In some semblance of continuation, Bruce Willis’ John McClane, the once proud icon of the American action film, is dropped off at the airport by his daughter Lucy (Mary Elizabeth Winstead, reprising her role from Live Free or Die Hard).  He arrives in Moscow and learns that his son, Jack, (Australian rising star, Jai Courtney) far from being a criminal, is a CIA operative, three years into an undercover mission to protect the Russian thief-turned-whistleblower, Komarov.  Having grown a conscience, Komarov is determined to testify against his former partner, Chagarin, and thwart his ambitions for higher political office.

The best idea in this, by far the least satisfying of the franchise, is the Weapons of Mass Destruction scenario slightly skewed but nevertheless still seen as deceiving the Americans into a spurious overseas operation.

Directed by John Moore who helmed the horrible OMEN remake and written by Skip Woods who penned the execrable SWORDFISH, this is just smash and grab mindless mayhem as the film bores into a protracted car chase through the streets of Moscow…What should be edge of your seat suspense turns into leave your seat and see if there is some real action going on in the foyer.

A GOOD DAY TO DIE HARD sounds like the title of a hopeful geriatric porn flick but in character, dialogue and direction it’s flaccid, a snapshot of the ugly American and perhaps the even uglier Russian.

If Bruce Willis truly wanted to rescue Jai Courtney he would have tried to extract him from Jack Reacher.

The original movie and most of the sequels have relied on suspension of disbelief and humour, both sadly lacking in this ham-fisted, all thumbs, butter-fingered outing.

One scene stands out as what could have been when McLane is picked up by a singing taxi driver. A comic standout in a film that defecates on its franchise.

© Richard Cotter