it just diddn't had that bit of extra

Rating: 5/10 (3 August 2007)

This film is a good example of a film that has the promise of a great action-packed movie worthy enough to be called a true follower of the Die Hard trilogy, but doesn't live up to it. Instead you get a thin storyline that is not really worth mentioning and a plot that is unbelievable. Especially the use of technique in this film is laughable, I diddn't know hacking was so graphical.
Whereas in the previous ones you had some kind of context. You had the original, the second was the joke on the story itself by being put in the same kind of situation again, the third was about revenge. Here it is really like they took the character and just dropped it in a random story about a villain that wants to rob some money with the help of computers, and they thought that would work. The one-liners that are dropped too keep you connected with the sarcastic underdog character of McClane, has lost all of it's drama and impact. You have to see this guy vulnerable and moaning on every hit he takes, but he keeps standing up like nothing happened. He has become a SUPERHERO and that is a big..NONO
This villain that is being portrayed here paled by it's predecessors (Jeremy Irons, etc). The entire movie he has one facial expression and he doesn't even get his hands dirty. The interaction with McClane was very lame. No real clashes or drama either caused by bureaucrats or otherwise was a dominant factor that would cause McClane to fly against the wall. Real tension was also hard to find. There never where lots of people in danger by an eminent thread unless bringing down the traffic-lights is considered to be so threatening that shivers will run down your spine. Just one incident where the parliament building is being blown up, seen on a TV, but turns out to be a fake scene created by the cyber terrorists - that created a little Independence Day moment.
The hacker-guy that McClane has to protect and has the most interaction with, misses any real chemistry. The dialog is very predictable and cheesy. I almost feel sorry for the guy that he has to say those lines and make it come off believable. Yes, he is the typical stereotype sidekick but without McClane swearing his mouth off it just sounds very lame. But he made it to the end without getting really annoying. That's a plus for him. Also at one point you see Kevin Smith(a director) playing the character of a geek friend of the hacker-guy. All I want to say about that is that he is on screen way to much because I already forgot what his role in the story exactly was. So that's all I want to say about the dialog.
Then you have this very stylized action-scenes and I guess you can see the directors mark here. At one time you see this bad guy coming after McClane in a manor that you think it's a vampire with extraordinary powers from his previous set of vampire movies ( which by the way are very good in their own right), but it's totally unbelievable here. That should be in a fantasy movie like True Lies or something where all boundaries of reality are set in a completely other dimension. It was ridiculous. The pursuit of the truck by a fighter-yet and losing it from the truck, the fight with the girl that get's banged threw several walls and still comes back...wait, isn't she from the cast of Heroes - the one that can heal herself -...I can go on. Also the action-scenes are just there for the sake of having action-scenes. That's just annoying. If you remember FirstBlood 3, you know what I am talking about. And that is the ultimate example what I can think of.
And then the ending....very boring. McClane suddenly shows up and he exchanges some words with the supposedly villain that keeps his daughter hostage, but might as well be a disgruntled office clerk. I never felt his daughter was in any real danger. He kills him with a single shot and it's over before you know it had ever really began. Then it rushes of to the scenes where they lick there wounds and say some more very cheesy lines.
This is just a movie that wants to make money solely based on it's name. It's a movie without a soul. Seeing Bruce Willis playing his role is seeing an average guy being transformed into a superhero. It has little to do with the original McClane character. I actually felt a growing urge to stop watching it after about 20 minutes because of all the ridiculous stuff that was adding up.
The fact that Y spend so many words on this comment is because some of the faults they made could easily been avoided and would have been more respectful to the Die Hard brand and too it's audience. The fact they made it a PG-13 rated movie also has a lot too do with it. I don't know who they have in mind in terms of audience, but they must be really shallow and growing in numbers also if they can get away with this. But apparently they can, seeing some of the other comments here.
This film is a complete joke if you want to call it a Die Hard movie. If it was possible to get your money back based on reasonable expectations I would do that.