''A Good Day to Die Hard'' is a 2013 American
action thriller film
Action film is a film genre in which the protagonist is thrust into a series of events that typically involve violence and physical feats. The genre tends to feature a mostly resourceful hero struggling against incredible odds, which include life ...
and the fifth and final installment in the
''Die Hard'' film series. The film was directed by
John Moore and written by
Skip Woods
Skip Woods (born December 4, 1969) is an American filmmaker. He has primarily worked in the action genre as the writer of the films ''Swordfish'' (2001), ''Hitman'' (2007), and ''A Good Day to Die Hard'' (2013), in addition to co-writing '' X-M ...
, and stars
Bruce Willis
Walter Bruce Willis (born March 19, 1955) is a retired American actor. He achieved fame with a leading role on the comedy-drama series ''Moonlighting'' (1985–1989) and appeared in over a hundred films, gaining recognition as an action hero a ...
as
John McClane
John McClane is a fictional character and main protagonist of the ''Die Hard'' film series, based on Joe Leland from Roderick Thorp's action novel, '' Nothing Lasts Forever''. McClane was portrayed in all five films by actor Bruce Willis, and ...
in his final film in the franchise due to Willis retiring from acting in 2022. The main plot finds McClane travelling to
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
to get his estranged son, Jack, an undercover CIA agent, out of prison. He is soon caught in the crossfire of a global terrorist plot. Alongside Willis, the film also stars
Jai Courtney
Jai Courtney (; born 15 March 1986) is an Australian actor. He started his career with small roles in films and television series before being cast as Charlie in the action film ''Jack Reacher'' (2012). He has gone on to star in ''A Good Day to ...
,
Cole Hauser
Cole Hauser (born March 22, 1975) is an American actor. He is known for film roles in ''Higher Learning'', ''School Ties'', '' Dazed and Confused'', ''Good Will Hunting'', '' Pitch Black'', ''Tigerland'', ''Hart's War'', ''Tears of the Sun'', '' ...
,
Yulia Snigir and
Sebastian Koch
Sebastian Koch (born 31 May 1962) is a German television and film actor. He is known for roles in the 2007 Academy Award-winning film ''The Lives of Others'', in Steven Spielberg's '' Bridge of Spies'', and as Otto Düring in the fifth season of ...
.
Talks of a fifth ''
Die Hard
''Die Hard'' is a 1988 American action film directed by John McTiernan, with a screenplay by Jeb Stuart and Steven E. de Souza. Based on the 1979 novel '' Nothing Lasts Forever'', by Roderick Thorp, it stars Bruce Willis, Alan Rickman, Ale ...
'' film began before the release of the fourth installment, ''
Live Free or Die Hard
''Live Free or Die Hard'' (released as ''Die Hard 4.0'' outside North America) is a 2007 American action-thriller film directed by Len Wiseman, and serves as the fourth installment in the ''Die Hard'' film series. It is based on the 1997 articl ...
'', with Willis affirming that the latter would not be the last in the series, but pre-production did not start until September 2011, when John Moore was officially announced as the director. Filming began in April 2012, primarily in
Budapest
Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...
,
Hungary
Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...
.
''A Good Day to Die Hard''
premiered
A première, also spelled premiere, is the debut (first public presentation) of a play, film, dance, or musical composition.
A work will often have many premières: a world première (the first time it is shown anywhere in the world), its first ...
in
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
on January 31, 2013, coinciding with the unveiling of a ''Die Hard'' mural at the Fox Lot,
and was released the United States on February 13, 2013. It is the only ''Die Hard'' film to use
Dolby Atmos Surround Mixing and the only one to also be released in
IMAX
IMAX is a proprietary system of high-resolution cameras, film formats, film projectors, and theaters known for having very large screens with a tall aspect ratio (approximately either 1.43:1 or 1.90:1) and steep stadium seating.
Graeme F ...
theaters. ''A Good Day to Die Hard'' was a box office success but received overwhelmingly negative reviews for its implausible action sequences, cinematography, direction, weak and clichéd script, running time, and lack of characterization, although the special effects and Willis' performance were praised. It is the first film produced by
TSG Entertainment
TSG Entertainment Finance LLC ( d.b.a. TSG Entertainment) is an American film financing entity which primarily funds live action films. TSG stands for parent company The Seelig Group.
TSG was established after the U.S. theatrical release of '' ...
, since distributor
20th Century Fox
20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...
's departure from
Dune Entertainment
RatPac Entertainment (also known as RatPac-Dune Entertainment, a co-financing agreement it was part of) was an American motion picture production company owned by producer-director Brett Ratner. RatPac was founded by Ratner and billionaire James ...
upon the completion of their distribution contract at the end of 2012.
