Everything you'd expect out of a blockbuster, including any flaws.

Rating: 7/10 (5 January 2008)

I suppose Die Hard: With A Vengeance is a little bit of everything rolled into one. It is certainly all the things you'd want in an action film condensed into one complete package but the good and the bad both flow with each other. Die Hard: With A Vengeance is a basic and routine film on the scale of things with certain conventions and ideas slightly dumbed down with others being pushed outwards. I remember first seeing the film several years ago and being totally blown away by the opening thirty minutes or so  whilst most other films take their time in setting the scene, who's who and what the situation is, Die Hard: With A Vengeance blasts you with rock music, shows you some quick edits of New York and then hits you with its initial incident: a bomb in a busy street.
The reason I mention the time when I first saw it is because after that initial explosion and chain of events, I felt the film settled into a groove of repetition and grew not dull but perhaps one dimensional. One advantage of starting slowly and doing everything by the book is that the film can finish strongly; the first and second Die Hard films are good examples of this with a lot of other 'buddy' films doing the same thing. Die Hard: With A Vengeance starts not at the twenty-five minute mark but at the twenty-five second mark; never letting up and although this works for the film, it can also work against the film. But to say the film is a failure is untrue as Die Hard: With A Vengeance does combine enough action, impressive set pieces and dialogue to quench the blockbuster thirst. The film uses the black sidekick device to get across its laughs and its protagonist-on-sidekick scuffles to good effect; something the Lethal Weapon films did rather well but regarding Die Hard, the sidekick is actually physically next to McLane (Willis) throughout the film, unlike in the first two when Al Powell and the controller in the control tower acted as the links via radio control in the first and second films, respectively.
The idea of creating a sidekick for McLane that is both ally and foil is a clever one. Powell was always trying to aid McLane in number one; as was the controller in two and Farrell in the recent fourth addition. Here, Zeus Carver (Jackson in a memorable role) is so cooked up on racism and possible racist remarks that he will explode at the mere hint of any discrimination. Examples are found in the scene when the guy on the subway phone refers to him as 'bro' which enrages Zeus who was calm up until that point; another example is the taxi customer who mocks Zeus for apparently not accepting the fare because he is white, which forces Zeus to take the obnoxious fare on a taxi ride he won't forget. "Don't ever let people use you." He says to two kids in his shop at the beginning, thus hinting at how he will take McLane's and the police orders. Also, the character of McLane himself seems to taken onto another level. Instead of action hero like in one and two, director McTiernan starts McLane off as a sort of down and out noir anti-hero since he's suspended, wife-less and close to alcoholism: a man in internal ruin. There is also the reoccurring joke about McLane and modernity: in the second film, he says so himself that he should "move into the 90s" as he operates a fax machine; in the fourth addition, he is likened to an analogue watch in a digital age. Here, he curses cell phones as he is cut off in a tunnel. It's a well known fact the police usually operate on two way radios, something that would've worked in that situation. McLane seems old fashioned in a metaphorical sense but also when it comes to his methods of dealing with the situation at hand; but he is successful. Person 'A' could write an amazing screenplay on a typewriter whilst person 'B' could write an abysmal one on a computer: it's how you get the end result that counts, not what you use to try and get there.
In terms of narrative, the film uses a familiar cause and effect method of getting across its story. A recent film entitled Cellular is probably the best of recent efforts at exploiting this idea and it works in Die Hard: With A Vengeance to a degree. There are enough action set pieces to make the film feel truly epic with the race across New York through traffic and a public park to get you excited. The scene in the unfinished tunnel is also rather exciting with Simon (Irons) attempting to drown McLane. Not only this, but certain tasks engage the audience; challenging them to work it out; asking them 'How do you do it?' or 'what would you do now?' A good example is the scene by the fountain and the four gallons of water with a three and a five gallon jug. I had that worked out once but since forgot it. The film also makes good use of its New York location with that particular scene taking place amongst a backdrop of seemingly real people. There is also the subway, the park and the motorways used to good effect. Die Hard: With A Vengeance is a film that will entertain on a certain level but there are some frustrating incidents in which everything is moved forward clumsily. The editing seems a little brisk at times and there is a lot of shouting as the film moves along at such a pace but that aside, Die Hard: With A Vengeance is fun, engaging and a well written blockbuster; the likes of which are rare these days due to certain, tragic events.