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Yippie ki-ay, motherf...you know the rest. After a 12 year absence, John McClane is back in the fourth installment of the Die Hard franchise. Renowned for its over-the-top action, witty one-liners and extremely likable protagonist, the next installment was met with a modicum of doubters and haters before the film was even released. The seeming overuse of CGI in the trailers (with the ridiculous car stunts in the tunnel), the attached director making nothing particularly decent (unless you liked the Underworld films) and the lack of violence and swearing due to the PG13 rating made many feel that this would be a watered down Die Hard. Is this true? Or does this deliver the old flair we've been waiting over a decade for? Read on and find out...
Die Hard 4.0 (or Live Free or Die Hard, as the Americans call it, and is by far the better title) opens with computer hackers attempting to systematically bring down the United States. One may begin to think "Great, this is just another one of those techno-babble Internet action flicks", but alas, once John McTClane shows his face a few minutes into the film, all of your fears will be allayed. Soon enough he's shooting baddies, blowing up fire extinguishers, launching men out of windows, running them over with cars, and, even in one instance, feeding them into grinders. Whilst not as violent as the previous three, if anything, this film is action-packed.
As with the previous installments, McClane has a buddy along for the ride, in computer hacker Matt Farrell (played surprisingly well by Justin Long), who he must protect in the hope that Farrell can stop these terrorists. The rappor McClane and Farrell strike up, whilst nowhere near as entertaining as the one with Samuel L Jackson, provides us a greater insight into the series side of McClane, and the two actors themselves play off of each other very well.
The other supporting cast also add a lot to the film - Timothy Olyphant makes an appropriately threatening villain, surprisingly considering his moustache-twiddling days on the HBO series Deadwood. His character was fleshed out a lot more than one would've expected, and some moral shades of grey of introduced to his persona. Maggie Q joins him as a sexy computer villain, and as well as being incredible eye candy, she has a fantastic (and violent) scene with Willis that is among the best of the film.
The film certainly isn't original, but there's something immensely entertaining about watching a man drive a car towards a helicopter, and dive out mere seconds before it crashes into a parking pillar and catapults into the helicopter, turning it into a fireball. Action scenes such as this and others are gloriously overblown, but in the best way possible. The majority of the action is wire-work and stuntmen as opposed to CGI, and the one instance where the CGI is very noticable, there was pretty much no other way to create this scene (you'll know it when you see it).
The only real complaint that can be levelled is that the film is a little watered down compared to the originals. The executives at FOX wanted to make more money, and so this was toned down to a PG13, although this surprisingly translated to a 15 rather than a 12A, so at least it must be on the grittier end of the PG13 spectrum, and this is clear by some of the violence (particularly against women) in this film. Pretty much any self-respecting Die Hard fan was hoping that Willis would yell his signature war cry, but alas, it was muffled by a certain noise, unfortunately. Furthermore, there's a situation at which Willis is faced with a downer baddie, and rather than murder him, he actually lets him go, which seems extreme un-McClane like.
In conclusion, Die Hard 4.0 is a solid action blockbuster that will likely top (or simmer around the top) of the films we'll see this summer. It has more action than you can shake a stick at, some hilarious lines, and a surprising chemistry between Long and Willis. I really didn't think Len Wiseman could pull it off, but he's crafted a film that is worthy of the Die Hard name. It's not better than 1 or 3, but this blows 2 out of the water. Kudos to all involved!
Thanks for reading,
Reefer.
Die Hard 4.0 (or Live Free or Die Hard, as the Americans call it, and is by far the better title) opens with computer hackers attempting to systematically bring down the United States. One may begin to think "Great, this is just another one of those techno-babble Internet action flicks", but alas, once John McTClane shows his face a few minutes into the film, all of your fears will be allayed. Soon enough he's shooting baddies, blowing up fire extinguishers, launching men out of windows, running them over with cars, and, even in one instance, feeding them into grinders. Whilst not as violent as the previous three, if anything, this film is action-packed.
As with the previous installments, McClane has a buddy along for the ride, in computer hacker Matt Farrell (played surprisingly well by Justin Long), who he must protect in the hope that Farrell can stop these terrorists. The rappor McClane and Farrell strike up, whilst nowhere near as entertaining as the one with Samuel L Jackson, provides us a greater insight into the series side of McClane, and the two actors themselves play off of each other very well.
