Film Review: Die Hard 4.0 / Live Free Or Die Hard (2007)

2009-10-13 04:31:54

"Die Hard 4.0/Live Free Or Die Hard" Movie Review. 7/10.
By Todd Murphy. ALL ABOUT MOVIES.NET.
Directed by Len Wiseman
Starring Bruce Willis, Justin Long, Timothy Olyphant, Maggie Q, Cliff Curtis, Kevin Smith

BOTTOM LINE:
The action is well staged, the one-liners are prevalent, and the film is overall very entertaining but one cannot help shake the fact that this entry in the “Die Hard” franchise is at best a pale imitation of its predecessors, from Bruce Willis down.

THE GOOD:
The “Die Hard” series has been known for delivering some great action sequences along with its trademark cowboy humour and in this respect, this fourth entry does not disappoint. Again relying on a strong concept, John McClane (a weary looking Bruce Willis) takes on a group of cyber terrorists who take control of America through hacking all of its critical computer infrastructure. As before, the terrorists are well financed and very slick, led by a very cold Thomas Gabriel (Timothy Olyphant) who manages to shut down Washington DC with a few keystrokes. Of course, he was not counting on McClane showing up to spoil the party. While en route to pick up computer hacker Matt Farrell (Justin Long), McClane gets caught in the middle of the terrorists’ plot and it is not long before it is up to McClane to take them down. This film contains some brilliantly staged action, with even the CG moments looking quite real in most respects. The film still delivers on its trademark action and one-liners, and at times, the film does echo the fun moments from the previous films as McClane dispatches each of the terrorists one by one. “Die Hard 4” is a decent entry in the franchise, and by itself, a very good action film that will entertain most fans of the genre.

THE BAD:
“Die Hard 4” feels like an echo of the previous films. You are reminded of what franchise it is through a moment here or there, but overall, it feels a little bland and distant, even generic. John McClane was typically a very energetic character, who swore his head off and served as a fantastic foil for the bad guys but Bruce Willis does not look like he cares that much this time, playing McClane very low key; the theatrical release was even worse as all the swearing was cut out to avoid an R rating! As a result, you do not get that buzz or high you would have got from the previous films. It may be that this type of film belongs to a different era, when terrorism could be more jovially played in cinema, or maybe that with three previous films, the “Die Hard” franchise has grown old hat, particularly with the multitude of action clones that have been made since. “Die Hard 4” is an echo; a pale imitation of its predecessors. Enjoyable? Yes. Memorable? Hardly.

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Todd Murphy is a film analyst and staff writer/reviewer for the film and DVD review web site, ALL ABOUT MOVIES.NET.