politician. The whole mission is screwed up by John showing up, so he is pulled into the whole thing to try and make things right.
Which, you know, is all standard action movie stuff. The issue, in my opinion, is that the whole plot seems kind of rushed and cluttered. Jack holds an incredible amount of contempt for his father throughout the film, which while almost understandable is definitely blown out of proportion. This leads to awkward interactions between the two, and a lot of the humor in the movie comes from the pair making jokes about the fact that they are father and son, and incredibly alike. This is chuckle worthy the first time, but after about 20 jokes of this nature, it starts to wear thin.
Also, the main plot suffers from trying to hard to be edge of your seat exciting. The main antagonist changes about three times throughout the film, with the initial one dying after being on screen for, maybe, five minutes total. Pair that with the fact that the other antagonists are a bit...off with their interactions, and it makes for a pretty underwhelming experience.
The action in the movie is well done, which is good since it's the main drawing point. It begins with a massive car chase scene, in which at least fifty cars are totaled. There are also plenty of shoot outs, leaping off buildings, and explosions. Of course, the good guys walk out of 90% of these scenarios with barely a scratch, which detracts from the reality of the film, but that's more or less to be expected.
Ultimately, the movie wraps up with the antagonists being killed in pretty lackluster ways (one actually kills herself, as an act of revenge, I guess?) and more father-son jokes which left my friends and I shaking our heads.
Ultimately, like I said, the movie was okay. Not great, but not terrible. I am more interested now in going back and watching the older Die Hard films to see how this one really stacks up against them. I'd say if you're a fan of the series you'd probably have a slightly better experience, because this installment is ripe with references to the older films, so that may boost it's score for you, but I'd have to give it a 6.5/10.
