View Full Version : A Good Day to Die Hard (John Moore)
A GOOD DAY TO DIE HARD
Director: John Moore
imdb (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1606378/?ref_=sr_1)
http://img.dailyscreens.com/2013/01/bruce-willis-a-good-day-to-die-hard-wallpaper.jpg
It has its moments, such as the ridiculous chase scene that essentially becomes a monster truck rally. And Bruce Willis appears to be having a decent enough time. But otherwise, the movie just takes things too seriously. It tries to do too much, and it does so without really having much fun. It lacks the charm, fun, and simplicity that made the originals such classics. That, and a lot of the action scenes were just really disorienting, and oftentimes even boring.
That, and there were far too many slow father-son bonding moments. There's only one that seems to work, but the rest just drag the movie to a snail's pace, and there's about a good three or so of them here, and they each grow increasingly unnecessary and just last forever. So yeah, I dunno, it has its moments here and there, so I didn't hate it, but overall I'd say that this one was pretty disappointing.
EyesWideOpen
02-15-2013, 03:27 AM
The two reviewers over at dvdtalk tore this film apart.
The two reviewers over at dvdtalk tore this film apart.
It's one of those movies where I didn't walk out hating it, but I'm sure the more it digests, the more I'll grow the loathe it.
EyesWideOpen
02-15-2013, 03:40 AM
I usually check out the reviews over at dvdtalk even if it's for stuff I'm not interested in just to see if they're blown away by anything that might have slipped under my radar. One reviewer gave this zero stars. I almost never see a score that low there.
Henry Gale
02-15-2013, 05:21 AM
Siiiigh. I was looking forward to seeing this even if the general reaction ended up being fairly middle-of-the-road. I mean, it's Die Hard, right?! Surely that's a perfectly non-mentally-stimulating way to kill a couple of hours at the movies this time of year, even at its worst!
But now... with these reviews... I'm just not sure I can bring myself to it.
Kiusagi
02-15-2013, 05:57 AM
It has its moments, such as the ridiculous chase scene that essentially becomes a monster truck rally. And Bruce Willis appears to be having a decent enough time. But otherwise, the movie just takes things too seriously. It tries to do too much, and it does so without really having much fun. It lacks the charm, fun, and simplicity that made the originals such classics. That, and a lot of the action scenes were just really disorienting, and oftentimes even boring.
That, and there were far too many slow father-son bonding moments. There's only one that seems to work, but the rest just drag the movie to a snail's pace, and there's about a good three or so of them here, and they each grow increasingly unnecessary and just last forever. So yeah, I dunno, it has its moments here and there, so I didn't hate it, but overall I'd say that this one was pretty disappointing.
More or less what I thought. It has even less resemblance to a Die Hard movie than the fourth movie (which I liked anyway). Interesting to note that this was the first sequel whose script was written to be a Die Hard sequel. Ironically, that may have been the problem, just writing action scenes and attempting (key word) to be faithful to the series without coming up with an actual plot.
Sxottlan
02-15-2013, 09:57 AM
Blah. Trailer gave away everything. Spent the whole film waiting for the one amazing shot from the trailer of the two of them falling with the chopper going down behind them.
Turns out that's the climatic shot of the entire damn film. It was like Tarsem suddenly stepped in to do that shot. It's like they had an idea for this one shot and tried to build the rest of the film around that. A good trailer makes you want to see something with what you think is all the action only to have the film spring something even better on you.
I was indifferent towards the third film. Kind of silly. Loved the other three. This was bad. :(
Morris Schæffer
02-15-2013, 10:50 AM
Blah. Trailer gave away everything. Spent the whole film waiting for the one amazing shot from the trailer of the two of them falling with the chopper going down behind them.
Turns out that's the climatic shot of the entire damn film. It was like Tarsem suddenly stepped in to do that shot. It's like they had an idea for this one shot and tried to build the rest of the film around that. A good trailer makes you want to see something with what you think is all the action only to have the film spring something even better on you.
I was indifferent towards the third film. Kind of silly. Loved the other three. This was bad. :(
But two stars would still seem to indicate average. ;)
Dukefrukem
02-15-2013, 11:38 AM
Just want a yes or no answer but was the car chase that was 70 days in the making, live up to the hype?
Skitch
02-15-2013, 11:46 AM
The reviews I've read tearing it apart also seem to tear apart part 4, and I like that one, so...
Just want a yes or no answer but was the car chase that was 70 days in the making, live up to the hype?