Plot
In Moscow, Viktor Chagarin, a high-ranking, corrupt
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
n official, plans to incriminate former billionaire and government
whistleblower
A whistleblower (also written as whistle-blower or whistle blower) is a person, often an employee, who reveals information about activity within a private or public organization that is deemed illegal, immoral, illicit, unsafe or fraudulent. Whi ...
Yuri Komarov in a
rigged trial unless he hands over a secret file believed to contain evidence incriminating Chagarin. Separately, Jack McClane, arrested after an assassination attempt, negotiates for a shorter sentence by offering to testify against Komarov.
Jack's father,
NYPD
The New York City Police Department (NYPD), officially the City of New York Police Department, established on May 23, 1845, is the primary municipal law enforcement agency within the City of New York, the largest and one of the oldest in ...
detective
John McClane
John McClane is a fictional character and main protagonist of the ''Die Hard'' film series, based on Joe Leland from Roderick Thorp's action novel, '' Nothing Lasts Forever''. McClane was portrayed in all five films by actor Bruce Willis, and ...
, who has not been in touch with his son for several years, has learned he is in trouble. He flies to Russia to help. As John arrives and approaches the courthouse where Komarov is on trial, a bomb explosion, orchestrated by Chagarin's henchman Alik, occurs in the courthouse, and Jack breaks free with Komarov. Seeing his son, John confronts him, but their dispute is cut short as Alik and his men chase them in an
MRAP
Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP; ) is a term for United States Armed Forces, United States military light tactical vehicles produced as part of the MRAP program that are designed specifically to withstand improvised explosive device (IE ...
through Moscow. John, Jack, and Komarov manage to escape.
Hiding in a safe house, John finds out that Jack is a
CIA
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian intelligence agency, foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gat ...
agent and has been on an undercover operation for the past three years. Jack's partner, Mike Collins, demands the file's location from Komarov so the CIA can bring Chagarin down. He eventually agrees on the condition that he and his daughter are given safe passage out of Russia. Collins is eventually shot and killed while the McClanes and Komarov come under heavy gunfire from Chagarin's men, but they escape and make their way to a hotel in the city to get the
safe deposit box
A safe deposit box, also known as a safety deposit box, is an individually secured container, usually held within a larger safe or bank vault. Safe deposit boxes are generally located in banks, post offices or other institutions. Safe deposit ...
key containing the file. There they meet up with Komarov's daughter, Irina, as earlier planned. John grows suspicious of her shifty behavior, and is proven correct when Alik and his men burst in and tie John and Jack up, taking Komarov hostage; Irina confesses to informing on them for the "millions of dollars" to be gained. Jack manages to break free of his ties and the two manage to kill most of the guards present. Alik and Irina, with Komarov still their hostage, return in a
Mil Mi-24
The Mil Mi-24 (russian: Миль Ми-24; NATO reporting name: Hind) is a large helicopter gunship, attack helicopter and low-capacity troop transport with room for eight passengers. It is produced by Mil Moscow Helicopter Plant and has been ...
attack helicopter and try to kill them, but they escape again.
That night, they steal a car full of weapons, driving to
Pripyat
Pripyat ( ; russian: При́пять), also known as Prypiat ( uk, При́пʼять, , ), is an abandoned city in northern Ukraine, located near the border with Belarus. Named after the nearby river, Pripyat, it was founded on 4 February 1 ...
,
Ukraine
Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...
, where the safe deposit box with the file is located, only to find that Komarov, Irina, and Alik are already there. In a twist, the file is revealed never to have existed: the safe deposit box with the supposed file is, in fact, a secret passage to a radioactive
Chernobyl-era vault containing
€
The euro sign () is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the eurozone and unilaterally adopted by Kosovo and Montenegro. The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. It consists ...
1 billion worth of weapons-grade
uranium
Uranium is a chemical element with the symbol U and atomic number 92. It is a silvery-grey metal in the actinide series of the periodic table. A uranium atom has 92 protons and 92 electrons, of which 6 are valence electrons. Uranium is weak ...
. Once inside, Komarov kills Alik and calls Chagarin to gloat and listen as the latter is killed by one of Komarov's men.
