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by rick grant rickgrant01@comcast.net
A- PG-13 130 min
Just when you thought our nation’s computer grid was safe, a fiendish computer genius skirted our most complex security networks to wreak havoc on our nation’s computer systems. The hacker intrusion underscored our dependence on computers that run everything from traffic lights to power stations. The brazen cyber-attack could cripple our country’s infrastructure.
Ah, but have no fear, Bruce Willis is back with a vengeance as his celebrated John McClane character. Now, Detective McClane hangs in there after 30 years on the job. The likable working class cop is still old school. After 9/11 he is concerned about terrorist attacks, but at work, he goes with the flow.
Die Hard 3 was released in 1995. Now, 12 years later, McClane is divorced and has a strained relationship with his grown up daughter Lucy (Mary Elizabeth Winstead). As this scenario evolves, McClane is relegated to picking up suspects and other go-for duties. While going to fetch a hacker wanted for questioning by the FBI, McClane stumbles on a plot to compromise our national computer grid, shutting down our country in what hackers call “a fire sale” attack.
Let the games begin. It’s McClane and his hacker companion, Matt Farrell (Justin Long), versus a gaggle of heavily armed bad guys trying to kill them. The terrorists have already killed most of the nation’s top hackers to prevent them from helping the FBI stop their operation. They were in the middle of their hit on Farrell when McClane arrived to transport him to the FBI’s anti-cyber-attack control center. Yeah, the serious gun action starts right away, as McClane saves Farrell and gets him back to the FBI center.
Admittedly, the Die Hard series is one of my guilty pleasures. But this episode is by far the most exciting of the series. It’s updated and ramped-up exponentially from Number 3. Willis has refined McClane into a Terminator-like grumpy geezer, but with his droll one-liners intact. Sure, you have to suspend your disbelief to buy some of the outrageous stunts, but that is what makes Willis so appealing. He doesn’t take himself seriously, and his daring stunts are in the name of a righteous cause–revenge for ruining his day. He tells the cyber terrorist mastermind “I’m coming to kill you,” and we believe he can do it, despite the odds.
Justin Long has graduated to the big time from his Ed character and his Apple commercials. His pivotal role as Matt Ferrell in this film was a real coup for his career. He’s funny and makes a lovable foil for McClane’s aversion to anything with microchips. He even comes to McClane’s rescue on several occasions. Violence of this level is totally alien to the young hacker. When he meets McClane, trained killers are trying to rub him out and things only escalate from there. Long is the comic relief.
The cyber-attack mastermind has a special agenda and Farrell figures it out, which puts him and McClane in further danger. There is no backup on this caper, as the two unlikely partners go into battle with the heavily armed terrorists. It is continuous action with character development on the fly. There is no time for sappy romance or other action film cliches, McClane is all business.
Skillfully directed by Len Wiseman and written by committee, the film is an action tour de force. Willis seems joyous to be back in action wearing his dirty T-shirt with blood flowing from numerous wounds, and his only motivation is personal revenge.
When the terrorists black out of the city, McClane and Farrell visit Farrell’s hacker buddy Warlock, played with stand-out humor by Kevin Smith. Of course, he has back up generators and his “control center” is located in his mom’s basement. They find him because his house is the only one with lights. With Warlock’s help, McClane and Farrell unravel the mastermind’s end game. The smarty-pants kingpin can’t believe one man and his hacker tag-along can get close to him with his crack security force.
Lock and load with a large popcorn and soda, this is a fast and furious ride as McClane and Farrell close in on the cyber-attackers. Watching this new Die Hard, made me realize how much I’d missed the series.
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EU Critic’s Choice Awards
