Hollywood Product: ‘A Good Day to Die Hard’
A good way to kill a franchise.
- Courtesy of 20th Century Fox
- WORK THE SMIRK: Bruce Willis and Jai Courtney
GENRE: Fouth-generation copy of once-kickass action franchise
THE PITCH: Cocky but aging New York cop John McClane (Bruce Willis) travels to Moscow to investigate a criminal case involving his estranged son Jack (Jai Courtney of “Spartacus: Blood and Sand”), a CIA operative caught up in an incomprehensible scheme involving a Russian defense official (Sergei Kolesnikov), an imprisoned billionaire (Sebastian Koch) and some weapons-grade uranium.
MONEY SHOTS: An early car chase features some impressive automotive carnage, including a six-wheeled armored truck smashing smaller cars and flipping an auto into the roof of a tunnel. McClane drives atop other vehicles in gridlocked Moscow traffic, showing hilarious disregard for innocent lives. Jack whips out a fun, window frame-shaped gizmo that blasts escape holes into walls. McClane gets flung from a helicopter through a window in an image that entertains despite its obvious CGI.
WTF SHOT: There’s a scene with the Russian government bad guy walking in slow motion, followed by a mob of judges in robes, that’s supposed to be badass, but looks more like a “Dancing Itos” number is about to break out.