Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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20 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
McClane is back!, 26 Sep 2007
Yippee-ki-yay! At long last (it's been 12 years!) John McClane is back and back in the most explosive and action-packed movie in a long, long time. Taking action films back to the way they are supposed to be - guns, car chases, explosions, tough guys, evil terrorists and a helluva lot of thrills and non-stop excitement.
Bruce Willis returns as McClane again, playing the fast-talking, witty tough-guy part from the first 3 films as well as he did 18 years ago. Justin Long plays the likeable computer hacker geek Matt pretty well, sharing the spotlight with Willis with the humourous come-backs and one liners. For the bad guys there's Timothy Olyphanta as Thomas Gabriel, the brains behind the terrorist attack and also quick kicking Maggie Q as Gabriel's ally and love interest, Mai Lihn.
The story isn't as brainless as you'd expect - terrorists initiate a plot to bring down the U.S. in a cyber attack, taking out transportation, telecommunications, financial and power networks with systematic hacking known as a Fire Sale. Luckily, NYPD detective McClane is on the case with some help with from computer hacker, Matt Farrell. There's action from the get-go starting off with a gun fight in an apartment to a truck versus fighter jet chase near the end, with tonnes more action in between.
This is a top-quality action film that is one of the best films of the genre in years and goes to show that these types of films don't need lovey-dovey side storylines and a complex plot. It needs good guys and bad guys and pure adrenaline filled, over the top action. Brilliant stuff!
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17 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
A Die Hard movie for the 21st century, 17 Dec 2007
The John McClane of Die Hard liked to compare himself to Roy Rogers. A modern day cowboy who, despite his flaws, would push for the side of "good" regardless of the cost. And boy, did McClane have his flaws: a broken family, chain-smoking, flirting with alcoholism, a blue-collar guy trying to make it in a white-collar world. McClane managed to make profanity almost poetic, and he was a man who bled for his cause.
Fast-forward 20 years, to a new century and a new millennium. McClane is McClane in name only. Still has family problems with a daughter who hates him (though it's never expressly explained why). No sign of drink, cigarettes, swearing. If anything he looks fitter and more enabled than ever before. He truly is a hero for our new, sanitised age.
This might please a lot of people. It didn't please me. To be quite honest, I was eagerly anticipating seeing John McClane -- dinosaur -- getting to grips with the 21st century. Unfortunately we were delivered a cardboard hero in much the same vein as Harry Stamper from Armageddon, or any of Bruce's other "world-savers for hire".
And that's just our hero...
We had a screenplay that was severely hamstrung by the limitations of censorship and the demands of stuns. So don't expect any graphic violence, swearing, characterisation or adult themes (which may be no bad thing for a family, but isn't Die Hard an adult franchise?). Instead of the beautifully intimate action of Die Hard (fighting in stairwells, predator and prey stalking on rooftops), we are treated to fighter jet vs. truck battles, huge car pile-ups and big, big explosions.
The stuntwork IS impressive, and the film does move along at a zippy pace. But tragically for me, the film has disassociated itself with everything that made the original such a classic. Unfortunately none of the characters are memorable (I challenge you to recall any of their names after a week or two), we have an unconvincing villain, ridiculously soft violence, a complete shift from reality (a villain gets rammed into a wall by a car, immediately gets up and starts fighting unscathed) and a lack of anything remotely engaging.
I am sure this movie will please a lot of people (I have little doubt my review will be "unhelpful" to a good majority) who are willing to settle for a two hour distraction. And that you will get. Not-stop stunts, and your ear drums will never get a rest. My main gripe is that this movie is Die Hard "in name only", and by endorsing this movie we are effectively giving the green light to Hollywood to keep churning out these lazy, unstimulating, sanitised, PC movies. We should be demanding so much more from our treasured franchises. You know you're in trouble when Bruce can't even finish his famous "Yippee ki yay" line.
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4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Should be called "Impossible to Die", 11 Dec 2008
When your sequals start getting upto 4's and in Rockys case, the 6's, there's always the danger that the people who made the film are flogging a dead horse, or the particular lead stars career is on the hard shoulder and in need of a jump start so you usually have to be cautious.
I wasn't sure if that was the case with this because Bruce Willis was still showing up in Sin Cities and Len Wiseman had just made the Underworld movies so I dove in anyway. Am I glad I did!
This movie had alot to live up to following part 3, but it does, and then some! The story is there or there abouts, good enough but then there's the action, which is mental!
Since 'ol John McClane had already destroyed a skyscraper, an airport and the best part of New York city in the last three outings I suppose the only way to up the ante was to get the 'wife-beater-vest' wearing alcoholic to basically blow the whole of the USA up! well almost.
The story revolves around a terrorist who is aiming to cripple the US economy by destroying the governments security network, and obviously the guy who has been in the wrong place at the wrong time so many times before you would have thought he would be a hermit by now, is the person who is going to save the day. Which he does, but like I say, not before destroying everything he comes across, including most parts of his body.
Listen, I could go on about this but there's no need, you either like action or not, if you do, buy this and love it, if you don't, then buy this and someone in your house will.
As my title says, you don't have to be a die hard action flick fan to like it, it's just wicked.
...Can't wait for Die Hard 5: Suicide Doesn't Work, where McClane saves the world from colliding with the sun with nothing but his vest and some aspirin!
DVD wise, if you like all of the series, I would potentially look at the quadrilogy, []
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