Early on in the pre-production phase of A Good Day to Die Hard, the team at Fox approached The Stunt People about putting together a roof top knife fight between John McClane and a baddie with a brutal knowledge of Krav Maga. Eric Jacobus, Alvin Hsing and coordinator J.J. Perry were happy to oblige, and although the scene was ultimately cut, it’s still a fantastic example of fight choreography and of the action filmmaking process.
Things have gotten ridiculously out of hand since the success of first John McClane outing. It’s clear to some that the franchise itself is a meta exercise in exploring McClane’s super powers, and while throwing a car at a helicopter is crazy, so is the idea that McClane is now an expert-level fighter who can take on a martial artist like this. It’s tempting to assume that they cut it because of how much more cartoonish McClane would become, but having seen the movie, that seems unlikely. So let’s just be content to know that John McClane can do everything. Even krav maga.