great action, but sometimes preachy

Rating: 7/10 (12 August 2009)

I really enjoyed this movie. I saw it twice in the theater, and I now own the DVD.
I was so nervous about this movie because I thought it would have the 'Rambo-effect'. If you're old, you're not going to be able to do what you used to. You were cool when you were young; but now that you're old, you need to grow up and start doing things your age. I was just waiting for this feeling to crop up in me, but it never did, thankfully.
As far as sequels go, it was good. The 'Yippe-kai-yay-mother-######' part made me cringe just a little, because I thought it was a little too self-conscious. I don't think there's a rule against putting it in, since I think Willis can pull it off - I just thought the timing was off.
McClane's personality is in full force. What I love about the character is the element of self-reliance. We all know people who seem to have it all together, who march to a different drummer, who don't go by the book. Sometimes they get in trouble, and sometimes they don't. But what they all have in common is the almost super-ability to get the job done no matter what the obstacles are. These people define their own meaning, look within for direction, and they act spontaneously, intuitively, and they end up being people who are very smart - on a practical level, a genius.
You see this personality in a lot of movies. For instance, I'm thinking of Dr. House, a very strong character, who, again, doesn't go by the book, gets in trouble with superiors, but invariably gets the job done! A lot of times these people aren't very likable if you actually met them, but that's not the point. These people are hard-wired to be guardians, as Plato would put it. They are physically and mentally wired to have this common sense that they can tap into at will to plow over the obstacle.
I like the scene where McClane admits he doesn't have computer-smarts. He's not up to date on all the latest advances in technology. But he does know how to load and fire a gun, probably any gun, engage in hand-to-hand combat, have a no-non-sense way of talking to people. He has a touch of the bully in him, but you know he is ultimately out for your good, if you happen to be under his care. I guess I'm trying to say that McClane is your quintessential 'superman', in Nietzsche's sense: a self-reliant guy who doesn't care what you think, but loves whatever he loves with a passion, even if he isn't perfect in the way he shows it, which is why a lot of these guys (or girls) can't keep a relationship; or if he can, then there's usually strain.
I didn't like the villain that much. Of course, you can't match the villain in the first Die Hard, but I just don't like this character in the role he was in. He played a Sheriff in the HBO series Deadwood, and I can't get that character out of my head; I think he'd be better at playing good guys - and I can't see this character undergoing the kind of transformation Denzel did in Training Day.
The action in the movie was awesome. There never was a boring moment. The fight scenes were very well choreographed, the car hitting the helicopter was great. The scene with McClane picking up Matthew and then protecting him from the French hit men was well-paced and entertaining. I love how McClane keeps his fighting style (which is really no style at all - just do whatever you can to kick their butt kind of style) even if you're fighting some guy who's flipping in and out and over and under various obstructions, or some kung fu, Asian chick.
I did feel like the movie was preaching at me sometimes. You had the scene where Matthew thought - before - it might be fun to cause a 'Firesale' which disrupts everything controlled by computers. McClane - all of a sudden - starts scolding him about how serious the whole scenario is, and how we have - everyday - brave people protecting us from stuff like this. It just seemed like it was sloppily stuffed into the script as some sort of post 9/11 tribute to the New York Fireman. The firemen are brave - no one's disputing that. But in terms of art, or success in art, if you're going to preach, don't be so obvious.
In the same vein, you had the scene where McClane's talking about what it's like to be a hero, how you don't get thanked, you get divorced, how you get shot at, and on and on. That was waaaaay too self-conscious; it was like McClane wasn't McClane anymore; he was a symbol for America's military, policeman, fireman, etc . . . And again, these guys deserve all the praise in the world! But in terms of Art, in terms of what drew us to McClane's character in the first place, that mysterious aesthetic quality that makes the first Die Hard an action classic, those kinds of scenes just need to be cut.
In sum, the Die Hard flavor was there, even if there was a little too much nostalgic indulgence on the part of the movie's makers. The good stuff over-shadowed the korny.