Die Hard 4.0 (...or Die So Hard you Might Not Return for the Next Installment!)

Well, just what can be said about the Die Hard franchise??? You gotta love John McClane 'cause if you don't he'd just come on over to ya shouting "Yipee-kai-yeah mother funkster" (or something resembling that phrase!) and kick your ass then shoot you in the head. Be prepared...

Briefly, the '4.0' business, I can only guess, is a reference to all the lovely but decidedly bad computers which play a part in this film. The '.0' referring probably to the geek-chic upgrade stuff that goes on to all the techie bits around us. 'Nuf said - you get the gist.

I've gotta say that as long as you are totally willing to suspend your disbelief for this film, then you are in for one butt-clenchingly tense and exciting movie. The first twenty minutes certainly set the pace and the tone of the this fourth installment. (And no, you don't have to have seen the first three to enjoy it but it sure helps AND you get to await the moment when Bruce Willis' character gets to say his most famous phrase, and if you're quick enough, say it with him just to feel the love!)

A quick précis goes thus - middle-aged cop roped in to delivering a suspect to the FBI. It all goes wrong. Many, many guns and bangs later, the baddie gets his ass kicked by the guy he thinks is washed up and the heroes save the day. Unsurprisingly, the daughter is saved and the Washington stooges learn a valuable lesson. Also, computers are bad. Sometimes. And geeks could rule the world! Yeah!

The script is pretty good covering all the rudimentary clichés but actually better then the average action-flick. Good start. Also beware, if you have a tendency to get sea-sick, you might want to sit at the back of the cinema - much camera swinging and swooping close-up shots going on. That said, the lighting was quite refreshing in that the varying facial flaws were easily visible - Bruce is looking good for his age but even he, or should I say McClane, is certainly looking like he could do with a long nap or a little holiday. (I liked that though.) ENOUGH WITH THE HOLLYWOOD TEETH! I hate, hate, hate these Yanks with glow-in-the-dark knashers... Get frigging real (I can't believe this makes a difference to my viewing pleasure and the OTT amount of guns and bombs etc doesn't... it does, but not in the same way...)

Back to it. The side-kick. A young fella, surname Long. Hot, hot, hottie! And not dissimilar to a young Keanu Reeves! I think I invested more in his character than Bruce's. Couldn't help it. A geek in need of rescue. His character was pretty fleshed out and I loved the idea that as a hacker, albeit on the run, he'd quite been looking forward to a computer-driven social meltdown should it ever have occurred. As a cynic myself, I identified with his beliefs about the pressure put on citizens to buy, buy, buy into fear, fear, fear. But of course, McClane proves this to be wrong. People can be good and make a difference etc etc.

The action goes on and on and some of the stunts seemed pretty unique (huge car flips, helicopter crashes) which is after all, in an action flick, the very least they could do. Plenty of snap, crackle and pop. Excellent stuff.

Wrapping up then. Timothy Olyphant (a fella known to me for starring in a 'Sex and the City' and the film 'Go' and, something I haven't seen but would love to, 'Deadwood') was a decently looming yet attractive baddie. His female second was a beautiful, hard-ass, computer hacker-ninja type. But somehow you have that feeling in the back of your mind that no matter what she does, she'll end up mince-meat. Yup. Ten points. Lift-shaft action sequence, anyone??

Finally, I gotta mention the near parody of the Arnie flick 'True Lies'. At one point Willis is tackling a fighter jet. With a truck. And as my mate CG said, it could so easily have been McClane on the plane. Just up to parody and back down with a bang! Whoa, great ride all round.

So, go see this film if you like action. Go see it if you like guns. Go see it if you like the idea of computers ruling the world. And go see it if, like me, you need a warm up before the Bourne Ultimatum comes out! Monkey Boy (TM) Damon rules, OK!