When will the bad guys learn that John McClane just won’t die?

In this quadquel to the original Die Hard, John McClane (Bruce Willis) is a detective for the NYPD and things with his family are not great, particularly with his daughter Lucy (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) who is not speaking to him and is going by her mother’s maiden name. McClane is called in to pick up Matt Farrell (Justin Long), a bumbling kid who helped an unknown group to hack into the FBI (using a Mac, of course!) for some quick cash. McClane is instructed to bring Farrell from New Jersey to FBI headquarters in Washington D.C. but while at Farrell’s apartment they encounter French terrorists who are trying to kill Farrell. McClane and Farrell narrowly escape despite an explosion inside Farrell’s apartment set off by his computer. They arrive to FBI headquarters where Farrell learns that many other hackers in the country have been killed in explosions set off by their computers (watch out for that Delete key!).

The most important plot device in this film is technology in the hands of The Bad Guy. The mastermind behind the French terrorists, Thomas Gabriel (Timothy Olyphant), who himself is not French, uses the fire sale technique to create nationwide panic: transportation, finances, telecommunications, and major utilities are taken offline so that people are basically disconnected from each other, left without basic necessities to live, and are sent into fear for their safety. McClane and Farrell work with Deputy Director Miguel Bowman (Cliff Curtis) of the FBI to try to solve the mystery of who is behind the fire sale and why he is intentionally causing this widespread panic.

McClane and Farrell have great chemistry together, but Justin Long (Farrell) does tend to overact his part. Also, the plot of this entire movie is completely reminiscent of the original Die Hard, right down to the key characters. The only major differences are that the movie takes place in more locations than just inside of a skyscraper and there is more sophisticated technology involved to take down an entire nation rather than just a building.

The action sequences are amazing, the gun fights are spectacular, and McClane’s monologues are hysterical. You may see the ending coming from a mile away, but it’s worth the ride. One pet peeve I personally have is when movies show technology as eye candy, as if doing mundane tasks like transferring funds from one bank account to another is somehow exciting and intriguing to watch, but if you can get past that one little detail this movie is totally worth your time.

Buttery’s Rating:

Recommendations

A good nail biter movie deserves to be enjoyed with Newman’s Own popcorn — with extra butter, of course!