No. It was impressive only so far as it was loud and expensive. The narrative logic of the chase was slapdash and it's cobbled together with no real structure. Also, many people are undoubtedly dying and that is distracting.
Kiusagi
02-15-2013, 06:26 PM
The car chase was more tedious than thrilling. Not only is it poorly constructed, it comes at a point where we have zero attachment to the characters involved since we really don't even know who they are, other than John McClane.
One thing I did kinda like was the ending showing the reunited family. It was just begging for a Bonnie Bedelia appearance, though.
Thr brief "monster truck rally" monent I alluded to was a bit fun, but otherwise, no. Lasted far too long, and it was hard to tell what was even going on the majority of the time.
Boner M
02-16-2013, 04:13 AM
I've been enjoying Vishnevetsky's tweets on this one.
A GOOD DAY TO DIE HARD: hate to be a logic Nazi, but Chernobyl is like 700 miles away from Moscow and also in a different country.
To be fair, if the movie was realistic, the "He's in Russia" scene would be followed by McClane filing out visa applications for months.
Bet all those drivers McClane crashed into walked away with some sweet dashcam videos, though.
If you're making a movie where 1/3 of the dialogue is in a particular language, it's usually a good idea to hire actors who can speak it.
"Oh, the movie's set in Russia? Let's hire a bunch of Hungarians and Germans!" #RussianGripes
plain
02-18-2013, 06:17 PM
Went in knowing it would be bad, but it somehow was way worse than I expected. There were somehow two Willis age references in the first five minutes, an awful macguffin, a tap-dancing carrot eating villain, and a tattooed and bald Russian henchmen inexplicably wearing no shirt in the final 10 minutes. Not to mention the inclusion of Chernobyl for no apparent reason. So fucking bad, would like to see Hyams direct the next one.
Morris Schæffer
02-19-2013, 05:23 AM
The worst one so far. The father-son moments, the humour, none of these really work. Villain is the suckiest one so far, and yet, it was so brief and action-packed that it flew by in a heartbeat. The action scenes were definitely over-edited, but I found them moderately thrilling. There were a bunch of cool shots in the finale, nothing to unseat McTiernan, or even Wiseman, but a bunch of cool bits nonetheless. I braced for the worst, and got something barely acceptable.
I will say that I did really like the one shot of McClane, in slow motion, careening from the tail of a helicopter, shattering through a window, and bouncing along the glass-strewn ground.
Derek
02-19-2013, 05:48 PM
I will say that I did really like the one shot of McClane, in slow motion, careening from the tail of a helicopter, shattering through a window, and bouncing along the glass-strewn ground.
Where he flicked the pilot off as he went by? That was so lame, though not moreso than the rest of the movie. The father/son stuff was painful. It felt like they were cobbled together from cliched moments from a dozen other terrible movies. When I'm actually missing Justin Long, somethingg has gone very, very wrong.
Where he flicked the pilot off as he went by?
No. He'd been swinging from the truck danging behind the copter, then it tosses him through a building. That's the shot I mean.
number8
02-19-2013, 09:56 PM
How much better would this be, tho, if Liam Neesons was also in this?
Irish
02-19-2013, 10:44 PM
Don't disappoint me, Match Cut! There's gotta be somebody out there who's crazy enough to Yay!
(Has there ever been a movie on the forums that's been universally panned in the voting?)
(Has there ever been a movie on the forums that's been universally panned in the voting?)
Not if I have anything to say about it!
(Usually, at least. :P )
Skitch
02-20-2013, 07:29 PM
Don't disappoint me, Match Cut! There's gotta be somebody out there who's crazy enough to Yay!
(Has there ever been a movie on the forums that's been universally panned in the voting?)
I'm sure it will be me. :)
Derek
02-21-2013, 05:29 AM
No. He'd been swinging from the truck danging behind the copter, then it tosses him through a building. That's the shot I mean.
Oh, is that the shot you mean?
How much better would this be, tho, if Liam Neesons was also in this?
Liam Neesons and Bruce Willi can be brothers in Die Hard 6.
transmogrifier
02-21-2013, 05:43 AM
1: Single building
2: Airport
3: New York City
4: the US
Does the latest one give an indication that the entire continent is in danger, so that it at least continues the progression we talked about ages ago?
Kiusagi
02-21-2013, 07:27 AM
It's funny that after all he's done, John McClane is still just a regular cop. I mean, geez, at least promote the guy.
Oh, is that the shot you mean?
Yes. Why the tone?
Derek
02-21-2013, 04:59 PM
Yes. Why the tone?
I was going to ask you the same thing, but i must have misread your post. My bad!
