August 16, 2007
Finally I got to see this film, and boy was it worth the wait! The action sequences harken back to the slam-bang first three Die Hard movies. The original "Die Hard" deservedly was named the best action movie of all time, and this installment successfully carries on the tradition of excellence.
While "The Bourne Ultimatum", was sleek and smart, this one is pure brawn, muscular and explosive, all care of its star, Bruce Willis. I have been a fan of this guy since his Moonlighting days as David Addsion. While he surely looked grizzled in this one, only Bruce Willis can play John McClane. He faithfully stuck to the character we all admire for being cool and collected, tough as nails, yet inexplicably melodramatic when it came to his family (his daughter Lucy, in this case). Of course, it's no Bruce Willis film without the smart-ass humor and attitude, and he puts it on thick in this one!
The story is so current and so close to what can actually happen in reality. It dealt with a "fire sale" cooked up by a disgraced CIA man, Thomas Gabriel (Timothy Olyphant). A "fire sale" is when someone hacks into and causes major snafus in the transport, financial and telecommunications and basic utilities, in so doing, holding the entire USA in his hands.
John McClane gets dragged into the action when he was assigned to protect one computer hack Matthew Farrell (Justin Long) who had been targetted for execution by Gabriel. And wow, their adventures and close calls are as slam-bang as they can ever get. Ingenious action scenes include that inside a tunnel culminating in a car blowing up a helicopter (!) and that where a jet and truck battle on the freeways. The martial arts action between McClane and Mai (played by the fantastic Maggie Q) is breathtakingly exciting.
The computer hacking angle, so often tackled in recent movies, is certainly lifted to a higher level. I found it so funny that the grand computer geek and hacker Warlock's real name is Freddy (short for Frederick)! Hahaha! Chalk another one up for memorable film characters named "Fred"!
I'm not discounting a 5th installment, as Bruce Willis is looking still fit and capable as any of the upcoming young guns. A must-watch for action movie fans!
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