Bruce Willis has made an interesting transition over the last couple of years from Bruce Willis the actor to playing Bruce Willis the character in every movie he is in.

“A Good Day To Die Hard” is no exception.

The latest “Die Hard” installment, number five for those counting, is also part of another prominent movie trend of once grand action franchises being updated for the current box office.

This one comes complete with a new exciting location, bigger explosions and a young sidekick played by Hollywood’s next big thing ready to fill the main character’s shoes if the franchise continues.

With nothing special that distinguishes this movie from any other action film or Bruce Willis film of late, what is left is a poorly directed, written and acted mess of action and bad Russian accents.

This film, directed by John Moore, finds Willis’ iconic Jersey-born cop, John McClane, traveling across the world to Russia to connect with his long lost son Jack, played by Jai Courtney (“Spartacus:” “War of the Damned”), who he fears has gotten himself into hot water.

Rough around the edges, McClane quickly finds himself in the middle of a terrorist plan that he must stop but not before reconnecting with his son.

It is almost an action movie paint-by-numbers, complete with a car chase, daring escapes in the nick of time and a twist ending that every viewer can see coming.

There is even a painfully cliché father-and-son bonding plot line in the film that is basically “Cats in the Cradle” with guns.

Willis spends the entire film following his son around because he really has no major connection to the main plot line about the terrorist, unlike Jack who is working with the CIA.

It would be nice to see an action franchise step out of the box for once and realize that bigger isn’t always better, but that is what happens when a movie is written by Skip Woods, who is guilty of writing the worst “X-Men” film, the almost painfully bad “X-Men Origins: Wolverine.”

Bottom line is viewers looking to enjoy a movie with over the top car chases, big explosions and Bruce Willis spouting cheesy lines should hop in line. Or you know, just go rent “The Expendables 2.”