Not perfect by any means, but definitely a lot of fun!

Rating: 7/10 (10 May 2015)

One night, McClaine is asked to pick up a pesky hacker, Matt Farrell (Long) and his night is supposed to be finished. It turns out to be much more. McClaine brings Farrell to DC with him to try to stop a cyber terrorist (Olyphant) I was insanely hyped for this movie's arrival. I've been hyped before, but rarely like I was for this sequel. I'm an avid fan of the first three Die Hard movies. Die Hard 2's enjoyment has started to wane for me, Die Hard 1 and 3 are two of my favorite action movies of all time. This movie didn't live up to my unreasonable hype (How could it?!) But it did entertain me heavily. My main mistake was expecting the "old style" of Die Hard when I first saw this. It was a little weird seeing a Die Hard movie take place in 2007. Despite how entertaining it was, it didn't feel like a Die Hard movie when I first watched it. Everything was far too modern and advanced. Upon further viewings of this movie, this is no longer an issue. I've seen it 4 times since it first came out, and I always manage to enjoy it a lot. The action delivers in a big way. McClaine was beginning his transition from lucky to Superman, but the action scenes are great. There is a great one with a lot of vehicle carnage in a tunnel. Another good one is in the finale. It's ridiculously OTT, but it provides a lot of thrills. If you love action like I do, you won't be disappointed. I do think they could have gone further with cyber terrorism. That's a minor carp though. Bruce Willis is as dependable as ever as McClaine. He hadn't lost a step and he was a joy to watch. There aren't many things better than watching McClaine do his thing. When Willis is motivated, he's always a blast to watch. Justin Long is Bruce's match. His incessant whining entertained me. I also loved his chemistry with Willis. I was really disappointed he wasn't brought back for the 5th sequel. Timothy Olyphant is decent as the villain. His intensity is surprisingly lacking and he was weirdly subdued for his standards. He has flashes of brilliance, but I felt he could have done more with the part. Maggie Q plays a sexy badass! Not much more to it. Mary Elizabeth Winstead is fine as McClaine's daughter, but her part is a bit thin. I also thought the estranged relationship with McClaine could have been more powerful. Kevin Smith is OK. I did wonder why they didn't add Bonnie Bedelia! I wanted my Holly fix.
I watch this at least once a year and proudly own it on DVD! It may not have been what I hoped for, but it's a solid action movie without a doubt. The action is tremendous, the storytelling is good enough to keep your attention. It may not be the sequel we deserved, but I like it anyway! It's certainly better than parts 2 and 5.
7.3/10