At a breezy 97 minutes, the one thing you can't say about Good Day to Die Hard is that it overstays its welcome. Also, once you jettison the need for things like "drama" and "character development" it becomes a not-unpleasant way to while away an hour-and-a-half.

A Good Day to Die Hard is a terrible film, one of the very worst theatrical movies I have ever seen.  It's willfully stupid, lacking in basic character chemistry and narrative discipline, officially turning John McClane into a borderline insane anti-social lunatic.

According to box-office pundits, A Good Day to Die Hard will be the big box-office winner this holiday weekend. If the predictions hold true, this film confirms the conventional wisdom: People want what's familiar, no matter how hackneyed and repetitive.

Instead of stone-faced bodybuilders or martial arts experts, Die Hard had John McClane, an everyman New York cop with only street smarts and a sense of humor on his side who seemed as surprised as anyone to be an action hero.