Yippee-ki-yay 4.0 [Movie only] (Die Hard 4.0 (DVD))

Member Name: marandina

Product:	Die Hard 4.0 (DVD)
Date:	13/01/08 (160 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Superb stunts, fast paced story

Disadvantages: Way, waaaay OTT at times

Detective John McClane (Bruce Willis) is a hard-bitten cop with an ex-wife and daughter. Assigned to bring in a young computer hacker, McClane walks into a fire storm at the hackers apartment, eventually fleeing from the scene having dispatched several of the assassins in the process. On the way to the FBI HQ in Washington D.C. and the safe house of Deputy Director Bowman (Cliff Curtis), the duo encounter traffic chaos whilst the US Stock Market is de-railed by the urban terrorist, Thomas Gabriel (Timothy Olyphant). As it becomes clear that Matthew Farrell (Justin Long) is the only surviving hacker of a network that has been unwittingly helping Gabriel with his unraveling master plan, McClane is ordered to take Farrell into protective custody. Challenging Farrell to put himself in the shoes of the terrorists, he deduces that to pursue his plan, the instigator would have to target the utilities, consequently taking them off to the power hub in West Virginia. With the resultant struggle with the bad guys resulting in the death of Gabriel's assistant and lover, things get personal and the architect of the current chaos goes after McClane's daughter, telling his adversary of his intentions and prompting the all action cop to reply, menacingly that he's coming after him.

"Die Hard 4.0" (released as "Live Free or Die Hard" in the U.S.) is the fourth movie in the Die Hard franchise. Directed by Len Wiseman, the latest adventures of John McClane, the cop always in the wrong place at the wrong time, comes some 19 years after the original movie was released back in 1988. Loosely based on an article called "A Farewell to Arms", "Die Hard 4.0" reflects on what might happen following an attack on America by cyber terrorists and is the latest in a long line of movies to have a strong undercurrent of post 9/11 paranoia.

You have to hand it to Willis, even now he still looks the part with dirty vests and blood splattered clothes. He is the archetypal action hero and is as important to the genre as our Arnie, the Austrian Oak. Looking distinctly older with no hair left on top, Willis pouts, grimaces, wise cracks and generally sashays his way through the movie just like the good old days of Die Hard's 1, 2 and 3. In fact, I couldn't help but reflect on how much more like a James Bond movie this was than the Bond movie I'd seen recently with Daniel Craig in it. Determined to stave off any anachronism, Willis now has a daughter with his ex-wife apparently long gone and the strain of their father-daughter relationship gently mapped in amongst all the carnage. The sight of McClane knocking on the steamy car window as his teen daughter makes out with a boy and the ensuing debate between them about whether her car-sharer is a boyfriend or not, all after McClane has just told the young man to get outta the car, is a nice touch and one fathers could relate too in general. Indeed the chemistry between Willis and Mary Elizabeth Winstead as Lucy works reasonably well, even if Lucy is reduced to female in distress for the most part.

The supporting cast is pretty credible. Olyphant as the criminal mastermind isn't as effective as some of his predecessors but then Alan Rickman set an almost impossibly high bar on the psychotic terrorist front in a previous Die Hard outing. Cliff Curtis looks like a poor man's Denzil Washington whilst Justin Long reminded me of Sam of Sam and Mark fame from Yoof tv in the mornings on the Beeb. Cute, chubby-faced and clever as well as being brave, he's an unlikely side-kick for the gritty Willis who lets go of the secret of his incredible natural ability for the most eye-popping gymnastics whilst kicking ass left, right and centre. He still goes to the gym, it seems. Still, Long gets to spar with Willis with some great exchanges like "Farrell: "Awww, great. Your phone doesn't work." McClane: "What, did they drop the satellites or something?" Farrell: "No, your battery just died." And Farrell: "You just killed a helicopter with a car! McClane: "I was out of bullets."

There is plenty of cliché in the movie, what with Warlock (Kevin Smith), the housebound couch potato with a vast array of computer equipment and the ability to hack into just about anything a la Matrix and Farrell's comprehensive knowledge of all things cyber-bound, I'm sure Hollywood have yet to realise that most people are struggling with the technology behind operating their Wii, never mind connecting with satellites and hacking into the Pentagon. Notwithstanding, the action sequences are stunning. I loved the scene in the tunnel where McClane was faced with 3 lines of traffic coming at him from both sides and the demise of the pursuing helicopter is brilliant if decidedly unlikely. The sequences towards the closing finale just keep raising the ante and the sight of Willis in a huge truck being stalked by an F35 fighter plane on the freeway is worth the admission money alone. It's reminiscent of the freeway set piece from the Matrix franchise and every bit as enthralling even if it does go nutzo when McClane jumps from the truck onto the plane's wing at one point!

With a 12 rating and a run time of 129 minutes, "Die Hard 4.0" is a highly successful update to the action movie genre. With a rollocking musical score, relentless pace, wall to wall action and ridiculously over the top stunts, the movie is an adrenaline-fueled road trip that's more than enough to keep action junkies happy everywhere. Willis looks a little older, his life looks just that bit sadder but it's not enough to stop him kicking ass and downing the bad guys whilst draped in a metaphorical flag of the Stars and Stripes. Quite where the Die Hard franchise goes from here is anyone's guess but I'm not sure that I'm entirely comfortable with a geriatric, wheelchair-bound McClane throwing his walking stick at the hordes of criminals intent on ripping his shirt a bit more. No doubt, regardless of age, health or any other obstacle hurled in his way, he'll still manage a "Yippee-ki-yay, motherf*****!"

Thanks for reading

Mara

DVD available at Amazon from £13.48

Summary: Overview of movie