The "Die Hard" films, starring Bruce Willis as the frequently unlucky cop John McClane, have always featured a heavy dose of wise-cracking levity to go along with the bone-crunching violence. Some fans, however, thought that 2007's PG-13 "Live Free or Die Hard" (pictured) was too jokey and that the action was watered down as a result.

Director John Moore wants to change that in the upcoming fifth installment, "A Good Day to Die Hard."

When his son Jack (Jai Courtney) gets into hot water with some nasty criminals in Moscow, McClane finds himself facing down Russian villains in the latest adventure.

When asked if the film will contain a lot of winking, self-referential humor, Moore ("Max Payne," "Behind Enemy Lines") told Empire, "No, because that’s preposterous! I don’t know whether it’s post-financial crash or whatever, but I don’t think people are in the mood for that bollocks anymore. People are well savvy to the cynical reheating of any product, any franchise. Any shit won’t do. The bar’s a bit higher."

"There are a couple of great gags and a couple of great McClanisms," he conceded. "[But] It’s not like he this idiot, bumbling around Moscow making ‘America won the Cold War’ jokes. It’s not 'Carry On Die Hard,' I can assure you…"

Moore also revealed that they took 78 days to shoot the film's key car chase, which indicates that he means business.