The other supporting cast also add a lot to the film - Timothy Olyphant makes an appropriately threatening villain, surprisingly considering his moustache-twiddling days on the HBO series Deadwood. His character was fleshed out a lot more than one would've expected, and some moral shades of grey of introduced to his persona. Maggie Q joins him as a sexy computer villain, and as well as being incredible eye candy, she has a fantastic (and violent) scene with Willis that is among the best of the film.
The film certainly isn't original, but there's something immensely entertaining about watching a man drive a car towards a helicopter, and dive out mere seconds before it crashes into a parking pillar and catapults into the helicopter, turning it into a fireball. Action scenes such as this and others are gloriously overblown, but in the best way possible. The majority of the action is wire-work and stuntmen as opposed to CGI, and the one instance where the CGI is very noticable, there was pretty much no other way to create this scene (you'll know it when you see it).
The only real complaint that can be levelled is that the film is a little watered down compared to the originals. The executives at FOX wanted to make more money, and so this was toned down to a PG13, although this surprisingly translated to a 15 rather than a 12A, so at least it must be on the grittier end of the PG13 spectrum, and this is clear by some of the violence (particularly against women) in this film. Pretty much any self-respecting Die Hard fan was hoping that Willis would yell his signature war cry, but alas, it was muffled by a certain noise, unfortunately. Furthermore, there's a situation at which Willis is faced with a downer baddie, and rather than murder him, he actually lets him go, which seems extreme un-McClane like.
In conclusion, Die Hard 4.0 is a solid action blockbuster that will likely top (or simmer around the top) of the films we'll see this summer. It has more action than you can shake a stick at, some hilarious lines, and a surprising chemistry between Long and Willis. I really didn't think Len Wiseman could pull it off, but he's crafted a film that is worthy of the Die Hard name. It's not better than 1 or 3, but this blows 2 out of the water. Kudos to all involved!
Thanks for reading,
Reefer.
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Yippie ki-ay, motherf...you know the rest. After a 12 year absence, John McClane is back in the fourth installment of the Die Hard franchise. Renowned for its over-the-top action, witty one-liners and extremely likable protagonist, the next installment was met with a modicum of doubters and haters before the film was even released. The seeming overuse of CGI in the trailers (with the ridiculous car stunts in the tunnel), the attached director making nothing particularly decent (unless you liked the Underworld films) and the lack of violence and swearing due to the PG13 rating made many feel that this would be a watered down Die Hard. Is this true? Or does this deliver the old flair we've been waiting over a decade for? Read on and find out...
Die Hard 4.0 (or Live Free or Die Hard, as the Americans call it, and is by far the better title) opens with computer hackers attempting to systematically bring down the United States. One may begin to think "Great, this is just another one of those techno-babble Internet action flicks", but alas, once John McTClane shows his face a few minutes into the film, all of your fears will be allayed. Soon enough he's shooting baddies, blowing up fire extinguishers, launching men out of windows, running them over with cars, and, even in one instance, feeding them into grinders. Whilst not as violent as the previous three, if anything, this film is action-packed.
As with the previous installments, McClane has a buddy along for the ride, in computer hacker Matt Farrell (played surprisingly well by Justin Long), who he must protect in the hope that Farrell can stop these terrorists. The rappor McClane and Farrell strike up, whilst nowhere near as entertaining as the one with Samuel L Jackson, provides us a greater insight into the series side of McClane, and the two actors themselves play off of each other very well.
The other supporting cast also add a lot to the film - Timothy Olyphant makes an appropriately threatening villain, surprisingly considering his moustache-twiddling days on the HBO series Deadwood. His character was fleshed out a lot more than one would've expected, and some moral shades of grey of introduced to his persona. Maggie Q joins him as a sexy computer villain, and as well as being incredible eye candy, she has a fantastic (and violent) scene with Willis that is among the best of the film.
