DVD Corner

A Good Day To Die Hard Blu-ray Review

“A Good Day To Die Hard” is the worst film of 2013 so far.

After learning that his son has been arrested for murder, John McClane travels to Moscow to see him. However, John soon learns that not everything is as it seems as his son (Jack) is actually an undercover CIA agent that is working with a whistleblower named Yuri (who possesses an important file) in order to take down an evil Russian official named Viktor Chagarin. From there on out, the story becomes filled with plot twists, action set pieces, and MacGuffins.

For the fans that thought the “Die Hard” franchise couldn’t get worse than “Die Hard 2,” they are in for a rude awakening with “A Good Day To Die Hard.” I don’t know what this movie is, but it’s not a “Die Hard” film. Sure, John McClane is in the movie and yes, he utters the infamous “Yippee Ki-Yay, Motherbleeper” line, but that’s about all this has in common with the “Die Hard” series.

Most (but not all) of the blame should be placed on screenwriter Skip Woods. His name should have been an instant red flag for film buffs with his horrific resume that includes abysmal credits like “Swordfish,” “Hitman,” and “X-Men Origins: Wolverine,” but as with anyone in the entertainment industry, they could always redeem themselves. So far, Woods has only gotten worse with age as evidenced by his humorless fifth “Die Hard” script that doesn’t make a lick of sense. Not only is the plot absurd, but there’s not a single memorable villain. Even more baffling is his interpretation of the John McClane character. While Bruce Willis himself deserves some criticism (I’ll get to that in a bit), McClane is given a sort of backseat role in this film. For several scenes, he literally just stands around or shouts that he’s on vacation (much like Billy Crystal in “City Slickers”) even though he is not on vacation. Even more baffling are the scenes with his rather reckless driving in which he talks to himself, causes massive amounts of damage, and undoubtedly kills innocent civilians on the freeway.

Going back to Bruce Willis, he looks utterly bored throughout the entire production. It’s no secret that Willis has become a notoriously lazy and inconsistent actor over the past decade or so, but you’d think he’d show some enthusiasm for his iconic role as he did in the previous 4 films. Alas, he mostly just mumbles and tries (but utterly fails) to find any sort of chemistry with Jai Courtney (who plays his son Jack).

Note: The Blu-ray disc contains the theatrical and extended cuts of “A Good Day To Die Hard.”

Video/Audio:

The film, which is presented in 1.85:1 1080p, has an intentionally gritty and grainy cinematography style to it. In other words, it’s not the most visually stunning film to look at and the hi-def transfer really highlights this gloomy (and in some cases overly dark) style. Still, the transfer is obviously the best on the home video market.

If there’s one thing that’s a no brainer for this film, it’s that the action is nice and loud with this 7.1 DTS-HD MA audio track. From the car crashes to the shootouts, this track will have your viewing room rocking.

Extras:
* DVD copy, digital copy, and DigitalHD copy.
* 5 storyboarded scenes, a concept art gallery, animatics for 3 scenes, a montage of John McClane scenes from the past 4 films, and theatrical trailers for “A Good Day To Die Hard.”
* 7 deleted scenes.
* “The New Face Of Evil”- A featurette about the 3 main villain characters.
* “Two Of A Kind”- A short featurette about the relationship between John and his son Jack.
* “Back In Action”- Another featurette. This one covers John McClane’s return to the big screen.
* “Anatomy Of A Car Chase”- A behind-the-scenes featurette of the biggest action sequence in the film.
* “VFX Sequences”- A look at the various stages of CGI for certain shots.
* Commentary on the extended cut only by John Moore and Mark Cotone. The two are enthusiastic about their work as they chat about random tidbits, Bruce Willis, filming locations, etc. Better than a lot of commentaries, but I wouldn’t say it’s a must listen to track either.
* “Making It Hard To Die”- A 15 part hour long documentary that covers stunts, helicopters, special and visual effects, aerial footage, green screen motion base work, weapons, Russia and Budapest, the style, Chernobyl, camera work, editing, color grading, and the score. Interviews and a plethora of behind-the-scenes footage are included here. Infinitely more interesting than the movie itself.

Summary: From the overlong and painfully unfunny scene with John talking to a cab driver to the cringe worthy one-liners by the baddies, “A Good Day To Die Hard” is a disaster from start to finish. Perhaps this should be the final nail in the coffin for the franchise.

June 13, 2013 - Posted by nicklyons1 | Blu-Ray review | A Good Day To Die Hard Blu-ray Review, Bruce Willis, Die Hard 5 Review, John McClane