It Can Be John MacLean's Hottest Day, But Not The Best !

Rating: Null/10 (14 November 2009)

I'll tell you a story. I watched part 1, to simply fall in love with it. Then I watched part 2, to even love it more. Then I watched part 3 to not love it.. as the first 2!
After a while, I re-watched the first one again to discover that it's the best at all with logic sense, explosive entertaining action, romantic core and a pioneer role with such a real affect after. Then, I re-watched the second one to discover that it's a repetitive and illogical, but still fun. Less fun. And at last, I re-watched the third again to discover that it's better than its antecedent, but with problems that don't make it as good as the first.
Here the direction was gold. (John McTiernan) made the crazy action so crazy and believable in the same time (what could be cuter?!). Thank God that at the moment Hollywood hadn't been cursed with the CGI yet. (Bruce Willis) as the reckless resourceful and sarcastic (John MacLean) was super. And with (Samuel L. Jackson)'s character and performance, both of them were super. I know that (Jeremy Irons) maybe did it for fun, for money, but for me (Simon Gruber) is one of the best roles he ever did, let alone being the best villain in a Die Hard movie, being charismatic, scarily stiff and so unpredictable. (Michael Kamen)'s music embodied the feel of a cliffhanger after another, with unpeakable boiling point; here's a new word for you. And the image doesn't look less boiled itself, which's something you'll really appreciate after watching part 4! So what's the matter with it? Actually, there are 2: the script. And the editing.
Maybe it was (McTiernan)'s desire. He surely wanted to outclass himself, revenge for handing the second part over director else him (so that's another meaning for the word "revenge" in the title!), and to deliver one unforgettably big action show. Since the first one took place all in skyscraper, the second took place all in airport, then (McTiernan) aimed towards clear target: this one will take place in EVERYWHERE! I remember in one of the action movies' godfathers (That Man from Rio - 1964) the lead, played by (Jean-Paul Belmondo), drove maybe all the known vehicles. Here, I think the intention was that (MacLean) would ride a car, big truck, a metro train, a ship, a helicopter, and yes.. a bicycle, all in one day! Great intentions. And the movie just delivered some of them greatly. But to achieve that wholly without losing control, some things must be done rightly, which "the script" is on their top.
While the script was smart in dealing with action, thrill, suspense and twists-the plot was nearly unseen. The nuts terrorist with indistinct purposes who needs just one cop to run all over the city solving his Simon-says riddles was all perfect stuff. But there were some events that I didn't comprehend well unless after a third viewing! There is a collection of action sequences that run fascinatingly on screen, but while many things are running dry especially at the last third. Furthermore, the climax was too laconic compared to the rest; a bullet to an electric wire, "Say hello to your brother", then BOOM, was not an appropriate ending for all what we were watching till this moment. It seemed like they ran out of money to make a real ending!
The editing managed to make a hot funny character for the movie, but it was a little bit hyped. The editor must have had hard mission to gather that collection, with the fun scenes, the dialogue, and the story, any story. However, since the last third surely I lost something; like understanding this plot. The concoction is perceptible at places, the action is just too much at others, and it didn't make me forget, in spite of the noisy case and the changing of places, that the plot's twist, about the villain's true goal, was nearly the same of the first 2 movies!
At times, it's like uproarious breathless football match more than a movie. I hate it when the movie turns into just pure exhausting action that doesn't care what the story is. So, sadly, the audience will not care too. I think that's where the problem of this movie exists. Sometimes too much fun, without any seriousness, is just a problem.
Anyway, I still love it. It's so hot. Maybe more hot than the first. But that just outwardly. Because in the final analysis, it's too crowded, too fabricated, and too empty to be the best.
P.S: Among many moments I love from this movie, there is one where (MacLean) comes out of catastrophic train accident so healthy and laughing. It's such a rare moment for the cinematic hero while mocking at himself as cinematic, namely: invincible!