DIE HARD is one of my very favorite action movies of all time. I’ve seen it enough where I think at this point, I could probably put on a one-man show on Broadway, performing every character in the film. To quote Mary Poppins, it’s practically perfect in every way. Which is why LIVE FREE AND DIE HARD was such a disappointment. I’m not saying it’s necessarily a terrible film (though it’s not a particularly good film), it’s just not a DIE HARD movie. It’s some other generic Bruce Willis action flick with Justin Long as a sidekick.
I thought that’d be the end of the DIE HARD franchise but Fox is serious about attempting a fifth film and they’ve hired Skip Woods to work on a script. Willis has repeatedly said he’d at least be interested to see what they could come up with but frankly I’m not all that optimistic that Skip Woods (HITMAN, X-MEN ORIGINS: WOLVERINE) will come up with anything spectacular. And that’s not all his fault.
I realize that Fox wanted DIE HARD 4 to appeal to the masses but the PG-13 rating only further highlighted how different this was than any other DIE HARD movie. And I’m not sure if this was Willis’ decision or something suggested by the studio (I’m guessing the former) but the shaved head was the kicker for me. He didn’t even look like John McClane.
Do you think you’d give the DIE HARD franchise a second chance or have you all but given up?
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