A worthy sequel

Rating: 7/10 (11 July 2007)

This third sequel of the Die Hard franchise was most effective. I was happy to see that there were some elements in it that gave it a true Die Hard feel. It wasn't a random action script with Bruce Willis playing the hero. This was an adventure worthy of John Mclane.
Like the other films the villains are well funded, well trained masters of their work who, in the end, just want tons of cash. Thats what Die hard is about. John Mclane thwarting their billion dollar, ingenious plans of becoming rich through elaborate schemes and red herrings. If it wasn't for John Mclane, his first nemesis Hans Gruber would have been "sitting on a beach. Earning 20%".
The script does a good job of bringing the former 80's action hero into the modern era. We get the feeling that he's getting old and rusty. That is until the fit hits the shan. The survival instincts of the man jump into overdrive once again and obstacles that would kill most people, John Mclane thrives off of.
The internet was pretty much a government plaything when the first Die Hard was made so placing an old relic into the thick of modern computers and other hardware was entertaining. John's hacker sidekick provides a lot of comic relief but proves invaluable whenever their adventure involves technical manipulation.
Our new chief villain is played by Timothy Olyphant and although he did a good job I found myself wanting someone more 'Gruberish' for the part. This is mainly because I'm a big Alan Rickman fan. Since the only other thing I had seen Olyphany play was Seth Bullock off of HBO's Deadwood I kept expecting him to put on a big black hat in every scene.
I would say this movie ranks as high as part 3, better than part 2 but doesn't even come close to the original. The original was a pioneering action flick which broke the mold for its time and I doubt anything will succeed it until a truly genius script is written.
Overall, a very good movie. Tons of action. Its got good Willis one-liners, great baddies and holds true to the other Mclane fantasies where the character starts out nice and clean but by the end of the movie his appearance is a testament to the strife of being the hero one more time. Thumbs Up!