The film certainly isn't original, but there's something immensely entertaining about watching a man drive a car towards a helicopter, and dive out mere seconds before it crashes into a parking pillar and catapults into the helicopter, turning it into a fireball. Action scenes such as this and others are gloriously overblown, but in the best way possible. The majority of the action is wire-work and stuntmen as opposed to CGI, and the one instance where the CGI is very noticable, there was pretty much no other way to create this scene (you'll know it when you see it).
The only real complaint that can be levelled is that the film is a little watered down compared to the originals. The executives at FOX wanted to make more money, and so this was toned down to a PG13, although this surprisingly translated to a 15 rather than a 12A, so at least it must be on the grittier end of the PG13 spectrum, and this is clear by some of the violence (particularly against women) in this film. Pretty much any self-respecting Die Hard fan was hoping that Willis would yell his signature war cry, but alas, it was muffled by a certain noise, unfortunately. Furthermore, there's a situation at which Willis is faced with a downer baddie, and rather than murder him, he actually lets him go, which seems extreme un-McClane like.
In conclusion, Die Hard 4.0 is a solid action blockbuster that will likely top (or simmer around the top) of the films we'll see this summer. It has more action than you can shake a stick at, some hilarious lines, and a surprising chemistry between Long and Willis. I really didn't think Len Wiseman could pull it off, but he's crafted a film that is worthy of the Die Hard name. It's not better than 1 or 3, but this blows 2 out of the water. Kudos to all involved!
Thanks for reading,
Reefer.
Die Hard 4.0 (or Live Free or Die Hard, as the Americans call it, and is by far the better title) opens with computer hackers attempting to systematically bring down the United States. One may begin to think "Great, this is just another one of those techno-babble Internet action flicks", but alas, once John McTClane shows his face a few minutes into the film, all of your fears will be allayed. Soon enough he's shooting baddies, blowing up fire extinguishers, launching men out of windows, running them over with cars, and, even in one instance, feeding them into grinders. Whilst not as violent as the previous three, if anything, this film is action-packed.
As with the previous installments, McClane has a buddy along for the ride, in computer hacker Matt Farrell (played surprisingly well by Justin Long), who he must protect in the hope that Farrell can stop these terrorists. The rappor McClane and Farrell strike up, whilst nowhere near as entertaining as the one with Samuel L Jackson, provides us a greater insight into the series side of McClane, and the two actors themselves play off of each other very well.
The other supporting cast also add a lot to the film - Timothy Olyphant makes an appropriately threatening villain, surprisingly considering his moustache-twiddling days on the HBO series Deadwood. His character was fleshed out a lot more than one would've expected, and some moral shades of grey of introduced to his persona. Maggie Q joins him as a sexy computer villain, and as well as being incredible eye candy, she has a fantastic (and violent) scene with Willis that is among the best of the film.
The film certainly isn't original, but there's something immensely entertaining about watching a man drive a car towards a helicopter, and dive out mere seconds before it crashes into a parking pillar and catapults into the helicopter, turning it into a fireball. Action scenes such as this and others are gloriously overblown, but in the best way possible. The majority of the action is wire-work and stuntmen as opposed to CGI, and the one instance where the CGI is very noticable, there was pretty much no other way to create this scene (you'll know it when you see it).
The only real complaint that can be levelled is that the film is a little watered down compared to the originals. The executives at FOX wanted to make more money, and so this was toned down to a PG13, although this surprisingly translated to a 15 rather than a 12A, so at least it must be on the grittier end of the PG13 spectrum, and this is clear by some of the violence (particularly against women) in this film. Pretty much any self-respecting Die Hard fan was hoping that Willis would yell his signature war cry, but alas, it was muffled by a certain noise, unfortunately. Furthermore, there's a situation at which Willis is faced with a downer baddie, and rather than murder him, he actually lets him go, which seems extreme un-McClane like.
In conclusion, Die Hard 4.0 is a solid action blockbuster that will likely top (or simmer around the top) of the films we'll see this summer. It has more action than you can shake a stick at, some hilarious lines, and a surprising chemistry between Long and Willis. I really didn't think Len Wiseman could pull it off, but he's crafted a film that is worthy of the Die Hard name. It's not better than 1 or 3, but this blows 2 out of the water. Kudos to all involved!
Thanks for reading,
Reefer.