At this point, John and Jack enter the vault, discover Komarov's true plot, and capture him, but Irina and some henchmen come to her father's aid. As they attempt to escape, Jack follows Komarov, while John goes after Irina, who is escaping in a
Mil Mi-26
The Mil Mi-26 (russian: link=no, Миль Ми-26, NATO reporting name: Halo) is a Soviet/Russian heavy transport helicopter. Its product code is ''Izdeliye 90''. Operated by both military and civilian operators, it is the largest and most po ...
helicopter; he sneaks into the rear compartment. Irina tries to protect her father by firing the helicopter's guns at Jack, but John is able to bring the helicopter off balance by driving a truck, still shackled by a chain, out of the cargo section via the open rear ramp. Komarov taunts Jack by saying he will get to watch his father die, prompting Jack to hurl him off the rooftop and into the path of the spinning helicopter blades, killing him. John is promptly thrown off the truck and into the building right before the truck's chain snaps.
As Jack and John reunite inside the building, Irina tries to avenge her father by ramming the helicopter, now out of ammunition, into the building in a suicide attack. John and Jack survive by leaping off the building into a large pool of water as the helicopter crashes and explodes, killing Irina. In the end, the McClanes return home and reunite with Lucy.
Cast
*
Bruce Willis
Walter Bruce Willis (born March 19, 1955) is a retired American actor. He achieved fame with a leading role on the comedy-drama series ''Moonlighting'' (1985–1989) and appeared in over a hundred films, gaining recognition as an action hero a ...
as
John McClane
John McClane is a fictional character and main protagonist of the ''Die Hard'' film series, based on Joe Leland from Roderick Thorp's action novel, '' Nothing Lasts Forever''. McClane was portrayed in all five films by actor Bruce Willis, and ...
*
Jai Courtney
Jai Courtney (; born 15 March 1986) is an Australian actor. He started his career with small roles in films and television series before being cast as Charlie in the action film ''Jack Reacher'' (2012). He has gone on to star in ''A Good Day to ...
as CIA Agent John "Jack" McClane Jr.
*
Sebastian Koch
Sebastian Koch (born 31 May 1962) is a German television and film actor. He is known for roles in the 2007 Academy Award-winning film ''The Lives of Others'', in Steven Spielberg's '' Bridge of Spies'', and as Otto Düring in the fifth season of ...
as Yuri Komarov
*
Yulia Snigir as Irina Komarov
* Radivoje Bukvić as Alik
*
Sergei Kolesnikov as Viktor Chagarin
*
Mary Elizabeth Winstead
Mary Elizabeth Winstead (born November 28, 1984) is an American actress and singer. Her first significant role was that of Jessica Bennett (Passions), Jessica Bennett on the NBC soap opera ''Passions'' (1999–2000). She went on to appear in se ...
as Lucy McClane
*
Cole Hauser
Cole Hauser (born March 22, 1975) is an American actor. He is known for film roles in ''Higher Learning'', ''School Ties'', '' Dazed and Confused'', ''Good Will Hunting'', '' Pitch Black'', ''Tigerland'', ''Hart's War'', ''Tears of the Sun'', '' ...
as CIA Agent Mike Collins
*
Aldis Hodge
Aldis Alexander Basil Hodge (born September 20, 1986) is an American actor. Among his significant roles, he played Alec Hardison in the TNT series '' Leverage'', MC Ren in the 2015 biopic '' Straight Outta Compton'', Levi Jackson in the 2016 f ...
as Lieutenant Foxy (Hodge played Raymond in ''
Die Hard With a Vengeance
''Die Hard with a Vengeance'' is a 1995 American action thriller film directed by John McTiernan (who directed the first installment). It was written by Jonathan Hensleigh, based on the screenplay ''Simon Says'' by Hensleigh and on the chara ...
'')
*
Amaury Nolasco
Amaury Nolasco Garrido (born December 24, 1970) is a Puerto Rican actor and producer, best known for the role of Fernando Sucre on the Fox television series '' Prison Break'', and for his role in ''Transformers''.
Early life
Nolasco was born ...
as Detective Murphy
*
Megalyn Echikunwoke
Ebubennem Megalyn Ann Echikunwoke ( ; born May 28, 1983), also known as Megalyn E.K., is an American actress, known primarily for her roles in television and film.
Born in Spokane, Washington, she was discovered while performing in a theatri ...
as Pretty Reporter
*
Pasha D. Lychnikoff
Pavel Dmitriyevich Lychnikov ( rus, Павел Дмитриевич Лычников) is a Russian-American television, voice, film and theatre actor, who lives and works in the United States.
Early life and education
Lychnikoff was born in Mos ...
as Russian Cab Driver
*
Roman Luknár as Anton
*
Ganxsta Zolee as MRAP Driver
Production
Pre-production
Production was formally announced in 2010, with ''
X-Men Origins: Wolverine'' and ''
The A-Team
''The A-Team'' is an American action-adventure television series that ran on NBC from January 1983 to March 1987 about former members of a fictitious United States Army Special Forces unit. The four members of the team were tried by court marti ...
