The first “Die Hard” is, almost inarguably, a perfect action film; remarkably well constructed and constantly thrilling, it has aged far better than its contemporaries (“Lethal Weapon,” “Beverly Hills Cop” etc.). Unfortunately, the sequels, for the most part, managed to take the shine off John McClane, making a laughing stock of the “wrong place at the wrong time” premise of the first film by continuing to put the heroic NYC cop in increasingly ridiculous situations (it should be said that “Die Hard With A Vengeance” at least made the threat specific to McClane, and was mostly pretty good, at least until the terrible third act).
Unfortunately, the films keep making money, with “Live Free or Die Hard” proving the most successful in the series, and Fox are moving ahead on a fifth installment. To write the screenplay, they’ve hired Skip Woods, who has previously punished audiences with the likes of “Swordfish,” “X-Men Origins: Wolverine,” “Hitman,” and, from the looks of it, “The A-Team.” It’s easy to rag on writers, who get a rough time in the studio system, but Woods is 0-for-3 so far, so we’re pretty sure the quality of the finished product with those films is at least in part his fault.
There’s no official news on other talent being attached, but Bruce Willis said earlier in the year that he’d like Len Wiseman to return, and that he wants the film to go “worldwide.” We reckon the only way to make this one even vaguely interesting would be to put Willis out to pasture, and focus on McClane’s daughter; Mary Elizabeth Winstead was the only person involved in “Live Free or Die Hard” who seemed to get the spirit of the first film. If the film does go ahead, we’re unlikely to see it until the overstuffed summer of 2012; Willis begins filming video-game adaptation “Kane & Lynch” with Jamie Foxx in a few months.