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Review: John McClane Becomes A Non-Entity In The Faceless & Tedious McActioner 'A Good Day To Die Hard'

  • By Rodrigo Perez
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  • February 13, 2013 5:28 PM
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  • 11 Comments
Reviews
If you were to tell the even the average civilian who frequented movies that the script for "A Good Day To Die Hard" was actually just another generic actioner found in a studio pile and then subsequently retrofitted to fit the "Die Hard" brand, said average schmoe would have no reason to doubt you. In fact, this was exactly the case for both “Die Hard With A Vengeance” -- originally called “Simon Says” -- and "Live Free Or Die Hard," which started as "WW3.com" (seriously) with neither originally conceived for the franchise. That is to say there’s almost nothing distinguishable that identifies this particular story with the John McClane (Bruce Willis) narrative -- that of an everyman New York cop who often finds himself a magnet for trouble -- other than gigantic broad strokes. This is how largely anonymous and colorless, "Die Hard 5" aka “A Good Day To Die Hard” truly is. Set in Russia for seemingly random (and antiquated) reasons and featuring a father/son dynamic that's uninspired and banal, the fifth installment of this series takes a weak, half-baked story and simply grafts it onto John McClane's ongoing adventures, but for no discernible reason other than to keep said adventures going.
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More: A Good Day To Die Hard, Die Hard 5, Jai Courtney, John Moore, Review, Reviews

Survive Hard: All The Times John McClane Should Have Died In The ‘Die Hard’ Series

  • By The Playlist Staff
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  • February 13, 2013 12:58 PM
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  • 5 Comments
News
In 1988, when the first "Die Hard" was released, Bruce Willis' everyday action hero John McClane was something of an anomaly. This was the era of the invincible action superstar – people like Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Jean-Claude Van Damme, who would waltz through action movies firing machine guns, surviving explosions with the casualness of someone doing laundry or putting up wallpaper. With "Die Hard," McClane was a new kind of hero -- a New York City cop who is afraid of flying, who's deeply insecure about his marriage and who, once bank-robbing terrorists seize a Los Angeles skyscraper, forgets his shoes, embodied by an actor most knew from a primetime comedy. And while there are plenty of instances where he survives against all odds, he also gets cut, bleeds, and screws up – things that these Reagan-era he-men rarely (if ever) did. As the series progressed, things became more and more cartoon-y for John McClane, until, by the fourth film, he was just as undefeatable as the heroes he was once such a refreshing antithesis to.
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More: Die Hard, Die Hard 5, Bruce Willis, Features, Feature, A Good Day To Die Hard

Watch: New Trailer For 'A Good Day To Die Hard' Pits Russians Against American "Cowboys"

  • By Kevin Jagernauth
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  • January 3, 2013 12:40 PM
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  • 0 Comments
News
What do you get when you pair Bruce Willis with an anonymous Euro villain who has lots of weapons and nuclear thingies at this disposal? Well, you get the five-quel to a series that is beginning to show its age and lack of original ideas. Yep, it's "A Good Day To Die Hard."
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More: A Good Day To Die Hard, Die Hard 5, Bruce Willis, Jai Courtney, Film Trailers

'Attack the Block' Director Joe Cornish Says He Declined 'Die Hard 5' Because It Was Too Big A Step

  • By Drew Taylor
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  • October 15, 2011 5:35 AM
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  • 0 Comments
Compares 'Die Hard With A Vengeance' With 'Slumdog Millionaire'; Gives A Small 'Ant-Man' Update (Sort Of)We got to sit down this afternoon at the New York Comic Con with Joe Cornish, who made one of our very favorite movies of the year, the alien invasion romp "Attack the Block." There will be more from our interview in the next few days, but while we were chatting with him we had to ask if the recent rumors were true – that he was shortlisted to direct Fox's next "Die Hard" entry, the hilariously titled "Good Day to Die Hard." Our interest was further piqued after Nicholas Winding Refn, who was also supposedly up for the job, told us that he had never been approached.
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More: Films, Joe Cornish, Super Hero Films, Die Hard 5, Ant-Man

Ben Foster, Paul Dano, Aaron Paul & Milo Ventimiglia In The Mix To Play John McClane's Son In Sequel