'' writer
Skip Woods
Skip Woods (born December 4, 1969) is an American filmmaker. He has primarily worked in the action genre as the writer of the films ''Swordfish'' (2001), ''Hitman'' (2007), and ''A Good Day to Die Hard'' (2013), in addition to co-writing '' X-M ...
confirmed as the film's screenwriter.
Noam Murro
Noam Murro ( he, נועם מורו; born ) is an Israeli film director and film producer. He is best known for directing the films ''Smart People'', '' 300: Rise of an Empire'', and the BBC miniseries ''Watership Down''.
Early and personal life
...
was originally attached to direct the film but left production to direct the ''
300'' prequel, ''
300: Rise of an Empire''.
John Moore was subsequently drafted in to replace him.
The film was originally titled ''Die Hard 24/7''. The media speculated that the film would be a
crossover
Crossover may refer to:
Entertainment
Albums and songs
* ''Cross Over'' (Dan Peek album)
* ''Crossover'' (Dirty Rotten Imbeciles album), 1987
* ''Crossover'' (Intrigue album)
* ''Crossover'' (Hitomi Shimatani album)
* ''Crossover'' (Yoshino ...
between the ''
Die Hard
''Die Hard'' is a 1988 American action film directed by John McTiernan, with a screenplay by Jeb Stuart and Steven E. de Souza. Based on the 1979 novel '' Nothing Lasts Forever'', by Roderick Thorp, it stars Bruce Willis, Alan Rickman, Ale ...
'' and ''
24'' series, with
Kiefer Sutherland
Kiefer William Sutherland (born 21 December 1966) is a British-Canadian actor and musician. He is best known for his starring role as Jack Bauer in the Fox drama series '' 24'' (2001–2010, 2014), for which he won an Emmy Award, a Golden Glo ...
to reprise his role as
Jack Bauer
Jack Bauer is a fictional character and the protagonist of the Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox television series ''24 (TV series), 24''. His character has worked in various capacities on the show, often as a Special agent, federal agent of the Co ...
alongside
John McClane
John McClane is a fictional character and main protagonist of the ''Die Hard'' film series, based on Joe Leland from Roderick Thorp's action novel, '' Nothing Lasts Forever''. McClane was portrayed in all five films by actor Bruce Willis, and ...
. The film's title was later revealed to be ''A Good Day to Die Hard''—with no further mention of any involvement from the ''24'' series—with a release date of February 14, 2013.
Casting
When casting the role of Jack McClane, the studios considered several actors, including
Liam Hemsworth
Liam Hemsworth (born 13 January 1990) is an Australian actor. He played the roles of Josh Taylor in the soap opera ''Neighbours'' and Marcus in the children's television series ''The Elephant Princess''. In American films, Hemsworth starred as ...
,
Aaron Paul
Aaron Paul (born Aaron Paul Sturtevant; August 27, 1979) is an American actor best known for portraying Jesse Pinkman in the AMC series '' Breaking Bad'' (2008–2013), for which he won several awards, including the Critics' Choice Television ...
, and
James Badge Dale
James Badge Dale (born May 1, 1978) is an American actor. He is known for playing Chase Edmunds in '' 24'', Robert Leckie in '' The Pacific'', State Trooper Barrigan in Martin Scorsese's ''The Departed'', Luke Lewenden in '' The Grey'', Eric Sa ...
, before ultimately settling on Australian actor
Jai Courtney
Jai Courtney (; born 15 March 1986) is an Australian actor. He started his career with small roles in films and television series before being cast as Charlie in the action film ''Jack Reacher'' (2012). He has gone on to star in ''A Good Day to ...
.
Mary Elizabeth Winstead
Mary Elizabeth Winstead (born November 28, 1984) is an American actress and singer. Her first significant role was that of Jessica Bennett (Passions), Jessica Bennett on the NBC soap opera ''Passions'' (1999–2000). She went on to appear in se ...
also appeared in the film, reprising her role as McClane's daughter Lucy. However all her scenes were cut from the Extended release.
Sebastian Koch
Sebastian Koch (born 31 May 1962) is a German television and film actor. He is known for roles in the 2007 Academy Award-winning film ''The Lives of Others'', in Steven Spielberg's '' Bridge of Spies'', and as Otto Düring in the fifth season of ...
played the film's primary antagonist, Yuri Komarov,
while
Yulia Snigir and
Cole Hauser
Cole Hauser (born March 22, 1975) is an American actor. He is known for film roles in ''Higher Learning'', ''School Ties'', '' Dazed and Confused'', ''Good Will Hunting'', '' Pitch Black'', ''Tigerland'', ''Hart's War'', ''Tears of the Sun'', '' ...
featured as secondary characters Irina and Collins.
