The more I watch it, the less of a Die Hard movie it becomes.

Rating: 4/10 (11 April 2009)

I have defended this movie a lot. A HELL of a lot. People have said that it just isn't Die Hard, and I've argued back that it is. However, the more I watch it, the more I realise that it isn't.
The first three Die Hard movies were, with the exception of a few flaws here and there, EXTREMELY enjoyable movies (after re-watching Die Harder, I realised that I liked it more than 4.0). They have believable plot lines, believable villains, connections to each other and over-the-top, but enjoyable action sequences.
Then we get Die Hard 4.0. Not a bad movie, if viewed as a stand-alone action flick. However, it just doesn't fit in well with the Die Hard franchise. After viewing it several times, and after watching the first three, it feels like they took a WWE action movie script, and changed the names of some characters to turn it into a Die Hard movie. Basically, by doing this, they tried too hard to shoehorn it into the Die Hard franchise. Things like Lucy saying her name "isn't McClane, it's Gennaro" and the FBI agent called Johnson. It's as if the crew were trying to convince themselves as well as the audience that this WAS in fact Die Hard, not just a normal action movie.
The action sequences, even though I've said otherwise in the past, DO look cartoon-ish compared to the first three movies. When the jet-surfing argument came about, I was thinking about the fight on the wing of the plane in Die Harder, and thinking that it is just as unbelievable as jet-surfing.
Finally, we come to the villains. Hans Gruber, Col. Stewart and "Simon" Gruber are all captivating villains, and make you WANT to see them in a final fight with McClane. Tim Olyphant (I can't even remember the characters name off-hand) was really the worst casting choice possible for a Die Hard villain. Totally forgettable and made me wish that there was some other villain who was bankrolling his plot.
So, whilst I still enjoy the movie as a solid action flick in the vein of the Transporter series, if I try to enjoy it as a Die Hard, I just end up feeling let down by the filmmakers.