grand finale to a classic action film series

Rating: 9/10 (31 January 2009)

As with the another recent attempt to revive an '80s action series - 'Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull' - I'm sure most of us hope this will be the last we see of this franchise - but for completely different reasons. "Kingdom' was an embarrassing visit to 'been-there, done-that' land with a tired director and a tired-looking actor tried to relive the golden moment of their action-film prime. So, please, no more from Indiana Jones.
Here we have an entirely different scenario. This film is almost as good (perhaps better, it's a matter of taste) as "Die Hard II." And if we don't want to see John McLane again, it's because we don't want Willis et al. embarrassing themselves the way Spielberg and Harrison did. We all knew that "Die Hard III" was a pretty weak finale to one of the more exciting action film trilogies in American cinema; and I think most most of us should now feel that the real finale to the story of John McLane has at last appeared - he got older; he never remarried; he didn't end up a drunk; he's still a cop; he can still kick butt in his middle age. And the story is no more ridiculous than that of Die Hard II or III, but the execution is certainly way above that of Die Hard III. I mean, the action doesn't stop, yet there's plenty of time for plot development and even the quirky, melodramatic character development we saw in the first and second films of the series.
Also, it must be noted, Willis, who went sleep-walking through Die Hard III, is here again in fine form, complete with true grit and blue-collar wit. He never pretends to b a super-hero, he just gets stuck with a super-hero's role (and plenty of incredible luck, of course).
Of course it's outlandish, and a lot of the stunts involve CGI. And he story is so wild, one reason to hope this is the last of the series is because 'out-doing' themselves would mean sending McLane off on a mission to mars, and that really would end all credibility.
So, assuming this is as wild as they could get, and letting the Die Hard series just be what it is - blockbuster action films for the sake of entertainment - this is one of the best.