If you’re going to hire Kevin Hart to star in an action comedy with the semi-inspired title of Die Hart, I think you’re morally obligated to set the film in a high-rise and do an actual Die Hard. Kevin Hart, playing himself, is at a Christmas wrap party for his latest film when a gang of international SAG terrorists take over. Hire Christoph Waltz to play the terrorists mastermind and make him do an English accent. Or, hell, have John Travolta (who is in the movie already) play a French villain who wants a Royale with Cheese from the hostage negotiators.

But no, instead they made a film starring Kevin Hart as Kevin Hart, action hero side-kick to Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. He gets the chance to star in his own action flick and is sent to action hero boot camp run by John Travolta (not playing himself). But soon actual criminals show up at the camp and, as we all know, you never go full Tropic Thunder.

And that’s the problem with this film. It’s got a decent idea but fails constantly to nail the jokes. I mean, Hart plays himself and he’s joined by Nathalie Emmanuel playing an actress who has never done an action movie before. Why not cast her to play herself and throw in some jokes that she’s been in two or three Fast and Furious movies (who knows how many?) but never gets to do any action. Or was in four seasons of Game of Thrones and never got to ride a dragon or swing a sword? Or have John Travolta play himself and say it was either the Action Star school or The Fanatic 2: Even Fanaticker.

It’s not that I have to write (arguably) better jokes for them, but that I have to sit there watching this good-idea-for-a-comedy and I have time to think up better jokes while not laughing at the ones they did give us. This movie is just another example of why maybe we should let Kevin Hart be an action hero since I don’t think these comedies are working out for him.

And that’s where I’ll leave it. There just isn’t enough to say about the actual movie they cobbled together. It’s all Big Idea, poor execution.

Score: 66