The cast was completed by actors
Amaury Nolasco
Amaury Nolasco Garrido (born December 24, 1970) is a Puerto Rican actor and producer, best known for the role of Fernando Sucre on the Fox television series '' Prison Break'', and for his role in ''Transformers''.
Early life
Nolasco was born ...
as a friend of McClane,
Pasha D. Lychnikoff
Pavel Dmitriyevich Lychnikov ( rus, Павел Дмитриевич Лычников) is a Russian-American television, voice, film and theatre actor, who lives and works in the United States.
Early life and education
Lychnikoff was born in Mos ...
as a taxi driver,
and
Megalyn Echikunwoke
Ebubennem Megalyn Ann Echikunwoke ( ; born May 28, 1983), also known as Megalyn E.K., is an American actress, known primarily for her roles in television and film.
Born in Spokane, Washington, she was discovered while performing in a theatri ...
,
Anne Vyalitsyna, and
Ivan Kamaras in smaller roles.
Filming
Production began in
Hungary
Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...
in April 2012, with the capital
Budapest
Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...
standing in for
Moscow
Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...
. A military shooting range near
Hajmáskér was used for shooting live ammunition, while vehicular stunts were shot at the
Hungaroring
The Hungaroring is a motorsport racetrack in Mogyoród, Pest County, Hungary where the Formula One Hungarian Grand Prix is held. In 1986, it became the location of the first Formula One Grand Prix behind the Iron Curtain. Bernie Ecclestone wan ...
, a
Formula One
Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...
racing circuit in
Mogyoród
Mogyoród is a small traditional village in Pest County, Hungary. The Battle of Mogyoród took place here on 14 March 1074, between Solomon, King of Hungary and his cousins Géza and Ladislaus, who were claiming rights to the throne. To commemo ...
.
In July 2012, a fire broke out on the set while shooting an aerial stunt, though no one was injured and shooting resumed after a short delay.
In creating the film's visual style, Moore wanted the camera work to be almost entirely handheld, using three 4 Perforation
35mm 35 mm may refer to:
* 135 film, a type of still photography format commonly referred to as 35 mm film
* 35 mm movie film, a type of motion picture film stock
* 35MM 35 mm may refer to:
* 135 film, a type of still photography format ...
Arri
The Arri Group () is a German manufacturer of motion picture film equipment. Based in Munich, the company was founded in 1917. It produces professional motion picture cameras, lenses, lighting and post-production equipment. Hermann Simon menti ...
cameras equipped with long lenses to capture tight close-ups, for Moore explained, "McClane is in a strange world, with little or no initial control over his environment. He's unable to anticipate things as he normally might. He's caught off guard, and we want the camera to mimic that surprise and confusion."
Moore also chose to create as many of the film's effects on camera as possible, only using visual effects to enhance elements or paint in backgrounds.
Post-production
A specially censored version was prepared for theatrical release in the United Kingdom, which was cut for language and violence in order to attain a 12A at the request of the distributors. The U.S. version is rated R and is uncut. The film's audio was mixed in
Dolby Atmos
Dolby Atmos is a surround sound technology developed by Dolby Laboratories. It expands on existing surround sound systems by adding height channels, allowing sounds to be interpreted as three-dimensional objects with neither horizontal, nor verti ...
surround sound. In February 2013, director Moore began work on a director's cut, which was later released on Blu-ray.
Bruce Willis
Walter Bruce Willis (born March 19, 1955) is a retired American actor. He achieved fame with a leading role on the comedy-drama series ''Moonlighting'' (1985–1989) and appeared in over a hundred films, gaining recognition as an action hero a ...
returned as
John McClane
John McClane is a fictional character and main protagonist of the ''Die Hard'' film series, based on Joe Leland from Roderick Thorp's action novel, '' Nothing Lasts Forever''. McClane was portrayed in all five films by actor Bruce Willis, and ...
, and has expressed a desire to shoot ''A Good Day to Die Hard'' and a sixth installment in the series before retiring the character. However, in March 2022 Willis retired from acting, due to being diagnosed with
aphasia
Aphasia is an inability to comprehend or formulate language because of damage to specific brain regions. The major causes are stroke and head trauma; prevalence is hard to determine but aphasia due to stroke is estimated to be 0.1–0.4% in th ...
, making this the last film in the series.
