A Good Day' to see something else

The original "Die Hard" was far more than a typical action movie. From hero to villain to Bruce Willis's limo driver, every charac­ter was compelling. Its plot was also interesting enough to grab the audience's attention from beginning to end. Sure, there was bloodshed and over-the-top stunts; but there was also suspense, family drama and perfectly-placed one-liners all adding up to a movie that raised the bar for its genre. Though "A Good Day to Die Hard" is the fifth installment in the classic franchise, it has all the makings of just another one of its rip-offs.

"A Good Day to Die Hard" com­mits the same mis­take that the other "Die Hard" knock-offs made in the sense that it tries to go bigger than the first. But just as previous imitations demonstrated, ev­eryone knows that bigger does not mean better. Di­rector John Moore focuses so much at­tention on action in this film that story and character de­velopment seem to be an afterthought. Also forgotten is realism, for this is a movie in which mere humans fall out of buildings and walk through Cher­nobyl (yes, that Chernobyl) without suffering more than a few gashes.

The only thing really worthwhile about "A Good Day to Die Hard" is seeing the rela­tionship between John McClane and his son Jack prog­ress throughout the film. At first Jack resents his father, who wasn't there for him when he was a child. Mak­ing matters worse, John unknowingly disrupts Jack's CIA mission, resulting in deadly Russian terrorists coming after them. But as they kill nameless bad guys and es­cape death, they slowly bond and realize their love for each other. It's just a shame that relationship is not allowed to better grow; instead, it is crammed in amid the many unbeliev­able stunt scenes.

The performances of the McClanes are also commendable. It's great seeing Bruce Willis once again portraying the character that launched his film career. As John, Willis seamlessly blends the grizzled action hero with the vulnerable ev­eryman, though his first turn in the role is admittedly su­perior to this time around. Also very good was Jai Court­ney, who might just be the next big ac­tion star.

Make no mistake, "A Good Day to Die Hard" works well as a typical action movie. It's just not a great film like its predecessor.

Sean Quinn can be reached at sean.quinn@ student.shu.edu.