A Good Day to Die Hard Blu-ray review

Actors: Bruce Willis, Jai Courtney

Director: John Moore

Format: AC-3, Color, Dolby, DTS Surround Sound, Dubbed, Subtitled, Widescreen

Language: English (DTS 5.1), French (Dolby Digital 5.1), Spanish (Dolby Digital 5.1)

Subtitles: English, French, Spanish

Dubbed: English, French, Spanish

Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1

Number of discs: 2

Rated: R (Restricted)

Studio: 20th Century Fox

Release Date: June 4, 2013

Run Time: 98 minutes

 

 

        I can only think of a few occasions where an action film has been too loud for me, compelling me to turn the surround sound stereo to a more reasonable level. A Good Day to Die Hard is easily one of noisiest action film I have encountered, but it is the consistent droning of the noise which inevitably makes it unbearable. There are no ups and downs in this film; it is consistently at level 10, which inevitably dulls the senses and makes all of it seem like white noise by the conclusion. The action just becomes boring to watch despite the volume of it.

 

        I had issues with the last Die Hard film, mostly because I can’t stand the idea of a PG-13 Die Hard. With that being said, at least it contained something of a script. Everything in A Good Day to Die Hard feels underdeveloped, from the cliché half-written plot to the half-ass dialogue which feels like it could have been made up by the actors on set. The jokes don’t land, or make sense, and the emotional father/son sub-plot is forced, predictable and completely unbelievable. It feels as though everyone approached this film as if it were a gag, from the writers all the way down. The only people who took it serious were the producers, who threw enough money at the project to make sure there are plenty of explosions.

 

        This film plays like a straight-to-video sequel to Safe House, with John McClane (Bruce Willis) traveling to Russia to try and find his son, Jack (Jai Courtney), who is a spy trying to hide a prisoner and thwart some generic world domination plot. Lots of things blow up in an unbelievable manner leading to a large climactic battle which has already escaped my memory. I would rather have forgettable than the opening chase sequence, which is so bad that I can’t remove it from my brain. The action is incoherent and incessantly noisy, it is overlong, and ends in a CGI absurdity belong up there with the refrigerator escape in the latest Indiana Jones film.

 

        The Blu-ray release includes both the theatrical and extended cut of the film. There is also a DVD and digital copy of the film included. The special features have many fluff piece featurettes, including one on the awful car chase sequence. There are also a few deleted scenes with nothing really necessary, a still gallery, and a commentary track featuring director John Moore and assistant director Mark Cotone. The commentary is only available for the extended cut.

       

Entertainment Value: 6/10

Quality of Filmmaking: 1/10

Historical Significance: 3/10

Disc Features: 7/10