Die Harderer..er

Rating: 7/10 (11 August 2007)

Die Hard 4.0 is a dinosaur of the 80's action genre. But what people forget is dinosaurs are awesome. They are big, loud, fearsome and they explode! Well, they should explode for my analogy to work because everything in Die Hard 4.0 explodes - cars, planes, helicopters, buildings, the White House, gas terminals, trucks and a whole lot of computers.
I was worried when | went to see Die Hard 4.0 that I would find it difficult to watch a film with Bruce Willis in his 50's as an action hero but when I started watching it I found that this was so far down the list of things that were completely unbelievable that it really didn't matter. And Bruce as John McClane didn't try to be the strongest or fastest or most dangerous he just does what he does best - doggedly refuse to die.
But what surprised me most about Die Hard 4.0 was the injection of a bit of 21st century style into the self consciously 80's plot. John McClane finds himself in a high-tech world of computer intelligence agencies is out of his depth - he doesn't know how to use a computer. He has to face a highly skilled team of terrorists, hackers, martial artists and free-runners amongst others. And he does so with his usual of dry whit and determination.
Die Hard 4.0 is a refreshing after a spate of overly long comic book sequels that take them selves to seriously. It's nice to have a film that has fun with its genre.
Thoroughly over the top fun - 7.5/10