Whether this is a good thing or a bad thing to see a Die Hard 6 come out is going to have to wait to be seen. The original Die Hard was so great that trying to capture that same magic would be difficult for anyone, and obviously it was the sequels didn’t really live up to the original in the way that producers, directors, and fans would have liked. But now there’s another one coming out, and it’s more than a rumor if you watch the clip below as a script has been devised and there’s even the idea being released that it’s going to be part sequel, part prequel, however that’s going to work. It’s possible of course but it’s also possible that it will be another installment to the series that does anything but highlight why the series SHOULD continue. The progression of the story has felt more like a long boat ride on a turbulent sea than a smooth-sailing journey without much chop. In other words things have not felt as smooth as Die Hard has continued along.
Should we try to map out this progression? It might help fans and those that don’t know Die Hard quite as well.
Die Hard wasn’t the instant classic that it is now.
It had some chop to it, there wasn’t a whole lot of things in it that could be believable. For instance a NYC cop taking on a band of hardened terrorists that should have been trained to shoot first and ask questions, or taunt their enemies, when the last drop of blood had been spilled. John McClane, tough and stubborn as he is, shouldn’t have made it even halfway through the terrorist roster before being waxed. And if he had some sort of special training outside of the police force it would have been nice to know so that the audience wasn’t just rooting on the underdog tough guy thinking that it was highly implausible for him to take on so many and not slip up at some point. But it was a great movie just because of that, and because he added enough attitude into the mix that you could feel his frustration with those that should have been his allies but were fighting him at every turn.
Die Hard 2 was ultimately forgettable.
Some people seem to think this movie was worth remembering but in the great scheme of things the second movie was easily forgotten and probably for a good reason. Once again hardened fighters, soldiers no less, and even mercenaries, fall to McClane simply because he’s that tough and too stubborn to give up.
Die Hard with a Vengeance was kind of like the “morning-after” movie.
This one felt like a serious stab at the comeback of John McClane since it almost had a desperate, almost hung-over feel to it and had to add in Samuel L. Jackson to help it get off the ground. The pairing of Jackson and Willis was interesting to say the least and provided some serious comic relief for the film but in terms of pitting them against a truly diabolical bad guy, Jeremy Irons was a good choice but his character turned out to be nothing but a common thief. His clever use of riddles and diversions was all a setup to get the cops looking the other way while he made off with the real prize that he was after. Having him be related to Hans Gruber was kind of lazy writing to be honest since the film didn’t really bank a lot on the fact that McClane killed Gruber. In fact Irons’ character didn’t seem all that choked up about it.
Live Free or Die Hard and A Good Day to Die Hard were more about the kids than anything.
Seriously, John McClane felt almost like an unwanted byproduct at times in these movies despite the fact that he brought a bit of old school to a very new-school world and setting. He got to act alongside Timothy Olyphant, Kevin Smith, Justin Long, and several other talents that still have a lot of life left to their careers. But in the end it really felt like the story was trying to transfer to another set of hands and McClane was just there as the supervisor making sure it got to where it was going. With another installment coming it almost feels like the writers just aren’t ready to let go of McClane just yet and are doing anything and everything they can to keep him around. Or rather it could be the producers thinking that they saw a few shiny coins in the well and are determined to get the last of them at any cost.
There’s plenty of action in the Die Hard movies, but at this point it feels like it’s running on fumes and could sputter and die very quickly.
Follow Us
