Let's do a quick breakdown, shall we? Die Hard- simply one of the greatest action films of all time. Die Hard 2: Die Harder- tries to do too much the same, feels exploitative, but not an overall terrible movie. Die Hard With A Vengeance- a fantastic return to form that makes you wonder why Jackson and Willis haven't done more together (Pulp Fiction doesn't count). Live Free or Die Hard- to put it bluntly, a total mess. The last film in the series goes against everything that has been established for the character of John McClane since 1988. Nevertheless, the most recent film was the most successful in the franchise, so you know what that means...
Bruce Willis is talking Die Hard 5. Speaking with MTV about Cop Out, the direction was steered towards the next episode in the series, and Willis said what I thought was quite possibly the worst thing he could have said: "I still think we're going to do a Die Hard 5 next year." But then he continued talking:
I like so much more making fun of it, taking the piss out of it, and not making it a big deal, and not making the fact that I've acted in a lot of movies a big deal. It's all illusion and it's all bullshit and it's just a great job for me to have, but everything else you can set on fire.
And with that, Bruce Willis made me die a little inside. Die Hard has always been tongue in cheek, never taking itself too seriously, but what an awful thing to say to fans that have loved that those movies for 20+ years. That's just painful.
Getting back to the subject (not easy), Willis also said that he would bring back Len Wiseman now if he could and that the next adventure would have to go worldwide to up the ante. Apparently, Willis has never seen Die Hard. What made the first film so great was that it was contained, with Hans Gruber and the terrorists below and John McClane in the air ducts and elevator shafts above. The character is an everyman cop caught in the wrong place at the wrong time. It was bad enough that the fourth installment had McClane solving a national crisis, but saving the world is just not who he is. We've kind of known this for awhile, but it now can officially be said: John McClane is dead.
Check out the video of the interview below, if your soul will let you.
