Die Hard 4.0 (2007)

Preceded by: Die Hard with a Vengeance (1995)

Cast includes:
CHARACTER	ACTOR/ACTRESS	RATING
John McClane	Bruce Willis	½
Thomas Gabriel	Timothy Olyphant	½
Matt Farrell	Justin Long
Mai Lihn	Maggie Q	½
Bowman	Cliff Curtis	½
Trey	Jonathan Sadowski
Warlock	Kevin Smith
Lucy McClane	Mary Elizabeth Winstead

Review

The problem isn't that we've seen it all before (even though that certainly doesn't help the case either), but rather that the people behind this film seem to have thought that if they add a little bit more and keeps it going a little bit longer, they might end up with something that isn't just a forgettable, uncreditable carbon copy. Well, to a certain degree they are right: Die Hard 4.0 isn't a carbon copy of its three predecessors - it's a painful caricature. It's Bruce Willis mocking both John McClane and himself. That makes Die Hard 4.0 somewhat sad and completely unimpressive, but quite fun for an hour or so.

Us usual, McClane is up against terrorists slash thieves - this time of bigger proportions than ever before. However, helped by an article by John Carlin, the premise is interesting and thought-provoking initially as the film proposes a "fire sale", meaning a terrorist attack, by means of hacking, on all aspects of infrastructure, communication and economy that is controlled digitally, thus creating mayhem in the society. Enter John McClane and his computer whiz sidekick Matt Farrell, and the stage is set for a well-known McClane vs. terrorist clash. Only this time, we get less logic, more audacious "this is just the way it is and has to be for the plot to work" explanations, and - ultimately - more over the top, physically impossible action than ever. Die Hard 4.0 makes some of James Bond's more excessive work look bleak, as McClane takes down helicopters using cars as rockets, outfights a fighter jet with a semi-trailer (!) and gets himself out of any impossible death trap. For a while, you might enjoy it on a carefree, non-intellectual level, but in the end, this film is just annoying and dumb.