.co.uk

He's back, he's bald, but can he still kick it? Well, if you're as much a fan of the original Die Hard as I am, then you'll have waited to get your hands on the Ultimate Action Edition DVD of Die Hard 4.0 ("Live Free and Die Hard" if you're a yank) to be able to judge properly whether or not the film is actually any good.

Die Hard 4.0, when first released in cinemas, was a perfect example of why theatrical versions of films sometimes bug me. As soon as I heard a Die Hard movie had been given a PG rating, I knew that the authorities had chosen to play it safe in the likelihood that they were going to release a bloodier, more offensive version of the film later on DVD to please the hardcore fans.

The obvious reason for this is profit: Franchises like Die Hard have become so popular that it's deemed good business to edit new movies down to make them more family-friendly. We're in a generation now where a majority of the people that are old enough to remember the original Die Hard have grown to become parents, wishing to take their kids to the cinema and show them why they loved the series so much back in the '80s. It's understandable why authorities try to cater for the families in such a way, but that is not to say it doesn't frustrate the hell out of me.

Anyway, that rant aside, this new cut boasts "More action, more attitude" and feels a lot more like a Die Hard movie should. There's not a huge deal of difference from the original theatrical cut -- a few more "Motherfuckers" and slaps to the face here and there -- but I found it that little bit more satisfying (I have a fetish for profanity and violence, if you haven't already guessed from my other reviews). Additionally, there are also two featurettes, a gag reel, a making of documentary, a Bruce Willis/Kevin Smith interview, six featurettes, and all the deleted/extended scenes that are readily available. That's pretty much everything you could want from a special edition DVD.

As far as the film's story goes, there is a breach of the nation's internal security system, which prompts the government to round up the most likely hacker suspects. Matt Farrell (Justin Long) is one of these, and it just so happens that John McClane has been sent to collect Farrell when a bunch of bad guys start shooting up his apartment. They manage to escape to Washington and then begin to track down the group of "Cyber Terrorists", headed by Thomas Gabriel (Timothy Olyphant) -- a sinister, ultra-hacker wanting the whole of America to pay for its vulnerability in the set up of computer defence systems.

It's an interesting plot and definitely relevant to our time. McClane, the aging cop, is struggling to adapt to the computer age and relies on much of Farrell's geeky intelligence to assist him along the way -- the two make an ideal partnership. Normally, I'd cringe at the injection of a youthful sidekick into a respectable, aging franchise (check my review of the new Indiana Jones film), but I thought that Farrell did a pretty decent job here.

Timothy Olyphant, however, is a different matter. Yes, I can understand why he was cast for such a role -- it wouldn't have been any good selecting some butch, steroid-induced meathead, with no apparent knowledge of computers -- but the guy just annoys the hell out of me. He does an O.K. job, at best, but his character doesn't appear anywhere near as threatening or compelling as he should've been (compared to Rickman in the first film, he gets my vote as the weakest villain in the series, thus far).

It is with such a point considered that I felt Die Hard 4.0 lacked that vital tension. Particularly when the Olyphant and his team were in control of America's entire security system, I never once thought "Damn, what if this did actually happen?" Considering that it probably could in today's reality, that couldn't have been a good reaction.

As for Bruce Willis, well... He looks tired in some areas of the film, to tell you the truth. Is this in deliberate regard to the age of his character? I don't think it is. For the first part of the movie it is as if he is completely disinterested in what is going on; it isn't until the tunnel scene -- where his character crashes a cop car into an enemy helicopter -- that he suddenly leaps into life. From hereon, he becomes the John McClane that we all know and love -- taunting his enemies with reminders of how he killed their buddies -- and the film reaches its peak as a result.

Even though the film is far from amazing on an overall scale, and Willis has given much better performances than he has here, it is still at least good to see the actor back as McClane in another Die Hard movie. This third sequel allows him to do such things as partake in bare knuckle fist fights, play war with a fighter plane as he drives a truck on the freeway, and even full-on mow some ninja chick down an elevator shaft. Die Hard 4.0, admittedly, has a lot going for it, but it's still not the awesome Die Hard sequel that I've been dreaming of ever since the mid-90s. I suppose that would've been just a little too much for ask for, though, wouldn't it?

(C) Andy Carrington, 2009.