"Predictable, unbelievable, and clichéd is how I’d ultimately describe the latest Die Hard in the franchise. But it’s not all bad."

Review by Peter Veugelaers

Underneath the façade of box office statistics which seem to tell us people watch movies with conflicted and negative scenarios there is a side to people which prefers positive scenarios. People watch movies like Titanic, a bloated overstated negative, and others with reminders of life’s down points, as a result of hyped expectations through marketing movies to emotionally attached and hungry audiences.

Die Hard 4.0 boasts a negative scenario based on post 9/11 fear and reality by exaggerating it for effect and gets the emotional juices squirming in us, the audience. But we don’t have to settle for that.

Predictable, unbelievable, and clichéd is how I’d ultimately describe the latest Die Hard in the franchise. But it’s not all bad.

Technological terrorists have infiltrated the layers into America’s infrastructure. A hacker comes along with cop John McClane (Willis) to sort it out, while the government departments scramble, including a one-dimensional Cliff Curtis as a boss, who spouts off more instructions than actual genuine words from a characterisation.

The shot of how the lights go out all over the land is predicative of Die Hard’s share of unbelievable moments. Even as social commentary, it’s a limited voice. This is about taking a 9/11 situation to the next level. Life proves that terrorism happens, so we go along with McClane particularly as the rugged, self-preserving, mock humble and reluctant cop saving America. We go through a series of brute, wiz bang shoot-outs with him.

There is some fun to be had, though. The best is when brawny McClane fights a sexy female villain, a kung fu craftswoman. That’s fresh when put alongside the usual action offerings of explosions and other worldly mayhem engraved with Hollywoodian precision.

This instalment of Die Hard is hard to take this seriously because it’s unevenly poised and balanced. The villain who is masterminding the charade against America is played by Timothy Olyphant, and his role is nasty. McClane is more convincing as human than brawn in this outing and doesn’t give the villain an equally charged opposite. Put the aggressive villain alongside the lightweight buddy-buddy chemistry of McClane and his sidekick hacker, who comes out of the shadows to help save the country, and with the over-the-top climax sandwiched with more serious action, then the effect is off kilter.

In fact, The Bourne Ultimatum looks to be offering the freshest in action this season, not a reprise of old 80s action movies, like Die Hard. It’s curious watching this movie after the martial arts genre resurfaced in Hollywood mainstream. There is a certain awkward nostalgia to it.

A good thing about this sequel is how the subplot is so easily made effective in just a few touches. McClane’s daughter doesn’t get on with Dad. It’s crafted in a meaningful direction considering the main plot around it. Unfortunately, it involves unnecessary violence to the victim, which doesn’t add anything substantial to the perpetrator’s motive.

If there were a negative ending in this, then the expectations of the audience would be shattered. The audience wants a positive conclusion. What if it wasn’t? With this type of movie, with its raised expectations, that would be unthinkable. It shows how audiences prefer movies which accentuate the positive because they’re cheering for McClane’s resistance to win. Except his methods are also negative, compounding the negativity already in the premise.

It’s also worth noting how human resources are used and, implicitly, faith in God is negated when profanity slams divine intervention or assistance, or even asking God for help as an act of faith. That’s also borne out in the context.