Music
Soundtrack
Marco Beltrami, who had composed the soundtrack for the previous film, ''
Live Free or Die Hard
''Live Free or Die Hard'' (released as ''Die Hard 4.0'' outside North America) is a 2007 American action-thriller film directed by Len Wiseman, and serves as the fourth installment in the ''Die Hard'' film series. It is based on the 1997 articl ...
'', returned to score ''A Good Day to Die Hard''. Beltrami again incorporates
Michael Kamen
Michael Arnold Kamen (April 15, 1948 – November 18, 2003) was an American composer (especially of film scores), orchestral arranger, orchestral conductor, songwriter, and session musician.
Biography Early life
Michael Arnold Kamen was born in ...
's material from the first three films into his score. Beltrami only had six weeks in which to write the music, and new scenes were still being shot as the music was being recorded. In the end, he wrote around 120 minutes of music, with 80 of those minutes making it into the final film. The soundtrack album was released on February 14, 2013 digitally and in retailers by
Sony Classical
Sony Classical is an American record label founded in 1924 as Columbia Masterworks Records, a subsidiary of Columbia Records. In 1980, the Columbia Masterworks label was renamed as CBS Masterworks Records. The CBS Records Group was acquired by S ...
. Five orchestrators were involved: Pete Anthony, Jon Kull, Dana Niu, Rossana Galante, Andrew Kinny. The orchestra was conducted by Pete Anthony.
The score was programmed by Buck Sanders, with additional music composed by Marcus Trumpp and Brandon Roberts.
Release
Marketing
![A Good Day to Die Hard - TruSpeed Porsche 997 GT3 Cup 1500x1000](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/46/A_Good_Day_to_Die_Hard_-_TruSpeed_Porsche_997_GT3_Cup_1500x1000.jpg)
On January 31, 2013,
20th Century Fox
20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...
held a special tribute to the 25th anniversary of the ''Die Hard'' series by unveiling a mural of a scene from ''
Die Hard
''Die Hard'' is a 1988 American action film directed by John McTiernan, with a screenplay by Jeb Stuart and Steven E. de Souza. Based on the 1979 novel '' Nothing Lasts Forever'', by Roderick Thorp, it stars Bruce Willis, Alan Rickman, Ale ...
'' (1988) on Sound Stage 8 of the Fox Lot. Afterward, the premiere screening of ''A Good Day to Die Hard'' was shown.
Two additional premieres were held in Europe leading up to the film's commercial release: one in
Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...
,
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
on February 4 and the second in
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
,
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
on February 7. ''A Good Day to Die Hard'' was commercially released first in
Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
on February 6, 2013, and then opened in certain
East
East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth.
Etymology
As in other languages, the word is formed from the fa ...
and
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, south-eastern region of Asia, consistin ...
n territories on February 7.
Theatrical
In the United States and Canada, the film was distributed to 2,328 theaters for night showings on February 13.
Select theaters also held a one-time special marathon of all ''Die Hard'' films to lead up to ''A Good Day to Die Hards nationwide release, with Bruce Willis making a personal appearance at one of these marathons in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
to thank fans. The film then expanded to a total of 3,553 theaters, including
IMAX
IMAX is a proprietary system of high-resolution cameras, film formats, film projectors, and theaters known for having very large screens with a tall aspect ratio (approximately either 1.43:1 or 1.90:1) and steep stadium seating.
Graeme F ...
theaters, on February 14.
Home media
''A Good Day to Die Hard'' was released on
DVD
The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...
and
Blu-ray
The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of sto ...
on June 4, 2013. There is an extended cut that is only available on the Blu-ray version. It features a longer car chase through Moscow and some other slightly extended scenes. It also completely removes
Lucy
Lucy is an English feminine given name derived from the Latin masculine given name Lucius with the meaning ''as of light'' (''born at dawn or daylight'', maybe also ''shiny'', or ''of light complexion''). Alternative spellings are Luci, Luce, Lu ...
from the film. However,
Winstead's name still appears in the end credits despite being cut from this version.
Reception
Box office
''A Good Day to Die Hard'' grossed $67,349,198 in North America and $237,304,984 in other territories for a worldwide total of $304,654,182.
In North America, ''A Good Day to Die Hard'' grossed an estimated $840,000 from its night showings at 2,328 locations on Wednesday, February 13, 2013.
The next day, at an additional 1,225 locations, the film managed to accumulate $8,239,116, opening at #2 behind ''
Safe Haven''.
However, for the whole 4-day
Presidents' Day
Presidents' Day, also called Washington's Birthday at the federal governmental level, is a holiday in the United States celebrated on the third Monday of February to honor all persons who served as presidents of the United States and, since 1879 ...
weekend, ''A Good Day to Die Hard'' opened in first place with $28,640,657, bringing its total at that point to $36,879,773.
