LIVE FREE OR DIE HARD, popularly known as DIE HARD 4.0, the fourth franchise of the new reincarnated saga of John McClane, is an effective action slam-bang thriller. It is both smart and dumb; lets you be intrigued with its premise and plot, but lets you forget your brain as well, with some bits of one-dimensionality, but mind you – it doesn’t let you entirely let go of your brain and instead encapsulates you into a wild joyride. Yippee-ki-yay! This DIE HARD 4.0 is a helluva fun to watch.


Common to summer films, expect explosions. Either helicopters are blowing up or cars smashing in screen as though it never knew budgeting and ka-pow of combat and bullets shooting past your ears, it’s stupid really to take things seriously this time. Summer films are known to be a tad daft but filled with guilty pleasure rollicking excitement and fun, and only a few really has the heart and brains to rise up to the great status. However, all Bruce Willis’ fourth outing has are balls. You’ve got to believe Willis is still the guy to save the day from brainy terrorists, just forget his age and his grey hairs (actually they’re not so visible because he’s bald). I have just recently watched TRANSFORMERS and I have realised that it was released at the same time in the US with DIE HARD 4.0, which makes it a very hectic July 4th Independence Day for everyone American. I’ve got to admit, I enjoyed TRANSFORMERS and all its metallic glory but DIE HARD 4.0 might prove to be a better tempestuous roar.


This has the potential to be a very dark thriller as the plot echoes the 9/11 crisis. Set in post 9/11, geeky but fashionable-looking cyber-terrorists control the whole land in a nationwide struggle in all aspects. All the alphabet people, the FBI, CIA, NSA and etc, were all in dilemma. The systems were hacked and bypassed, and every single hacker in the country was annihilated so that these cyber-terrorists could rule in their own throne. Thomas Gabriel (Timothy Olyphant), a former government cyber-programmer, also a smartly-dressed computer geek, probably an impression that “geek is the new cool”, is on revenge and uses his structure to shut down every single system in the country and put everything on his command. He also uses his girlfriend, co-terrorist, Mai (Maggie Q), honestly the sexiest hacker in the world in my opinion, as his secret weapon. When his team try to eradicate the hackers in whole America by sending bomb viruses (I never thought viruses could explode like a tank bomb), police lieutenant/detective John McClane gets involved as he was ordered to get hold of one Matthew Farrell (Justin Long), the last American hacker alive.


McClane here is such a figure to be cynical about. He wears a rather leathery outfit and also very calm in handling circumstances. But it’s his wisecracking persona that hits the “ordinary guy” claim. He’s also a man trying to become a father to her unwilling daughter, Lucy (played by Mary Elizabeth Winstead). As the plot develops, and McClane ventures deeper into the conspiracy, he figures out that he’s about to face a more terrifying threat to the country. Smash more cars and blow up roads and say you’re into this commotion. Traffic lights are controlled resulting to street damages, power plants are jacked as well, total blackout ensue, and every single building is evacuated – it is indeed terrifying to see such vista of a country in the brink of a massive terrorism, far greater and far more threatening than what happened last 9/11. This is indeed possible, as new technology prove to be smarter and more intimidatory.


However, John McClane is a kind of guy who lived in the old rules and dumb as a nutcase when it comes to hacking so he uses Matthe Farrell as his sidekick. But then the battle becomes personal as his daughter was captured after McClane defeated Mai in a fascinating hand-to-hand combat, tooth, blood and nail. It’s amazing to see Bruce Willis and Maggie Q fight with each other, more so when you see Maggie like a ruthless cat and Bruce beats her up mercilessly as well.


It’s definitely enjoyable to see the scenes in which the conflict amounts up to total tension. There are great flaws in the film, especially in the don’t-forget-about-your-brain department, and the whole terrorism backstory was left unexplained (the only explanation was how Thomas Gabriel came to be as a terrorist). What’s good about DIE HARD 4.0 was that it brings back the old-school feel of action films. The big truck chase in the highway absolutely reminds me of the first TERMINATOR film. Oh, and the battle of the big truck and the aircraft in the highway is unforgettable.


Kudos to Len Wiseman, director from UNDERWORLD, for bringing a hard-edged actioner; his presence is a solid one as he definitely knows his camera angles, his action sequences, and his art of smashing cars (watch out when Bruce Willis and Justin Long ducking from a flying car, brilliant). Some supporting performances were overshadowed by Bruce Willis and the so-bad-that-it’s-so-good kind of villain played by Timothy Olyphant. DIE HARD 4.0 after all is an action film, shallow at points, characterisation swallowed by explosions; but it’s an entertaining action film, at that.




RATING: B+