A GOOD DAY TO DIE HARD: A Review

Details

Director: John Moore

Starring: Bruce Willis, Jai Courtney,

Certificate: 12A

Runtime: 98 mins

Budget: $92,000,000 (estimated)

Review

After refusing to watch this latest instalment in the Die Hard franchise at the cinema I reluctantly decided to sit down and give it a go. Needless to say, I wasn’t impressed.

This time, the film involves (the very aged) John McClane going on “vacation” to Russia to give his son Jack (Jai Courtney) a kick up the ass for going off the rails. McClane soon finds out that his son is in fact an undercover CIA operative looking to get hold of a very important and well sought after file (how original!). Naturally the McClanes team up and kill some bad guys, whilst discovering not all is as it seems.

The overall plot is pretty dire, and is nothing we haven’t seen before. McClane’s son Jack has clearly been thrown in to help inject some life into an ageing series, but instead just tops it with even more cheese. The film plays too much on the father-son bonding between the pair, which frankly could be something taken straight from a soap opera. The twist at the end is also very clunky and poorly written, offering little explanation and making you think “Well how the hell did that happen then?!”.

After seeing McClane taking down a helicopter with a car and having a one-on-one with a jet plane in Die Hard 4.0, I knew I had to take A Good Day to Die Hard with a pinch of salt. I handled everything quite well, including the 20 minute car chase at the beginning that changed camera shots so quickly I started to feel dizzy. But when it came to the helicopter scene, I just couldn’t hold back the laughter. Not because of the absurdity of the whole situation, but because of the kamikaze actions of the helicopter pilot. The helicopter runs out of bullets shooting the McClanes, so the only logical thing is to try and fly into them? Yeah right…

LEFT: Courtney stars as Jack McClane

RIGHT: Courtney stars as Varro in the Spartacus series

The acting isn’t bad, but it’s not exactly great either. Willis is a one-trick pony, and the 58-year old is now well past his prime. Nevertheless he still puts in a reasonable effort and saves this film from being a complete disaster. The script also doesn’t allow Willis to make McClane live up to his true potential, and the famous “yippee-ki-yay” line seems to be overshadowed with “I’m on vay-cation”. I personally didn’t like the idea of McClane having a son, regardless of who plays him. I don’t actually mind Jai Courtney as an actor, and I quite liked him as Varro in the TV series Spartacus: War of the Damned (yes, it really is him!). But Die Hard is all about John McClane vs. the bad guys, and having a sidekick takes away some of John’s badass hero status. I‘ve got a feeling Jack may become a franchise regular should a sequel be made – which now looks likely.

Verdict

This film should never have been made, and is simply another example of film-makers milking a franchise until every last drop of cash is squeezed out of it. The worst part is that there are already plans for a Die Hard 6, which will hopefully be the last in the series.

My advice to most is give this one a miss if you want a film to be the highlight of your evening. But now you know what to expect, there’s no harm in sitting down and giving it a go if you’re after non-stop action and cheap thrills. After all, it is John McClane…

Please feel free to comment below and let me know what you think of A Good Day to Die Hard!

WORLD WAR Z: A Review

Details

Director: Marc Forster

Starring: Brad Pitt, Mireille Enos, Daniella Kertesz  

Certificate: 15

Runtime: 116 mins

Budget: $200,000,000 (estimated)

Review

It’s the moment all zombie and action fans have been waiting for – the release of World War Z.

World War Z stars Brad Pitt as Gerry Lane, an ex-UN investigator who is called upon to uncover the mystery of how the zombie apocalypse started, and hopefully put an end to the global pandemic.

Straight from the start the movie doesn’t disappoint. Within minutes (after a brief introduction of the characters and the scenario) zombies are everywhere, causing mayhem and tearing people apart. Gerry and his family are naturally in the midst of things, and you get that rush whilst watching as if the undead were really chasing after you, just like in the opening scene of 28 Weeks Later when Robert Carlyle is running frantically from a fleet of the infected.