Overseas, ''A Good Day to Die Hard'' grossed $10,860,000 in its first weekend. Opening in seven Asian markets at 1,182 locations a week before North America's release (February 6–7) to take advantage of the
Chinese New Year
Chinese New Year is the festival that celebrates the beginning of a New Year, new year on the traditional lunisolar calendar, lunisolar and solar Chinese calendar. In Sinophone, Chinese and other East Asian cultures, the festival is commonly r ...
holiday, the majority of the film's gross came from
South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...
, with the film also setting a Fox record in
Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
and a series record in
Hong Kong
Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...
.
Critical response
''A Good Day to Die Hard'' was panned by critics. On
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
, the film has an approval rating of 15% based on 231 reviews, with an
average rating
In ordinary language, an average is a single number taken as representative of a list of numbers, usually the sum of the numbers divided by how many numbers are in the list (the arithmetic mean). For example, the average of the numbers 2, 3, 4, 7 ...
of 4.00/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "''A Good Day to Die Hard'' is the weakest entry in a storied franchise, and not even Bruce Willis's smirking demeanor can enliven a clichéd, uninspired script." On
Metacritic
Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
, the film has a weighted average score of 28 out of 100, based on 40 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews". On both websites, the film ranked lowest among the ''Die Hard'' films. Audiences polled by
CinemaScore
CinemaScore is a market research firm based in Las Vegas. It surveys film audiences to rate their viewing experiences with letter grades, reports the results, and forecasts box office receipts based on the data.
Background
Ed Mintz founded Ci ...
gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale, the lowest score of the franchise.
A. O. Scott of ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' described ''A Good Day to Die Hard'' as "a handful of extended set pieces—each more elaborate and therefore somehow less exciting than the last—linked by a simple-minded plot and a handful of half-clever lines." Though complimenting the special effects, he criticizes the direction of John Moore, the lack of style, and writes that "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."
Todd McCarthy
Todd McCarthy (born February 16, 1950) is an American film critic and author. He wrote for ''Variety'' for 31 years as its chief film critic until 2010. In October of that year, he joined ''The Hollywood Reporter'', where he subsequently served ...
of ''
The Hollywood Reporter
''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...
'' expressed similar sentiments, particularly of the direction, for which he says that Moore "has directed these sequences in a way that makes the incidents look so far-fetched and essentially unsurvivable that you can only laugh". Kenneth Turan of the ''
Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...
'' gave the film a 2/5 and remarked that it lacked "inspiration", and that the onscreen rivalry of Willis and Courtney was "more irritant than enticement."
Richard Roeper
Richard E. Roeper (born October 17, 1959) is an American columnist and film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times''. He co-hosted the television series '' At the Movies'' with Roger Ebert from 2000 to 2008, serving as the late Gene Siskel's success ...
, standing in for
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert (; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American film critic, film historian, journalist, screenwriter, and author. He was a film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, Ebert beca ...
on Ebert's website, rated the film one and a half stars out of four, criticizing the implausibility of the action sequences, as well as the film's lack of sufficient characterization for McClane and the villains as compared to the other films in the series. He says that "McClane has been stripped of any real traces of an actual three-dimensional character," and that the film "never giv
sus a chance to get the least bit involved with any of these characters."
Among the rare positive reviews,
Robbie Collin
Robbie Collin is a British film critic.
Collin studied aesthetics and the philosophy of film at the University of St Andrews, Scotland. He edited the university's student newspaper, '' The Saint''.
Collin has been the chief film critic at ''The D ...
for ''
The Daily Telegraph
''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally.
It was fo ...
'' remarked that "Yet even though the ride finally stalls, ''A Good Day To Die Hard'' has been thrustingly outrageous enough in its earlier moments to coast to the finish line on momentum."
Daniel M. Kimmel, writing for the ''New England Movies Weekly'', found the film to be better than ''Live Free or Die Hard'' and states that the car chase scene "is well worth the price of admission." With a 3.5/5 rating, Kimmel summed up his review saying, "it's probably a good day to end the series at last, but it's an action-packed and entertaining finale." Rick Groen of ''
The Globe and Mail
''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...
'' criticized the action scenes as being "messy", but concluded his review saying that the film "continues the franchise without undue embarrassment." Peter Howell of ''
The Toronto Star
The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part ...
'' remarked that Willis and Courtney made a strong estranged family duo and that the film had a nice drinking game routine going for it with how many times McClane exclaims "I'm on vacation!" during the running time.
