A Good Day To Die Hard (John Moore, 2013)

[flyonthewall2983]

First trailer

[domino harvey]

Even as someone who has proudly voted for every Die Hard film in their respective Decade List Project, I remain skeptical, but the exploding piano shows promise

[knives]

I wouldn't peg you as a Harlin fan even for something as self referential as dos.

[domino harvey]

Nah, it's a classic (outdone by 3 and 4, though, of course). Didn't Harlin do Long Kiss Goodnight too? That one's pretty ridic in a good way if memory serves. And of course Deep Blue Sea is underrated as well

[knives]

Oh, I like Harlin a fair deal (I pretty sure the Carrey Mask is him too or Chuck Russell), but it's hard to tell where you line up on this sort of B food.

[flyonthewall2983]

It's Russell.

[Mr Sausage]

On the other hand, Domino loathed Harlin's Nightmare on Elm Street entry.

[knives]

It's Russell.

They're really the same guy in my brain even if they actually have very different styles. Thank god I haven't seen much from Peter Hyams or else I'd surely mix him up too.

[flyonthewall2983]

I might be interested in this now.

[domino harvey]

I only ever saw the "R" rated cut of the last one, but yeah, whoever thought Die Hard was an all-ages event anyways?

[flyonthewall2983]

Same thinking that went into PG-13ing some other older franchises, Terminator for example. Kids saw their dad's VHS copies when they were kids and thought it was cool. The lesser rating cuts out the middleman and puts kids in seats. Guessing that, anyway but I wouldn't be surprised if that's close.

[mfunk9786]

My dad only let me watch the motorcycle escape scene and the liquid nitrogen scene of Terminator 2... until I turned 10. Guessing triodelover wants to make sure I'm patted down for weapons every morning.

[The Third Man]

The original Die Hard - which I saw when I was 13 after borrowing my cousin's DVD - was basically the film that kicked me online as a serious film fan. Sounds weird, but it's the first film that ever made me realize just how much a good one could affect me. So they could make 19 more of these and I'd see them all, even if none has come close to being as good as the first (though With a Vengance is plenty of fun).

[flyonthewall2983]

T2 is one of my brother's favorite films now, but when he saw it the first time he was pretty traumatized by it (led to some bad dreams or something). Pretty sure he has drank away any memory of that, but that's another story.

The original Die Hard - which I saw when I was 13 after borrowing my cousin's DVD - was basically the film that kicked me online as a serious film fan. Sounds weird, but it's the first film that ever made me realize just how much a good one could affect me. So they could make 19 more of these and I'd see them all, even if none has come close to being as good as the first (though With a Vengance is plenty of fun).

Not weird at all. It's one of Paul Thomas Anderson's favorite movies. I can't recall a specific film that made me passionate about the form itself. It's been a gradual thing, especially with each one that comes along that I haven't seen before. I watched The Last Detail for the first time yesterday, and I am sure there are plenty of people who cite it with the same influence you say Die Hard had. That, in my eyes doesn't make your discovery weird at all. We've all got to start somewhere.

[colinr0380]

Same thinking that went into PG-13ing some other older franchises, Terminator for example. Kids saw their dad's VHS copies when they were kids and thought it was cool. The lesser rating cuts out the middleman and puts kids in seats. Guessing that, anyway but I wouldn't be surprised if that's close.

I have to apologise for my 10-year old self here as I seem to remember getting into a convoluted argument with my father in a video store about how since Iron Eagle II was a PG certificate that I should really be allowed to watch the first Iron Eagle (a 15 certificate). I think it ended up in a version of that speech that later turned up in American Dad! about 2 Fast 2 Furious, where I suggested that I probably would not be able to follow the intricate storyline and ongoing character arcs properly if I was not able to see the first Iron Eagle film.

[swo17]

Silly me, I initially thought that flyonthewall was now interested in seeing this because it was coming out on Valentine's Day.

[domino harvey]

That is a good day to get hard

[flyonthewall2983]

Domino, you said in the 90's list discussion that each of the sequels from that decade were each better than the film before it. Do you have a case for 2 being better than one?

[knives]

Obviously he loves seeing Django do yoga in the nude.

[mfunk9786]

With the unfriendly perspiration of FRANCO NERO

[Graham]

Obviously he loves seeing Django do yoga in the nude.

It wasn't Franco Nero in the nude, but William Sadler.

[hearthesilence]

That is a good day to get hard

HA! After reading the Criterion porno thread, I also had a moment where I misinterpreted this movie's title.

[knives]

Obviously he loves seeing Django do yoga in the nude.

It wasn't Franco Nero in the nude, but William Sadler.

I haven't seen the film in a decade so sorry on that.

[The Narrator Returns]

Ouch. A 7% approval rating with 43 reviews in.

A Good Day to Die Hard isn't just the weakest of the Die Hard pictures; it's a lousy action movie on its own terms. - Michael Phillips

Everything that made the first "Die Hard" memorable -- the nuances of character, the political subtext, the cowboy wit -- has been dumbed down or scrubbed away entirely. - A.O. Scott

Willis may not be the film's saving grace, but he is some kind of grace nonetheless, really the only thing in the movie. - San Francisco Chronicle

[flyonthewall2983]

Disappointing, but not surprising. It could just be me, but Bruce seems to be on auto-pilot these days. I noticed that a bit with Copout and Red, fairly big movies. And I can only imagine how much he's seemingly phoning it in with the straight-to-DVD stuff he's done too.