There are a number of other shots in the film that are visually impressive. However I can’t help but feel the best shots are the ones shown in the trailer, such as the undead trying to tower over the high walls surrounding Jerusalem or the explosive outbreak on a plane. Nevertheless the film doesn’t fall short in providing breath-taking pictures of hordes of  zombies; although at times I did crave more one-on-one close-ups with them, as the film does focus mainly on the zombies as a collective rather than individually.

UNDEAD MOUND: Zombies pile on top of each other in ant-like style

The Mail gave a bad review of WWZ, and criticised Pitt for labelling the movie as “original” and “genre-bending” saying it is nothing of the sort. The Mail pointed to the behaviour of the zombies as a sign of unoriginality as they are similar to those in Zack Snyder’s 2004 remake of Dawn Of The Dead. However I don’t think the fast-moving nature of the zombies is a bad aspect, in fact I think it’s what makes the film so bloody great. I love the energetic, aggressive nature of the zombies seen nowadays as opposed to the old fashioned ‘walkers’. They’re more exciting, and carry a much higher level of fear. WWZ adapts the speedy undead even further, making them more driven and sprightly. They almost tumble after their prey with ant-like behaviour. For me, 28 Days zombies will always be the best, but WWZ portrays them in a spectacular new light that is at times simply jaw-dropping.

Pitt’s performance is nothing less than what you would expect from the four-time Oscar nominee. I believe he was the perfect fit for the role, and as the film progresses you gain a real sense of attachment to him. Besides Pitt there is no one who really stood out. Not because they were bad, but because the focus is nearly wholly on Gerry throughout the film. Mireille Enos plays Gerry’s wife Karin, which before watching the film I did find odd. Normally you would expect Pitt to be paired with someone a little more flamboyant, but I think Enos’s role as Gerry’s wife is believable and I think she was a good choice for the role. I am a fan of TV series The Killing in which Enos plays the main character, and it is good to see her getting a chance with a blockbuster. Mathew Fox was billed to a fair degree in advertising material before the release of WWZ, which is strange considering his role in the film is minimal at best.  

LOOKING FOR ANSWERS: Pitt plays UN investigator Gerry

I found WWZ thoroughly entertaining throughout, yet there was one aspect I feel was slightly underwhelming. For me, WWZ was at its peak during the beginning and the middle of the film, and sort of teetered off in the final 3^rd. After the aeroplane scene, the non-stop chaos comes to a halt and the ending is somewhat of an anti-climax. The ending came as a bit of a surprise, and lacked the temperament and explosiveness of the rest of the film. It could have easily carried on for another half an hour, and explained the closing scenes in more detail. That said, I’m not saying the ending is bad, not at all. The ending would actually be fantastic if it was fitted somewhere in the middle of the film. It’s tense and gripping, but just lacks that knockout blow the film deserves.

Verdict

Despite some negative criticism, I thoroughly recommended WWZ for all you action-heads out there.  It’s fast, exhilarating and at times downright crazy! Yes there are some aspects of the film that could have been developed further, but that was always going to be the case when creating a 2-hour long film from such a complex book. Director Marc Forster does a great job in making you feel as though you are part of the action, and has you on the edge of your seat. This is definitely one to look out for…

Please feel free to comment below and let me know what you think of World War Z!

Sequel?!

Before the movie had even hit theatres here in the UK the word ‘sequel’ had been touted around the web, and there are positive talks of a possible trilogy provided all goes well…

Pitt told Yahoo Movies: “We got plenty of material to go on to do a second or third thing if this thing works”. He also told MovieWeb something similar, stating that: “There is enough [material] to mine from the book. We could barely get a fraction of the book in [the movie]. So we'll see. We'll see”.

Director Marc Forster also hinted at the possibility, provided the film does well at the box office: “"Let's see how this goes. We hope this movie goes well and we shall go from there”.

So there’s clearly a hint of something there for WWZ fans to get excited about!