Die Hard 4.0 review

I love the Die Hard movies! Great action films alongside Lethal Weapons and Indiana Jones. As far as I am concerned, the order they were made equals the order of merit I would put them in. With the original of course, being the best. So Die Hard 4. Very good. I was wondering if it would "feel" like a Die Hard movie, and it did! Terrorists, Mclane drawn in almost by accident and a family member of his in some sort of close proximity or indeed in jeopardy. Whatever happened to Bonnie Bedella? Who was superb as Mclane's wife in the first two movies, can't remember seeing her since playing Harrison Ford's wife in Presumed Innocent.

I thought the young hacker side-kick was excellent, a good source of frustration and humour. Kevin Smith's cameo was pretty good, his second scene causing me to reminisce about the big policeman Al in the first movie, who also had a brief cameo in the second.

The action was excellent, some great set pieces. Particularly the tunnel, the plane and the elevator shaft. I have to mark down slightly for the anti-climactic ending. The action was so intense up to that point and the way Mclane finishes off the villain was certainly the weakest of the four films by far.

The actor playing the villain has come in for some stick but I thought he did all that was required. He was a computer whizz, not a stunt man. He had some good exchanges with Willis, especially the one when he reveals he has got his daughter, "come on say something funny!" I enjoyed the film very much, and felt the director did a really good job. I know his Underworld films have faced a lot of derision but I remember watching Underworld Evolution knowing Wiseman had got the Die Hard gig and saw his potential, particularly with the helicopter blades ending (if you've seen it you'll know what I mean!)

So a good film, yeah, a little tame, particularly when put up against the others. Almost no blood and swearing. Which is fine, but having spent 6 hours in John Mclane's company from 1988-1995 you know he would say a lot more fruitier one liners than he does in this movie!

I don't think there should be a Die Hard 5:Die Hardest, I mean he's gone from a building, to an airport, to a city, to a country-can Bruce really save the World?! Probably!

So my Die Hard order of merit, would now be-Die Hard, Die Hard 2, Die Hard 4, Die Hard 3.

4 die hards out of 5