8. A Good Day to Die Hard
Expectations were hardly high for a Die Hard film set outside the U.S. with the director of Max Payne at the helm, but somehow, A Good Day to Die Hard still managed to disappoint, by stripping away the charm and thrills that made John McClane's prior outings so fun to watch, and leaving a hollow shell behind. Though Bruce Willis is clearly game, the script is sorely underwritten, relying on the same old "I'm supposed to be on vacation" shtick (which doesn't even make sense as he's not on vacation), and a forced bond between McClane and his son, Jack, played forgettably by bland Aussie Jai Courtney. If the story isn't up to much, one at least expects that Die Hard 5 might deliver the action beats associated with the series, but no dice. John Moore's cluttered direction and over-reliance on visual effects makes for a dispiriting array of computer simulations that fail to further the badass legacy of McClane. Furthermore, the final set-piece is especially incoherent and at the main press screening (held 9pm the night before the film opened), it was met with a round of derisive laughter. Needless to say, those who hated the fourth one (an opinion I strongly disagree with) will find themselves spasming in the aisles of their local cinema watching the fifth one.