I forgot to write this earlier, the other week, the day after its opening, I went to see Die Hard 4.0 (or for those of you in America, Live Free and Die Hard). I have to say that I was quite impressed with this movie and it surpassed my expectations.
Once again, the film centres around John McClane, the man in the wrong place at the wrong time. The fourth cinematic outing is by no means an exception. In the tradition of the previous two Die Hard sequels, the threat is bigger and closer to home. A group of hackers led by an ex-government agent has found a way to hack into the country and effectly bring it to a hault. But worst of all, they have the most important thing in John's life hostage, his daughter.
As with previous installments, the film is filled with adrenaline fuelled action, an easy to follow story with the usual lashings of sarcastic and facetious one-liners. All of these ingredients contribute to the epic masterpiece that it is.
On the other hand, the story is quite simple and predictable but at least has the merits of a likable action hero with commendable performances from Bruce Willis's co-stars including Star Trek: Voyager's Tim Russ (Commander Tuvok).
Overall, Die Hard 4.0 is an action packed roller coaster ride that is highly unlikely to disappoint if you're not looking for a film to contemplate the world with. While it doesn't share the calibre of wit and engaging story line seen in Die Hard with a Vengeance, this installment is still a worthy addition to the series.
4 out of 5.
Once again, the film centres around John McClane, the man in the wrong place at the wrong time. The fourth cinematic outing is by no means an exception. In the tradition of the previous two Die Hard sequels, the threat is bigger and closer to home. A group of hackers led by an ex-government agent has found a way to hack into the country and effectly bring it to a hault. But worst of all, they have the most important thing in John's life hostage, his daughter.
As with previous installments, the film is filled with adrenaline fuelled action, an easy to follow story with the usual lashings of sarcastic and facetious one-liners. All of these ingredients contribute to the epic masterpiece that it is.
On the other hand, the story is quite simple and predictable but at least has the merits of a likable action hero with commendable performances from Bruce Willis's co-stars including Star Trek: Voyager's Tim Russ (Commander Tuvok).
Overall, Die Hard 4.0 is an action packed roller coaster ride that is highly unlikely to disappoint if you're not looking for a film to contemplate the world with. While it doesn't share the calibre of wit and engaging story line seen in Die Hard with a Vengeance, this installment is still a worthy addition to the series.
4 out of 5.
I saw this movie three times already and absolutely loved it, if not more, each time. I think it was the best of the Die Hard series.
There are a few things that are somewhat of a departure from the previous Die Hards that are, possibly, the reason that it gets top honors from me.
First of all, it had more scope than the other Die Hards, taking place in a wider variety of locations and presenting more opportunity for amazing chase scenes. (Taking out a helicoptor with a car. Taking out a truck with a jet fighter, etc...) Second, I loved the reluctant sidekick who was always present, and provided opportunity for much more clever and entertaining dialog than in the previous Die Hards. The sidekick also had an amazing resemblance to Neo in the first Matrix.
The movie was very well paced. Non-stop action, a healthy bit of humor, great dialog and a plot us computer geeks can get our teeth into.
Five Stars *****
There are a few things that are somewhat of a departure from the previous Die Hards that are, possibly, the reason that it gets top honors from me.
First of all, it had more scope than the other Die Hards, taking place in a wider variety of locations and presenting more opportunity for amazing chase scenes. (Taking out a helicoptor with a car. Taking out a truck with a jet fighter, etc...) Second, I loved the reluctant sidekick who was always present, and provided opportunity for much more clever and entertaining dialog than in the previous Die Hards. The sidekick also had an amazing resemblance to Neo in the first Matrix.
The movie was very well paced. Non-stop action, a healthy bit of humor, great dialog and a plot us computer geeks can get our teeth into.
Five Stars *****
I have to agree on the positive reviews, I thought this was a really good flick.
The one thing that got me, however, the only negative that I could come up with was the sense of urgency from the cops, the people, and the city in general. Or the lack thereof actually. Everything is collapsing and coming apart at the seams, and these people treat it like it's "just another crisis ... yawn" ...
I know it's cliche, but I also kept waiting for Bruce to say something like "Again? Why me? I mean what are the odds of this?!?" ...
But with that being said, I was on the edge of my seat the whole movie and must have said "Whoah" ..."Holy Crap" ... and other derivatives of those words countless times.
4.5 out of 5 from Malloy.
The one thing that got me, however, the only negative that I could come up with was the sense of urgency from the cops, the people, and the city in general. Or the lack thereof actually. Everything is collapsing and coming apart at the seams, and these people treat it like it's "just another crisis ... yawn" ...
