It's Die Hard, cleaned up and polished but still entertaining!

Rating: 7/10 (5 July 2007)

First of all, the feeling that most people will get is that this isn't a true Die Hard film. You can divide the four films into two pairs; one, the trapped, claustrophobic actioner and two, the mobile a-b-c-z thriller. I didn't have a problem with McClane running around from town to town because you can't carry on reusing the hostage premise.
On paper, the storyline looked weak - McClane vs. computer nerds didn't sound that great and their dastardly plot just didn't appeal to me. However, I thought the film did well to show the kind of dependency we have on computers and how we'd be lost without them. The film came across as Die Hard 3- meets -Enemy of the State, with bad guys pulling up every detail and piece of surveillance possible to track their targets. This made the villain slightly more interesting, when it later shows what kind of danger he holds. My other concern was the sidekick aspect. While Samuel L Jackson was good in the last film, the idea of McClane having to protect a geeky kid was worrying. But once again, my fear was quickly removed when Justin Long (despite that awful radio scene) gave a good performance, especially in his comic timing.
While the plot surprised me, the pace kind of dragged to a halt at times. The tech talk will either go over your head or be drilled into it, having been repeated over and over again. Also, the film has a sanitised feel about it, with muted colours and steel/glass interiors, taking away the rawness that McClane is better suited to. The climax was my main disappointment though - after witnessing some amazing action set-pieces I expected good things from the final face-off. Instead, we get the lamest villain-dispatch in the series (even worse than the tacked-on DH3 ending).
On the whole, I was still impressed by the movie - and the action. The Die Hard films have been memorable for including insane stunts ever since the fire-hose jump. In Die Hard 2 the ejector seat was the money shot whereas in 3 it was the car chase. This time, we are treated to some of the best in the series. Even a shootout in an apartment manages to be more entertaining than it should be. Later on, there are some jaw-dropping stunts as McClane uses a number of vehicles to take out... well, other vehicles. The visuals are fantastic and the fighter plane vs. truck sequence looks very cool. While the blood has been toned down, there is lots punishment dealt out. In fact, everyone is super-durable in the film - getting constantly hit by cars, falling great heights and getting up afterwards.
But also, there is plenty of humour. This is where it probably beats DH2, which had faults that crippled the film (awful dialogue, dopey characters). There are plenty of great one-liners which got a good reception at the cinema I went to. The performances are also very good, with Long likable, Willis on form (obviously) and the villain Olyphant playing the detached type rather well.
Overall, the film IS a Die Hard because it keeps the three elements in tact, all the way through: eye-popping action, juicy one-liners and of course, Bruce Willis.