I finally got around to seeing the new Die Hard movie. To start off, let me tell you that I’m a huge Die Hard fan. I even liked Die Hard 3, which most people think sucks. With that in mind…
Die Hard 4 is just a terrible movie. It kills me when I watch, read or listen to all the film reviews that keep saying “Bruce has still got it!” Almost everything to love about the Die Hard movies has been ripped out of it and you’re left with a husk of an action movie. It’s a dull popcorn action movie to the core.
This movie was obviously not made for the fans but to cash in on the name (over 12 years since the last Die Hard, that alone should tell you). By the time you reach the 4th movie in the series and they make it a PG-13 instead of an R, it’s pretty obvious they are milking it for the cash. Robocop 3 and Alien Vs. Predator are both examples of crap movies that were made into PG-13 sequels simply to cash in on their names. Die Hard 4 is no different.
The worst part about the PG-13 rating is the dubbing. There are many, many clear instances where swear words were dubbed out. Again with a PG-13, the over the top violence and action has been replaced with little to no blood and big explosions as fillers. Lame.
And perhaps the worst part of the movie is the near complete lack of humor. Sure, there are a couple of jokes, but it’s not a fun movie like the previous Die Hard films. You won’t see anything near as clever as the “Now I have a machine gun. Ho ho ho.” that was tagged as a note on a terrorist’s dead body in Die Hard 1. Which brings me to my next complaint…
John McClane is no longer John McClane. He somehow went from this everyday cop who nearly escapes death on a constant basis to this super cop who is almost invincible. Half of his dialog in the film appears to be grunts or moans.
Perhaps Die Hard 4 is suffering from the same fate as the television show 24. How many worst days can someone actually have and still have it be plausible? It doesn’t help that the plot line remains the same for nearly all four films (terrorist, distracts or tricks cops so they can steal money- terrorist dies).
And my last complaint which I won’t even bother arguing about is the role of technology in the film. It’s just bad. Very bad. The role of McClane being smart enough to figure things out or having a partner to help him figure things out (Samuel L. Jackson) has been completely removed. McClane doesn’t know anything about technology and has to be told everything and where to go next. So much for sleuthing.
Skip the summer of bad sequels (Spiderman 3, Shrek 3, Pirates 3) and go read a book instead.
