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Die Hard 4.0 (2007)

Director: Len Wiseman

Time Out rating

Average user rating

60 reviews

Synopsis

In this action-packed sequel, John McClane is assigned the dangerous task of capturing the mysterious hacker attacking America's vulnerable infrastructure

Movie review

From Time Out London

So far the ‘Die Hard’ series has offered scenes of civil aviation hijack, skyscraper attack (with falling bodies) and a New York besieged by explosions. Nothing unusual then: in the years before 9/11, grand-scale civilian terror was a staple Hollywood pleasure; ‘Die Hard With A Vengeance’ (1995) even showed Manhattan office workers munching popcorn as they survey the carnage below. In the event, of course, people took terrorist attack rather more personally than that, both in the moment and in dealing with the fall-out. Inspired by a WIRED article about the threat to homeland security from systems hacking, ‘Die Hard 4.0’ happily exploits the dire potential consequences of such ‘soft strike’ tactics, yet proposes the decidedly September 10 solution of an individual hero – and banks on its audience reaching for the popcorn, like in the good old days.

Once again, NYPD cop John McClane (Bruce Willis) is in the wrong place at the wrong time – in this case, Washington, DC, on Independence Day, just as forces unseen conspire to shut down the security and transport systems of the city and its neighbours. Chaos ensues and McClane girds himself to save the day with blood ’n’ grit, assisted by unworldly but tech-savvy hacker Matt Farrell (Justin Long, who played similar roles in ‘Galaxy Quest’ and ‘Dodgeball’). In the other corner are high-kickin’ Maggie Q, clench-jawed, bug-eyed Timothy Olyphant and some French blokes who know parkour (bien sûr). McClane’s teenage daughter (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) is also running around.

As in the other ‘Die Hard’ movies, a hero who once declared that ‘progress peaked with frozen pizza’ is pitched against complex systems being abused by nut-jobs with delusions of grandeur, though McClane is now harder to accept than ever as an everyman figure: once bleeding and battling alone, he is now effectively a superhuman with a sidekick whose theatre has expanded from the confines of an office block to the entire eastern seaboard. McClane’s yen for remote communication with his foes now benefits from video conferencing and the series’ long-standing soft spot for pornographic explosions is ratcheted up a few notches too – as is the scale of the action sequences. If the collapse of the US capital’s social and civic infrastructure doesn’t pack enough of a punch, you also get a fighter jet facing off against a juggernaut.

Len Wiseman (who directed the gothic fantasy actioner ‘Underworld’ and its sequel) handles many of the set-pieces with flair and tension: a mass pile-up in an underpass is especially effective, and there’s a real sense of panic to the city’s realisation that it’s under attack. But if the film acknowledges the increased plausibility of such violence, it’s only to exploit the audience’s anxieties. If the series’ reactionary spite is indulged here more than even, so is its sappy sentimentality: national meltdown, it insists, is a mere trifle next to a father’s violent love for his daughter.

Author: Ben Walters 2007-07-02 14:39:48

Time Out London Issue 1924: July 4-10 2007

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User reviews of this film

Jack said...

Posted on Mar 28 2009 17:23 Best Film ive ever seen; amazinggggg (:
if youu havnt seen it youu gottah see it :D

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ell bell said...

Posted on Aug 02 2008 05:51 absolutely amazing!! loved every second of it :D I WOULD DEFINATELY RECOMEND IT!! and to the people who can hack like that in real life.. your amazingly good at it but maybe avoid taking out countries haha. all around it was an excellent movie and extremely enjoyable.

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will said...

Posted on Mar 12 2008 09:18 the best film of the year in my eyes how cant you like it???!!!!!!

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yafaa said...

Posted on Feb 15 2008 10:26 it was mint but can anyone tell me the sogs name atthe end and the start of the film when farrel tells john that he is listening to something classic

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yaf said...

Posted on Feb 15 2008 10:23 it was mint can anyone tell me the song name at the end and the start of the film

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amy said...

Posted on Aug 15 2007 11:52 THIS FILM WAS SO SHHITTTT...!!!!!!!!.

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carol said...

Posted on Aug 12 2007 12:07 Wow!

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die hard lover 4 life said...

Posted on Aug 10 2007 11:18 this film was amazing its all i talked about for days. watching this film at the cinema was a great experience apart from the the fact a party of drunk middle aged adults persistently disturbed me. fnx vue for doing shit about that. anyway... yeah the film was the best of my life.. period, until i saw transformers. you just have to ask yourself the key question .... the f35 in die hard4.0 or the multiple f22's in transformers once you know you have chosen your best movie of the year.
oh and simpsons movie kinda sucked
so did evan almighty

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Llyr Willas said...

Posted on Aug 09 2007 11:36 Great entertainment.. probably the best "movie" I've seen for a few years!

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tricci said...

Posted on Aug 08 2007 12:44 if you wonna find out how stupid Amercans can be, so enjoy your self, you can blow them with a simple laptot - that's the funniest thing of the film. Big plus for visual effects, but the story - full of bull shit

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Vaqas said...

Posted on Aug 08 2007 04:00 Wicked movie BRUCE WILLIS KILLS IT. The best DIE HARD MOVIE

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aisha said...

Posted on Aug 07 2007 12:37 this was just gob-smackingly great!!! and the action is right down and amazing! DONNOT MISS OUT!! you will seriously not be racked off for wasting your money because its money well spent. WATCH IT! =D

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simon lomax said...

Posted on Aug 06 2007 14:38 Dont read into action movies they're just entertainment for goodness sakes. This is a brilliant action movie that deserves the die hard title as they have all been great in my opinion. Bruce has lost none of his sardonic charm. You've gotta applaud a guy who can take out a helicopter with a car, and a u.s airforce fighter jet with well nothing really just shouting stuff at it seemed enough didnt it. Great movie. let's see more of these action movies from bruce it's what he's best at.

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4ndy said...

Posted on Aug 06 2007 10:07 Amazing! Pure genius! The storyline was amazing, plus some McClane wit and awesome action sequences! Loved every minute of it!

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Steve said...

Posted on Aug 02 2007 07:47 The best Die Hard movie by far. It's none stop action from beginning to end. I've seen this movie twice and I would like to see it again. There are not many other films that I can say that about.

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