I know it's cliche, but I also kept waiting for Bruce to say something like "Again? Why me? I mean what are the odds of this?!?" ...
But with that being said, I was on the edge of my seat the whole movie and must have said "Whoah" ..."Holy Crap" ... and other derivatives of those words countless times.
4.5 out of 5 from Malloy.
I'm not fat ... I'm festively plump.
It was just simply awesome. I feel a little guilty only giving it 4 out of 5 now becuse your reviews have brought back to memory even more of the stuff I enjoyed about this film. But i'll stick with my rating since I wasn't quite as blown away with the story and it didn't match the edgy story of the last. I just loved in Vengeance how everything had to be done to a time and the continual taunting of the villain. While there were elements of that here, it wasn't quite as gripping. But it still kicked arse and is one of the best releases of the year, if not the best. Speak to me after seeing The Bourne Ultimatum and i'll have an answer 
As an aside I kinda feel that the first Die Hard was more interesting and original because the main character was limited/trapped within 1 building and so therefore had to use his own resourcefulness to figure out the best way around without bumping into others and use crafty methods to take out the bad guys etc. Kinda like how Tex Murphy uses resourcefulness. I feel that the other films probably should of played on this more and are missing a trick by gradually doing away with the concept. Although they all have tried to work in some limitations thankfully I do feel the way the films have steadily grown to cover a larger scope of terrain to work with makes the character have alot more to utilise than the first film. The 2nd he was limited (to an extent) to an airport which was a step up from 1 building to a large group of buildings, then 3rd film he had a city then 4th film he has multiple cities. 5th film the universe!
Having said that I have enjoyed all the films and think its a very solid set of films which is a great achievement compared to alot of other film series. The 2nd film seems to receive alot of flak from fans but I enjoy that one too.
My above sentiments however and the fact that Bruce Willis may of changed alot since all those years ago made me wonder if this was going to be successful.
But I felt it was very succesful. The action choreography and effects were great, some really gripping scenes in there. The way things panned out kept the pace up. Its a solid addition to a great set of films and doesnt let the main character down. I enjoyed it.
The plot was simple but I guess thats standard fare with action flicks. Most of the interest comes through the way things play out I guess.
I really liked the boy he had tagging along with him too. He was a great character and added a nice perspective on McClane as we know how much this character has gone through and what he's capable of but this character is seeing it all for the first time and is genuinely shocked and this I guess is a nice little trick to get the audience to look at what is happening/being acheived in a new light and not just think "Oh same old". He was an entertaining character in his own right too. As said he was also good as a comic foil for McClane and also added something to certain scenes since unlike McClane who is now used to such things, he is genuinely afraid and reacts more. Plus I felt he looked kinda cute, thats always a plus (not seen him in anything else though).
If they did a Die Hard 5 though I'd still want them to trap him somewhere and have him really use that highly resourceful and crafty mind to its fullest!
Having said that I have enjoyed all the films and think its a very solid set of films which is a great achievement compared to alot of other film series. The 2nd film seems to receive alot of flak from fans but I enjoy that one too.
My above sentiments however and the fact that Bruce Willis may of changed alot since all those years ago made me wonder if this was going to be successful.
But I felt it was very succesful. The action choreography and effects were great, some really gripping scenes in there. The way things panned out kept the pace up. Its a solid addition to a great set of films and doesnt let the main character down. I enjoyed it.
The plot was simple but I guess thats standard fare with action flicks. Most of the interest comes through the way things play out I guess.
I really liked the boy he had tagging along with him too. He was a great character and added a nice perspective on McClane as we know how much this character has gone through and what he's capable of but this character is seeing it all for the first time and is genuinely shocked and this I guess is a nice little trick to get the audience to look at what is happening/being acheived in a new light and not just think "Oh same old". He was an entertaining character in his own right too. As said he was also good as a comic foil for McClane and also added something to certain scenes since unlike McClane who is now used to such things, he is genuinely afraid and reacts more. Plus I felt he looked kinda cute, thats always a plus (not seen him in anything else though).
If they did a Die Hard 5 though I'd still want them to trap him somewhere and have him really use that highly resourceful and crafty mind to its fullest!
(Ruri_Ayanami from the old Tex Murphy ezboard).
"I don't believe in intuition, don't know why... just a feeling." - Tex Murphy
"I don't believe in intuition, don't know why... just a feeling." - Tex Murphy
