The bad guys
have returned 12 years after the last (Simon Gruber), and this time they decide
to take John’s daughter. So, he parks an SUV up their asses, takes out their
helicopter with a police car, and goes all “Yippee ki-yay, motherfu@#er” all
over the film.
If you haven’t
watched this wonderful addition to the Die Hard franchise, then
you’re missing out. As I’ve said before in my Die Hard 2 review, Jack
Bauer has nothing on John McClane. In fact, he wishes he could be as badass as
this guy. My favorite part of this movie is when Bruce Willis gets his ass
handed to him by Maggie Q, and then he goes all crazy on her.
The Die
Hard franchise made it to the 21st century with Die Hard 4, and
McClane was head over heels on top of the situation. This movie is so good that
it’s hard to believe it was made 12 years after the last Die Hard.
After Die Hard 3, I thought the producers had nothing left to add that
would make this franchise memorable. But then, we’re introduced to McClane as a
father of an adult daughter, and Daddy McClane doesn’t play around. Daughter
McClane is just as crazy as Daddy-O.
The movie is
based on a screenplay by Mark Bomback, from a story written by David Marconi,
which was in turn based on John Carlin’s Wired magazine article “A
Farewell to Arms.” The article is about a cyberattack on the United States,
known as a “fire sale,” where the country’s transportation, telecommunications,
financial, and utility infrastructure systems are attacked or taken over by the
bad guys.
The story
follows McClane, who, once again, is in the wrong place at the wrong time. He
gets involved in modern-day warfare where criminals use computers to get the
job done. John McClane (Bruce Willis) is sent to pick up a known hacker, Matt
Farrell (Justin Long), and arrives just in time to save Farrell from being
killed. But this doesn’t stop the terrorist group leader (Timothy Olyphant) and
his right-hand woman (Maggie Q) from launching a cyberattack on the U.S.
As McClane moves
Farrell, the group behind the “fire sale” attack continues to go after Farrell,
which means they’re also after McClane. The showdown begins when McClane’s
daughter is kidnapped, and now McClane is pissed. He’ll do anything to get her
back.
As the series
follows McClane aging, so does the length he’ll go to bring down the bad guys.
Finally, after 19 years, we get a villain as good as Hans Gruber, making this
film the second-best in the franchise, following the first Die Hard in
1988.
The movie’s
cinematography is head and shoulders above the three films before it, as is the
CGI and visual effects (especially in the tunnel scene). Still, it was a
commercial success and a critical hit, making this and the first film the only
critically acclaimed entries in the five-film series.
The acting in
this movie is wonderful. Justin Long was impressive, as were all the supporting
cast members, making this the best film in the series when it comes to casting
and acting. Timothy Olyphant was also impressive, and it was great to see a
villain who could finally step into the shoes of Hans Gruber (Alan Rickman)
from the first movie.
This is a nice movie with a great setup, a wonderful screenplay, and a must-watch. After this, the latest Die Hard film, A Good Day to Die Hard, was released in 2013.
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