Die Hard 4.0

Simple job. Escort a hacker to the FBI for questioning.
But this is John McClane and nothing is ever that simple for him, is it?
At least it isn’t Christmas!
McClane (Bruce Willis) and his charge Matthew Farrell (Justin Long) are set upon even before they leave Farrell’s apartment. They escape leaving many of their assailants dead but many other hackers have been killed as their computers exploded, a fate that by shear fluke Farrell was saved from by McClane’s arrival.
As Techno-Terrorists, led by Thomas Gabriel (Timothy Olyphant), rampage against the US of A disrupting traffic signals, Air traffic control and financial systems, McClane is ordered to escort Farrell to the Dept of Homeland Security as the issue is now bigger than the FBI. The country itself is under attack.
This journey is far more dangerous though as the extent of the terrorists influence becomes apparent.

Action movie, with even more action. Plus added action. The long wait between Die Hard movies came to an end in dramatic style. This is a movie of the Internet age with the reach and scope of a terrorist almost without limit if they get the “keys to the kingdom“. If you can get a Command and Control program into enough places simultaneously then the world is at your knees. That’s the theory behind a “fire sale” introduced by the villains of this piece.
We have several strong characters and actors in this story to enjoy along with the ridiculous over the top action.
Mary Elizabeth Winstead is believable as McClane’s petulant daughter, anything is better than being John McClane’s daughter if she is to be believed. Justin Long does what he does best as the nervous, twitchy, hypochondriac hacker. Timothy Olyphant is a masterful villain, even if the intellect does not quite show through as it should. Maggie Q as his second in command does well enough.
We’ll gloss over some of the cyber crime stuff as deliberately expansive, exaggerated stuff. Would the US government be so stupid as to integrate all services together with one C&C service? Probably. Perhaps they’ll call it SkyNet?
The action as I said gets ridiculously over the top but the magic of this movie is that the effects and setup allow you to suspend belief and follow the plot through wherever it takes you. These large outdoor setups are masterfully created and look like they cost a ridiculous amount of money.
The humour is absolutely all over this movie, it is chock full of one liners and self-references. Brilliant.

Things to look out for: traffic chaos, Scott Pilgrim McClane Vs the world, youthful sarcasm, online life, torture, “I was out of bullets“, Truck Vs Fighter Plane, “Another day in paradise“, “Agent Johnson?“, tons of one-liners and two-handers
Released: 2007
Certificate: 15
Cast: Bruce Willis, Justin Long, Timothy Olyphant, Maggie Q, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Cliff Curtis
Rating: violent and well constructed action flick, highly recommended

Part of the Die Hard Quadrilogy:

• It’s still not a Quadrilogy! It’s a fracking Tetralogy!