You know that feeling of excitement and dread you get simultaneously every now and then? That's what I got upon first hearing of the development of a new Die Hard flick. The first two reign in my mind as the best modern-day action movies ever. The plot is simple yet nearly flawlessly executed with shear fun and awesomeness -- Cop estranged to his family is simply at the wrong place and the wrong time, kicks serious ass in the tightest of situations and saves the world. What is there not to like?
Die Hard 3 was decent, but just didn't move me as its predecesors did. No Holly Gennaro. No scumbag reporter. No "Let It Snow" at the end credits. It just didn't feel right. Frankly, neither does Live Free or Die Hard, where Bruce Willis simply goes old school on cyber-terrorists bent on bringing the U.S. back to the Stone Age. On the whole, it's absurd fun. I won't deny that. But even moreso, it's almost like an entire season of "24" crammed into 2 hours. Man, John McClane can really make a quick day trip among New York, Washington and West Virginia!
Justin Long - you know, the "Mac" guy - wasn't totally geeky irritating as I had feared. He actually did pretty well as the sidekick, almost better than Sam Jackson in the last film. Mary Elizabeth Winstead - one of many beauties who stole my heart in "Grindhouse" - really, unfortunately, has not much to do here other than be McClane's angst-filled daughter and be the damsel in distress in the climax.
Jeremy Irons had a ball as Hans Gruber's brother in Die Hard 3. William Sadler, Franco Nero and John Amos made for an effective trio in Die Hard 2. But no one can touch the awesomeness that was Alan Rickman as Gruber in the original. Him, Alexander Gudenov and Clearence Gilliard III cleaned house there. Having said that, Timothy Olyphant - sadly - is nothing more than a psychopathic geek wanting underserved attention - and money - as the villain in part 4. Just not much there. But Maggie Q fracking rocks in this movie.
Kevin Smith's cameo is a tad amusing. Thankfully it was that short short. And yes, the action sequences are - yes - incredulous. A tunnel smash-up with cars spinning in the air. A car "killing" a helicopter. A jet fighter blowing up a freeway. Not sure Jack Bauer, James Bond or even Jason Bourne would go THAT far. Ultimately, it's a pure popcorn movie that will easily slip my mind tomorrow. Not like the original Die Hard, where the regular hard-working guy who didn't want any trouble has to destroy almost an entire building to save the day. And that remains endearing to me nearly 20 years later.