  • By Kevin Jagernauth
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  • October 13, 2011 11:50 AM
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  • 6 Comments
Well, that didn't take long. Just one day after "A Good Day To Die Hard" got a new title and release date, the shortlist process has begun for the actor who helps Old Man McClane defeat some Russians as his son. And as it usually goes with this sort of thing, it's a grab bag bunch of folks.
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More: Films, Actors, Die Hard 5, Ben Foster, Paul Walker, Aaron Paul

John McClane Returns For 'A Good Day To Die Hard' On February 14, 2013

  • By Kevin Jagernauth
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  • October 12, 2011 6:04 AM
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  • 4 Comments
'Taken 2' Reloads On October 5, 2012 Yippee-ki-yay, motherfucker. If you're a fan of John McClane or things blowing up in general, get ready, because the long in development "Die Hard 5" is now officially titled "A Good Day To Die Hard" and it will be the date movie of choice on Thursday, February 14, 2013.
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More: Films, Die Hard 5, Taken 2, Chasing Mavericks, I, Frankenstein

Mary Elizabeth Winstead Doubts She'll Be Back For 'Die Hard 5'

  • By Jeff Otto
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  • October 6, 2011 5:03 AM
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  • 1 Comment
Says She'll Be Playing Mary Todd From The Ages Of 19-46 In 'Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter'After a series of smaller parts in “Live Free or Die Hard” and “Death Proof,” Mary Elizabeth Winstead set geek hearts aflutter as the quirky, purple-haired vixen Ramona Flowers in “Scott Pilgrim Vs. the World.” Now Winstead is starting to step up to where she belongs: into leading lady roles. While her latest part is in the prequel, “The Thing,” that's just the first of the big projects on the horizon for the actress, ranging from a big-budget vampire flick to an indie dramedy.
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More: Films, Actresses, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, Die Hard 5, Mary Elizabeth Winstead

Nicolas Winding Refn Says He Didn't Know About 'Die Hard 5' Shortlist, But Likely Would Have Said No

  • By Gabe Toro
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  • September 16, 2011 4:48 AM
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  • 3 Comments
'Drive' Filmmaker Talks 'Wonder Woman,' 'Logan's Run' And Turning Down BlockbustersYes, it's practically "Drive" week at The Playlist this week, sue us. The film opens in wide release this weekend (2,886 screens) and we sat down with most of the cast including star Ryan Gosling (he wants to direct), comedian-turned-villain Albert Brooks (he wants to be in "Logan's Run") and the director, Danish filmmaker Nicolas Winding Refn (he might make a horror film with Carey Mulligan) -- what are we supposed to do, bury our content? Sorry, guys.
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More: Films, Actors, Actresses, Foreign Directors, Super Hero Films, Genre Films, Drive, Die Hard 5, Ryan Gosling, Christina Hendricks, Wonder Woman, Logan's Run, Nicolas Winding Refn

John Moore To Direct 'Die Hard 5'; Search For 'Red 2' Helmer Begins

  • By Kevin Jagernauth
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  • August 31, 2011 10:03 AM
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  • 7 Comments
Well, the long search is over for a director to take on "Die Hard 5" and the result is pretty anti-climatic. While Noam Murro was initially going to direct, he bailed to go do “300: Battle of Artemisia” instead. And while a shortlist developed of interesting but unlikely names like Joe Cornish, Justin Lin and Nicolas Winding Refn, Bruce Willis has settled on "Max Payne" director John Moore to guide the fifth installment of the tired franchise.
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More: Films, John Moore, Genre Films, Die Hard 5, Red 2

Joe Cornish, Justin Lin & Nicolas Winding Refn Join John Moore On Shortlist For 'Die Hard 5'

  • By Kevin Jagernauth
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  • August 1, 2011 6:53 AM
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  • 16 Comments
Over the weekend, word cropped up that Noam Murro, previously attached to direct the forever gestating "Die Hard 5" had left the project to focus on "300: Battle Of Artemisia" with John Moore (“Behind Enemy Lines,” “Max Payne”) as a contender to take his place. Well, he's going to be facing some stiff competition.
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More: Films, Foreign Directors, Joe Cornish, Justin Lin, Die Hard 5, Nicolas Winding Refn

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