Poor plot almost does in some great action set pieces

Rating: 6/10 (3 July 2007)

(Spoiler alert-This comment has numerous spoilers)
If this were titled like the last one I'd say this was "Die Hard without a Plot"
Disappointing go round for John McClane has good performances, spectacular action and a plot that makes no real sense.
The plot has someone hacking into the US government computers. The feds suspect something is up and they try to bring in known hackers who could do this. At the same time some is killing off the same hackers. McClane is sent to pick up a hacker (He's a NYC cop who's in NJ looking for his daughter-just don't ask) and bring him Washington. Of course he gets there as the killers do so we have the first of many action sequences.
McClane is tracked by the bad guys-please don't ask- and delivers the kid to the FBI. The kid is then sent off for questioning- but he recognizes the voice of the woman who hired him to write a code breaking program on the radio and we get another set piece.
What follows is McClane and hacker trying to stay alive and stop a bunch of "terrorists" who want to shut down everything in a "fire sale" so named because everything must go-everything run by computer is to be shut down. Of course we think its terrorists, but no its for revenge---well maybe not maybe its for the money.(Don't ask).
The scale of whats going on is frightening except we don't really see that much of it, total chaos is reduced to some crowds and a few parked cars. Worse what the bad guys are doing makes no sense especially since its clear from some statements that they really didn't have to shut the whole country down. Even worse is the fact that for the most part all of the villains- Maggie Q excepted- are cartoon cut outs-they seem to be as McClane jokes, from 1-800 henchmen. Even the boss of bosses just sorts of wanders around a control room doing---nothing. He has no stature like Jeremy Irons or Alan Rickman or William Sadler. A challenge for McClane? Oh please. Only in the last 20 minutes or so does he really begin to measure up- but then again he's pretty much put in his place by McClane's daughter (he was beaten by a girl?).
This should have been a classic movie. Hell the action is there. The set pieces are spectacular with several scenes not in the trailers that make you go "WOW". This is a movie that ups the action ante for all films to come. I just wish it had a solid plot instead of a piece of embalmed vermicelli to hang all of these excellent explosions on.
If you are an action fan you will want to see this movie, though maybe not at 10 bucks a head in the movies.