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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

tricia said...

Posted on Jul 17 2007 18:46 gripping stuff, highly recommended, fantastic dry humour, brilliantly packed with action, no snoggin on back seat thro this one

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Ross said...

Posted on Jul 17 2007 17:39 pure braw

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Floydz said...

Posted on Jul 16 2007 18:44 Wahhhhhhh! The best movie i ever watched this year...I love it since im a computer science student. Uploading a virus into a system as a bomb was fantastic...Can a hacker really do that?

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Arps said...

Posted on Jul 14 2007 22:35 BEST MOVIE OF THE YEAR!!!

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Danny said...

Posted on Jul 13 2007 16:54 its a very gd film nt as good as the first 1 but still very gd

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andrew said...

Posted on Jul 12 2007 19:02 A really good actioner that only trips at the last hurdle. Whilst this die hard doesn't retain the brutality and edginess of its predecessors it's still easy to watch up until the scene with the jet plane. It just lacked so much realism that it dragged the entire film down. The concept of the film was sound and the plot believable, it just lacked the direction of what made the original so great, but still worth watching.

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Lev821 said...

Posted on Jul 12 2007 14:09 Is it just me, or are all these aging action stars running out of royalties from their previous films, so go back to their most famous films to try and capture some of the essence of what made them good in the first place. It'll be Arnies turn next. So Die hard 4.0 is basically a typical action film, good guys vs bad guys, and its done rather well for its type, but a good action film needs a good bad guy, and this one features a bad, bad guy. He is weak and charisma free. Even Bruce's side kick is rather poor. He seems to be just there to explain the techie stuff as it goes along. He's no Samuel L Jackson, that's for sure. So nothing special then, but still a good film, nonetheless.

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Lucifer said...

Posted on Jul 12 2007 11:53 Live soft with pillow

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Your Mum said...

Posted on Jul 11 2007 13:45 It sucks, Boring as Hell

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Julie Buckley said...

Posted on Jul 11 2007 11:44 This was the best film I had seen all year. Its the best of the 4 Die hards. Non stop action and brilliant stunts!!!!!!

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laura said...

Posted on Jul 09 2007 23:37 this is the best film i have seen all year!!! bruce willis does not dissappiont!! and he is as sexy as ever!!! great stunts and effects. overall really good film!!!

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Warwick said...

Posted on Jul 09 2007 16:52 Definately the funniest of the Die Hard Series and if like me you wanted to spend an easy couple hours of action then this is the film for you.
Must admit, I wasn't impressed with the car used as a missille to destroy the helicopter I bit unlikely. But an F35 flying between a bridge - OTT. But hey, this is Die Hard and I took it for what it is as an Action Movie.
All good Stuff

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Emma Bruce said...

Posted on Jul 09 2007 15:01 This was soooooooooooooo amazing i luved it betta than the rest welldone. I soooooooooo want to be a other die hard film as it seems 2 b getting better n better. The good part in the film was when the car went flying into the plane that was sooooooooooooo F******* amzing.
LUV IT!
xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

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nicola said...

Posted on Jul 09 2007 13:20 this film is brilliant it is defently a must see. its the best film i've seen this year.

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Jade said...

Posted on Jul 09 2007 12:39 Best film iv seen in a long time!!!! Defo worth watchin

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