Takes a while to get there, but you'll be glad you saw it by the end

Rating: 9/10 (15 July 2007)

STAR RATING: ***** Saturday Night **** Friday Night *** Friday Morning ** Sunday Night * Monday Morning
John McClaine (Bruce Willis) everyone's favourite wise-cracking cop from the last three Die Hard films- is back, older, wiser and crankier. This time he's got a teenage daughter in tow who's rebelling against him and he's just learned of a successful hack-in to a top government agency's central computer. But the authorities are convinced they've caught the culprit, young cyber-nerd Justin (Matt Ferrell.) So McClaine's sent round to apprehend him- only to be nearly annihilated in a barrage of bullets along with his charge. And so begins a relentless and deadly chase around New York city, with chases, bullets and mayhem in tow- and as they move along, they start to learn of a much deadlier conspiracy than any of them ever imagined.
Resembling, as others have noted, with his bald head and notable paunch, Homer Simpson more than your average action hero, Willis returns in the latest entry into the Die Hard franchise since 1995's less than scintillating entry Die Hard: With a Vengeance. With a topical plot line involving terrorism and technology controlling us, the fourth instalment copies it's most recent predecessor by throwing us headlong straight into the action rather than establishing too much of a story first.
It will probably come as no surprise to most to learn that the plot is just an excuse to make one big gun battle happen after another, the script isn't much better, the characters (especially the villains!) are as cardboard as a display stand and the less said about the dialogue, the better. Unfortunately, to start with, aside from a few tasty scenes, there isn't a lot of exciting action either, causing you to start to write it off as a failure early on in (not a good sign!) But if you stick around long enough, trust me you won't be disappointed, as the ending builds up to some truly spectacular action scenes, one involving a bridge, that will make you glad you gave your time and money.
By the end, you're satisfied with the brilliant action and the tense thrill ride that got you there. And, while everything that may have made it an Oscar contender leaves a lot to be desired, if you're happy with the action, you can come away and say you saw a pretty damn fine Die Hard film. ****