D_Davis
02-21-2013, 05:53 PM
I'm surprised so many people went to see this.
EDIT: and by "so many" I mean anyone.
I was going to ask you the same thing, but i must have misread your post. My bad!
Mine too! It was an awkward post, no doubt.
Dukefrukem
02-24-2013, 03:44 PM
Ditto to everything everyone has already said. The last shot with the flaming helicopter rotors was a nice touch.
BTW, why was this rated R?
Ditto to everything everyone has already said. The last shot with the flaming helicopter rotors was a nice touch.
BTW, why was this rated R?
F bombs and head shots.
Dukefrukem
02-24-2013, 04:36 PM
F bombs and head shots.
I think I heard two F bombs. I've seen PG-13 F bomb movies before. I feel like the R-rated was wasted.
Morris Schæffer
02-24-2013, 06:53 PM
I think I heard two F bombs. I've seen PG-13 F bomb movies before. I feel like the R-rated was wasted.
Just goes to show they didn't give a damn about such things as script. They secured the rating, but did nothing with it. Good point Duke.
number8
02-24-2013, 06:57 PM
The rating system is a negotiation process. Most action movies get an R and horror movies get an NC-17, and it's up to the studio and director to haggle with the MPAA to get a lower rating. Every time a movie gets away with a lot with PG-13, that sets precedent for future negotiations, that's why as the years go by you see a lot more violence and cussing in PG-13. It's easier to argue that it's okay these days. Same with the level of gore in horror films.
They probably just didn't bother haggling the R rating this time because the last time they did, everyone complained, including critics who pointed to it as proof that it was watered down Die Hard. They were hoping that the R rating would give it some cred with the fans.
Skitch
03-29-2013, 06:16 PM
A Good Day To Die Hard (a.k.a. Mailing in the mail to get mailed with the mail whenever you get around to mailing mail) - I'm no stranger to John Moore's work (or movies I should say, because it doesn't seem like he loses a lot sleep perfecting these flicks), but damn dude. Its really hard to let things slide when they could have been fixed with the slightest of efforts.
One chain holds up that truck? That's laughable. How hard is it to make it be several? Hell, couldve done that in post.
I've heard many a generic score, but this thing was offensive to my ears. Crashing booming excitement music when not much is happening. Oh no! He scraped a car! Blech. Plus the sappy music at the end was just downright terrible.
Rumor has it that car chase took 70 days to film or some such nonsense. I'm interested to see the director's cut, because if it took that long to film a couple trucks just barely bumping every parked car in Moscow, Moore should've been fired on the spot.
Bruce...Bruce, Bruce, Bruce. Dude, if you're not even going to try, then hang it the hell up.
Jai Courtney was the most solid thing in this flick, there we're a couple nice action shots, and I'll give it a bump for the trailer not ruining the movie. Other than that, completely mediocre. I'll give a DC a shot though, who knows.
4.5/10
Thirdmango
05-10-2013, 11:18 AM
Mild Yay. I went into it expecting the worst and I got some fun action with a silly plot. It's not a great movie, and it doesn't live up to the potential of being a Die Hard but as a silly action movie it was what I wanted on a 9 hour flight.
Ridiculous. Just ridiculous.
Grouchy
06-22-2013, 07:14 PM
This film has no right to carry the Die Hard banner. There's a minimum of quality audiences associate with those films and this one just doesn't cut it.
I have a hard time believing someone got PAID to write those father/son bonding moments.
EvilShoe
06-30-2013, 08:37 AM
Feels like a DTV production, starring an A-lister who'd rather be doing something else. It's quite poor, made even worse by the fact that it's a Die Hard sequel, but I guess it's ok to watch on a Sunday afternoon.
Morris Schæffer
06-30-2013, 09:42 AM
Feels like a DTV production, starring an A-lister who'd rather be doing something else. It's quite poor, made even worse by the fact that it's a Die Hard sequel, but I guess it's ok to watch on a Sunday afternoon.
What's wrong with saturday afternoon? Why must poor movies always be watched on sunday afternoons? :P
EvilShoe
06-30-2013, 11:48 AM
What's wrong with saturday afternoon? Why must poor movies always be watched on sunday afternoons? :P
Because Sunday is usually hangover day, why else?
Morris Schæffer
06-30-2013, 07:23 PM
Because Sunday is usually hangover day, why else?
Hilarious. It actually was today! :D
Powered by vBulletin® Version 4.2.5 Copyright © 2024 vBulletin Solutions Inc. All rights reserved.