Culture

So John McClane is back, and this time he’s wreaking havoc in a completely new place: Russia. As always, this Die Hard is about a badass cop who seems to be in the wrong place at the wrong time and, to make things right, goes in guns blazing and kicks the bad guy’s arse. This newest instalment, though, comes with a twist: John’s son, Jack, is all grown up and following in his daddy’s shoes by fighting the villain.

Though this movie follows that Die Hard formula of Awesome, it misses the mark and is a bit disappointing. The aged John we see in this film is very much just an old Bruce Willis. He can still pull off the tough guy, but it feels as though five films to the series might be a couple too many – in all honesty, they should have stopped after the third.

Another less enjoyable feature of the film is the character relationship between John McClane and his son (Jai Courtney). Talk about daddy issues. From the moment John and his son meet up, the tension is unmistakable – but you don’t really feel the need to know why. Yet director John Moore lays it on thick for the entire length of the film. Every line between the two could be swapped for things like, “oh, daddy doesn’t love me,” or “you never hugged me when I was younger.” At one point, after an impressive action scene, the film is brought to a standstill by a soppy father-son moment so sickly sweet it would give you a cavity if it hadn’t put you to sleep.

However, this film redeems itself somewhat with an amazing car chase (which involved the coolest truck that destroyed everything in its path) and explosions.

2.5/5