Die Hard: 5 Ways To Redeem This Once Great Franchise
5. Hire Better Screenwriters
A Good Day to Die Hard smelled like a total hack job through and through, a plug-and-play template that prayed you would focus on Bruce Willis searing smirk instead of the ludicrous plot. Now, it is hard to say whether this was the original script that Skip Woods turned in or if Fox put their meddlesome hands into the pie and turned it to shit, but something has to change.
If its the former, they need to hire a better screenwriter, one who at least gives a damn and, more importantly, understands what made the original Die Hard so great. Its appeal was not in watching some superhero going mano-y-mano with a jet plane (more on this later) but instead, seeing a fairly normal guy being caught in a situation that is beyond his control.
It was relatable in a way, with the underlying plot focusing on John McClanes marriage. The film wasnt about killing terrorists, thats just the outside layer; the film was about fighting for someone you are on the verge of losing. Thats something everyone can buy into and the reason it made over $140 million in 1988 money.
A Good Day to Die Hard has morphed into just another generic action movie with tons of squinty faces, yelling, and helicopters being destroyed. Theres not much to differentiate it from Jason Stathams latest string of paycheck-collectors because it lost its heart along the way.