Less Magic !

Rating: 6/10 (9 November 2009)

I'm a big fan of (Die Hard). The first 3 movies are about great action, and they all deliver. This late sequel is nice. But in the same time, it has to be not the worst, let's say the least interesting one in the series. So why is that?
While the plot is smart when it deals with the computer's stuff, the digital disaster, etc. it isn't the same with the rest. It managed to give us action all the way, but not with much of surprises or twists. The previous movies raised the bar so much that this one seems lower in comparison. The character of the hacker wasn't funny or catchy. I didn't know what was the evil guy's agenda when he showed the image of distorted Capitol? Or how the computer's Warlock knew all of these government's secrets? And the whole sequence of the plane was absurd, not even good absurd.
The action is well-made yet without the same attractiveness of the past 3 movies. (Len Wiseman) executes more than creates. I didn't feel any personal touch or special appeal. Save smashing a flying helicopter with a speeding car, I don't recall one sequence that I want to see again. And there wasn't any striking fistfight (one of the series' trademarks). The image's quality has nothing to do with (Die Hard)'s legacy. It's, at best, close to what any high TV show achieves, being like a "24" episode for most of the time. For instance, the gunfire sequence in the hacker's flat was so TV-ish (aka: poor!).
The soundtrack: OH MY GOD! Die Hard movies always had remarkable soundtracks. This time, surely it missed a sign of singularity, to be as any other action in the market. It's the first one without the music of (Michael Kamen) who died in 2003. And they got the nerve to hoax us with Beethoven's "Ode to Joy" but only in the trailer!
The dialogue. My comment is: Grrrrr! This is the worst dialogue ever written for John MacLean EVER EVER EVER. It could be the movie's first defect and main crime. I can assure you; some of my friends watch these movies for MacLean's unforgettably sarcastic remarks. This time, it's official: the cat ate his tongue! I imagined that the old, more lonely, MacLean got to be more sarcastic. But the fun was dry. So dry. The rest wasn't better either: "On your tombstone, it will say always in the wrong place at the wrong time/ No, I'll write Yippie-ki-yay.."?? It seems like someone writes out the past movies' taglines!
As for the evil guys, the mastermind was cool and young, but uncharismatic and un-mysterious. Just one look at him and you'll know that (Bruce Willis) will finish him and so easily as well! His henchmen, the acrobats, were kind of new, but totally not memorable, or that menacing.
The CGI shook the cornerstone of these movies as old-fashioned action. For me, I pray for one big fine action without it at all. Hence, I promised myself that this movie would be the one. I was wrong! True that the CGI wasn't so much or flamboyant. But it was bad and cheesy. Let alone seeing it in a (Die Hard) movie in the first place!
The climax was disappointing; being short and unsatisfying, fitting more for a TV episode's end. Plus, I couldn't understand why the evil guy didn't kill John or his daughter while he was having them?! I know, it's one of the cinema's most unquestionable, and unanswered, questions. But here it was just that provocative and weak!
It takes place in more than a day too. This is something which, out of all the people of the world, bothers me the most!
It's the usual (Die Hard) movie, while these movies are anything but usual. It had good success, simply because it was launched among 2007's many less strong blockbusters (Pirates of The Caribbean: At World's End), (Spider-Man 3), and (Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer). Anyway it's, as it is, still one of the best movies (Willis) has made in years.
Finally, a lot of viewers hated, just hated, that this is the most *family* Die Hard movie without the ultra cursing or violence, feeling something deficient especially when the lead didn't complete his: "Yippie-ki-yay..". But while I didn't care about that at all, I felt something was deficient. And when it comes to the movie's magic; IT IS really deficient!