Feels like a different franchise

Rating: 6/10 (17 November 2013)

John McClane (Bruce Willis) has fallen on hard times. A bomber (Jeremy Irons) demands that McClane play a game and the NYPD recalls him back to work. In one game, he's helped by a good Samaritan Zeus (Samuel L. Jackson). The two go off on a high intensity scavenger hunt.
The fact that he's called in by name means that this one veers off from the formula from the start. The first two had him alone in the wrong place at the wrong time surprising the bad guys. This one he's paired up, demanded by the bad guy to play a game running across NY. It feels like a different franchise. Where's the family? They've thrown out the formula.
Director John McTiernan returns to do a big action extravaganza. He follows the rule of sequels by making a bigger movie. Jeremy Irons is a great bad guy, but I would prefer Bruce Willis to be a lone wolf. Nevertheless Sam Jackson is always a great choice. If this wasn't a Die Hard movie, it would be just another brainless action thriller.