I can now be placed in the same category as Alan Rickman, Jeremy Irons, Timothy Olyphant and that guy who was doing martial arts in the nude at the beginning of the second one. I find myself alongside these acting heavyweights (and that one other guy) in that I forgot to take one thing into account – that one thing being the involvement of John McClane. Willis is back, looking “too old for this shit” and this time he blows up a helicopter up with a car.Die Hard 4.0‘s first victory over its summer competitors is achieved by simply ticking the boxes. As with every other sequel this summer (and there’s been little else), we’re going in with a good idea of what we’re seeing. I’m paying the ticket price because I’ve seen the first three Die Hard films and I want to see more. That means explosions (check), violence (check), an elaborate plot from an intelligent villain involving chaos caused by terrorism as part of a more cynical scheme that is generally the theft of a large amount of money (also check). And, of course, Willis as rogue cop John McClane, quick to shoot by hip or by lip. And this time he drives a car with a person on it down an elevator shaft. Landing the role of Die Hard villain is a major coup for Timothy Olyphant. He plays his role with a suitable degree of menace, although he seems quite aware that this is very much Bruno’s show. As is commonly the case in action movies, the film wants to include some female eye candy without really knowing how to do it. As such, we get an unremarkable performance from martial arts star Maggie Q. However, Mary Elizabeth Winstead injects some life into McClane’s captive daughter Lucy, portraying a feisty, chip-off-the-block who is a constant thorn in the side of the villains and a convincing love interest for Long’s Matthew Ferrell. An honourable mention is owed to Kevin Smith, whose cameo as the Warlock is a real highlight and is sure to strengthen his growing reputation as a performer. And, this time Willis lands a helicopter through a fence. Aside from a few minor problems with the script, the biggest threat to this form is the nervous direction courtesy of Underworld helmer Len Wiseman. For the first twenty minutes of this film the camera is always moving, to such an extent I was beginning to feel nauseous. It seems he has calmed by the end of the film, even allowing the camera to stay put for the odd shot during an action sequence. Furthermore, the frantic editing means that the martial arts expertise of Maggie Q is wasted as every single movement is shown from a different angle than the last, meaning that each kick or hand move can be taken as an individual shot and so anyone could do it. Similarly, the CG used for one or two effects isn’t blended seamlessly. But then, this time Willis fights a jet plane in a truck.Die Hard 4.0 is great. That it works is due to a number of things not only working together, but working together to make up a Die Hard movie. If in any other movie the star jumped from a truck onto the wing of a crashing plane and then slid down a piece of collapsing bridge to safety it would be ridiculous; in Die Hard it’s a cause for celebration. And yes, in this one Willis says “Yippee ki-yay, motherfucker”.
title: “Die Hard 4 0 Review” ShowToc: true date: “2025-07-30” author: “Leanna Atwell”
I can now be placed in the same category as Alan Rickman, Jeremy Irons, Timothy Olyphant and that guy who was doing martial arts in the nude at the beginning of the second one. I find myself alongside these acting heavyweights (and that one other guy) in that I forgot to take one thing into account – that one thing being the involvement of John McClane. Willis is back, looking “too old for this shit” and this time he blows up a helicopter up with a car.Die Hard 4.0‘s first victory over its summer competitors is achieved by simply ticking the boxes. As with every other sequel this summer (and there’s been little else), we’re going in with a good idea of what we’re seeing. I’m paying the ticket price because I’ve seen the first three Die Hard films and I want to see more. That means explosions (check), violence (check), an elaborate plot from an intelligent villain involving chaos caused by terrorism as part of a more cynical scheme that is generally the theft of a large amount of money (also check). And, of course, Willis as rogue cop John McClane, quick to shoot by hip or by lip. And this time he drives a car with a person on it down an elevator shaft. Landing the role of Die Hard villain is a major coup for Timothy Olyphant. He plays his role with a suitable degree of menace, although he seems quite aware that this is very much Bruno’s show. As is commonly the case in action movies, the film wants to include some female eye candy without really knowing how to do it. As such, we get an unremarkable performance from martial arts star Maggie Q. However, Mary Elizabeth Winstead injects some life into McClane’s captive daughter Lucy, portraying a feisty, chip-off-the-block who is a constant thorn in the side of the villains and a convincing love interest for Long’s Matthew Ferrell. An honourable mention is owed to Kevin Smith, whose cameo as the Warlock is a real highlight and is sure to strengthen his growing reputation as a performer. And, this time Willis lands a helicopter through a fence. Aside from a few minor problems with the script, the biggest threat to this form is the nervous direction courtesy of Underworld helmer Len Wiseman. For the first twenty minutes of this film the camera is always moving, to such an extent I was beginning to feel nauseous. It seems he has calmed by the end of the film, even allowing the camera to stay put for the odd shot during an action sequence. Furthermore, the frantic editing means that the martial arts expertise of Maggie Q is wasted as every single movement is shown from a different angle than the last, meaning that each kick or hand move can be taken as an individual shot and so anyone could do it. Similarly, the CG used for one or two effects isn’t blended seamlessly. But then, this time Willis fights a jet plane in a truck.Die Hard 4.0 is great. That it works is due to a number of things not only working together, but working together to make up a Die Hard movie. If in any other movie the star jumped from a truck onto the wing of a crashing plane and then slid down a piece of collapsing bridge to safety it would be ridiculous; in Die Hard it’s a cause for celebration. And yes, in this one Willis says “Yippee ki-yay, motherfucker”.
