I apologise, we feel bad, but there's no trailer available. ~Ed.
There was a time when the words ‘Die Hard’ meant something. They signified a film that was all about high-octane, testosterone-pumped, balls-to-the-wall action. That time, my friends, is in the distant past. We’ve been promised a fourth installment of John McClane taking the law into his own hands. What we actually receive, however, is a nerdy hacker thriller which is pretty mundane, and ultimately underwhelming.
The story involves a cyber-terrorism group hacking into government systems and disabling the entire infrastructure of the United States. Electricity, water, and bank systems are shut down, plunging the country into chaos. It’s up to renegade cop John McClane (Bruce Willis) to save the day. He teams up with young computer hacker Matt (Justin Long) to locate and stop the bad guys, led by Thomas Gabriel (Timothy Olyphant), and restore the computer systems to normal. Explosions and wise-cracks ensue…
Why oh why does the film have to be about hackers? Since when has internet hacking been acceptable in an action film? What are the stakes? Nobody in the audience has a clue what hacking involves, or how difficult such feats are to accomplish. In fact, this film makes it seem pretty easy for one person to hack into secret computers, and then pretty easy again for someone else to come along and reverse what the other has just done. Most of the film involves just that – hacker vs. hacker - both putting their speed-typing skills to good use in a ‘battle of wits’.
There are no plain MS DOS screens to be found. Instead, apparently, hacking involves slick multimedia presentations where ‘ACCESS DENIED’ frequently slides across computer screens in an attractive red font. And, ‘oh my god, they’ve cracked the inner sanctum, whatever will we do? I know! Let’s type some more crap and hack them back! Who cares if nobody else knows what we’re doing – we’re computer nerds and the audience will accept that as a given!'
Let’s all be thankful that Bruce Willis is always around. He’s really good. He’s got charisma and has got the right kind of craggy face that suits being drenched in sweat and flecked with blood. He’s got a few great one-liners which bring the house down. But where did all the swearing go? I think I heard ‘shit’ once, and the classic ‘Yippee ki yay, motherfucker’ was muffled by a gunshot. Curse that PG-13 rating!
Yes, there are some good explosions, and a great sequence involving a truck, a jet plane, and a collapsing highway (Which reminded me of ‘True Lies’), but the whole film is a timely reminder that action films don’t really have anywhere to go anymore. Unless you go outrageous like Michael Bay did with ‘Transformers’, you’re going to end up with an average film that doesn’t stand out from the rest. In fact, if Bruce Willis wasn’t in this film, it would be as conventional as ever.
It becomes a decent buddy movie, thanks to Justin Long, and there’s a likeable camaraderie between the two leads. There are plenty of silly-in-a-good-way moments, especially the 'parcours' sequence (Jumping around all over the place) like we saw in ‘Casino Royale’. But overall one gets the feeling that ‘Die Hard 4.0’ might entertain but will never be fondly remembered as a classic. It’s is a movie about nerds, for nerds.
By Andrew Hedley, Flicks.co.nz
As most reviewers have already mentioned, this is the poorest of the extremely high-quality Die Hard series, which is a bit of a shame not only because we had to wait aeons since the clever With A Vengeance but also because the original blockbuster terrorist franchise ought to have had a field day with material given what's happened in the US this decade. Bruce Willis and Jared Long save the film however, with a great partnership trading off of gutbusting, sado-masochistic action hero against cowardly, whiny geek-boy. The script was a bit lazy, as is the nature of most of this decades actioners, but has the sufficient quota of novel methods of killing baddies and blowing up public transport networks that will keep many fans happy.
Has it's charm, but all in all just too over the top for my liking. It's no Bourne, that's for sure.
A well-scripted and acted Movie. Bruce Willis shines as the Copper, with a reluctant hacker in tow. Whom he has been ordered to bring in, by the Feds. Plenty of action, explosions a-plenty .. therefore, does not disappoint. In any way. Go watch !
For the most part, an entertaining action film. Bruce is solid. It's supposed to be dumb fun and it is - the set pieces are always ridiculous. The less pleasing side was the computer hacking. This was a borefest. Quick cuts of people typing and flashing 'ACCESS DENIED' on computer screens.
I like Bruce Willis. He is not pretentious, he isn't a 'pretty boy' he says it as he means it and he can still kick a..! It was action packed (a little far-fetched) fast-paced and a very entertaining 2 hours 10 minutes. It is not a 'thinking' movie, or soppy romance it is just pure entertainment.
Willis is on top action form here, even though the script is an utterly preposterous no-brainer with supposedly right-on digs at US politics. Those expecting a balls-to-the-wall action fest won't be disappointed. Those wanting to relive Christmas at the Nakatomi Plaza should watch the original...
Does it herald a renaissance in the action genre? Not really, but it's a welcome throwback to good old-fashioned, '80s-style lunkhead violence, and no one takes a punch, kick, elbow, or bullet quite like John McClane...
It's been a long time coming, it takes a little too long to do its thing, and you won't remember a bit of it afterwards. But despite its apparent software upgrade Die Hard 4.0 still delivers action that feels more physically thrilling than a virtual retread of past glories...
Either Live Free or Die Hard will go down as the summer's best action blockbuster, or it's going to be one exceptional summer...
It can feel a little predictable in places, but Die Hard 4.0 has a few aces up its sleeve...
We've been told the NZ release date for this flick is Thursday, 9th Aug 2007.
Release date: August 9th 2007.
We haven't received times for this movie in this location yet. However these are updated as cinemas announce them, so check back soon. Hopefully the lovely cinemas in your location will choose to play it shortly. ~Ed.