Video game
The
video game
Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...
adaptation of the film was developed by Goroid and published by
Fox Digital Entertainment
Fox Digital Entertainment was an American digital content, mobile applications, and video game developer and publisher owned by 20th Century Fox (later rebranded as 20th Century Studios).
History
Fox Digital Entertainment was formed in 2010 and to ...
. It was released on February 14, 2013 for
Android and
iOS
iOS (formerly iPhone OS) is a mobile operating system created and developed by Apple Inc. exclusively for its hardware. It is the operating system that powers many of the company's mobile devices, including the iPhone; the term also includes ...
.
Future
Cancelled sequel
When the production was formally announced for the fifth film in the series, Bruce Willis expressed his desire to retire the John McClane character in a sixth and final film. By September 2017, director
Len Wiseman
Len Ryan Wiseman (born March 4, 1973) is an American filmmaker. He is best known for his work on the ''Underworld'' series, ''Live Free or Die Hard'', and the 2012 film '' Total Recall''. Wiseman runs the production company Sketch Films.
Early ...
publicly floated that he was casting for a young version of John McClane for his self-penned origin story called ''John McClane'', whose plot was rumored to borrow heavily from the ''
Die Hard: Year One'' comic book mini-series. Six months later, the studio enlisted duo
Chad Hayes and
Carey W. Hayes to re-write the screenplay after Bruce Willis refused to endorse the previous edition and its actor.
In July 2018, producer
Lorenzo di Bonaventura
Lorenzo di Bonaventura (; born January 13, 1957) is an American film producer and founder and owner of Di Bonaventura Pictures. He is best known for producing the G.I. Joe and ''Transformers'' film series. The films he produced have earned over ...
submitted an updated treatment titled ''McClane'', further confirming that the storyline features elements of McClane's and Holly's characters in the 1970s, intermixed with their present-day counterparts. The following month, Wiseman stated that pre-production on the new film should start "...fairly soon, no dates" once the script has been completed.
Tobey Maguire
Tobias Vincent Maguire (born June 27, 1975) is an American actor and film producer. He is best known for playing Peter Parker (Sam Raimi film series), the title character from Sam Raimi's Spider-Man in film#Sam Raimi films, ''Spider-Man'' tril ...
joined the production team late summer 2018. By December 2018, di Bonaventura handed in yet another draft, this time without input from Willis. Production designer Carol Uraneck, who was hired in September 2018, later left the project by the close of the year. In February 2019, the production team made a revision to the writing, insinuating that the project, though supposedly moving forward, is on the studio's backburner, as evidenced by executives not even having read the script yet. Actress
Mary Elizabeth Winstead
Mary Elizabeth Winstead (born November 28, 1984) is an American actress and singer. Her first significant role was that of Jessica Bennett (Passions), Jessica Bennett on the NBC soap opera ''Passions'' (1999–2000). She went on to appear in se ...
said that she would be interested in returning as Lucy Gennero-McClane in a future installment, but later intimated doubt that the film would ever get made. due to scheduling conflicts.
''Die Hard'' was removed from the Fox imprint through at least its 2021 slate, after
Disney's acquisition and senior management shake-up, which saw the dismissal of its theatrical distribution executive, Chris Aronson.
The production was later cancelled outright in August 2019 after further consideration by Disney.
Willis reprised his role as McClane for the final time in 2020 for an advert for the
DieHard car battery commercial. Willis later retired from acting in 2022 due to being diagnosed with
aphasia
Aphasia is an inability to comprehend or formulate language because of damage to specific brain regions. The major causes are stroke and head trauma; prevalence is hard to determine but aphasia due to stroke is estimated to be 0.1–0.4% in th ...
, ruling out any future return as McClane.
Possible television reboot
In lieu of company-wide reorganization, the media giant is said to be rebooting the property as a streaming series on
Hulu
Hulu () is an American subscription streaming service majority-owned by The Walt Disney Company, with Comcast's NBCUniversal holding a minority stake. It was launched on October 29, 2007 and it offers a library of films and television serie ...
.
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Good Day To Die Hard
2013 films
2013 action thriller films
20th Century Fox films
American action thriller films
American sequel films
Films about the Central Intelligence Agency
Die Hard
2010s English-language films
Films about families
Films about nuclear war and weapons
Films about terrorism in Europe
Films directed by John Moore
Films with screenplays by Skip Woods
Films scored by Marco Beltrami
Films set in Moscow
Films set in New York City
Films set in Ukraine
Films set in Washington, D.C.
Films shot in Budapest
Films shot in Belgrade
IMAX films
2010s Russian-language films
Temple Hill Entertainment films
TSG Entertainment films
Films produced by Wyck Godfrey
Films about father–son relationships
2010s American films
American buddy cop films