Hello, My name is Bruce and I'm here to kick your ass.
John McClane is a timex living in a digital world. Not my words. That would be courtesy of Timothy Olyphant as cyber villain Thomas Gabriel.
It has been 12 years since Bruce Willis brought John McClane to the screen in Die Hard with a Vengeance. He said it would be the last time out. Just like Sly said he was done with Rocky (well I loved Rocky 6 last year) and Rambo (which comes out next year). I was not one of the people that hated (and there were many) Die Hard with a Vengeance. I thought it was okay. Basically it suffered from the curse of second sequelitis. But it was not Batman and Robin or Alien Resurrection. And it did have Sam Jackson and Jeremy Irons chewing up the scenery. And hell there was that hot blonde kicking ass as well.
When I heard LFDH was being made, I had about the same level of excitement that hit me when Sly said he was making Rocky Balboa. There I was pleasantly surprised and moved. Here I wasn't too sure what I was getting into.
See Bruce Willis has done so much since Vengeance. I has done so many character pieces (The Astronaut Farmer) and stood out in so many others (Sin City, Grindhouse, Unbreakable and Sixth Sense). I even liked him voicing last year's Over the Hedge. But, truth be told, dude needs a hit with his name above the marquee. Not another 16 Blocks (which I did like) or that piece of shit, Perfect Stranger (with Hit and Run Halle).
The reason John McClane works as a character is because he is truly the everyman. He's not superman. He's a regular guy caught in the wrong place. He's not like his knock off character Jack Bauer who willingly goes out and saves the world. John is the reluctant hero...and ultimately in the original Die Hard (voted Entertainment Weekly's best action film of all time) and even Die Harder, he's a family man out protecting his fam.
In the first two movies it was his wife Holly, played by Bonnie Bedelia. I think that's what was missing from Vengeance. John had nothing personal at stake. And now we have his daughter, Lucy played by Mary Elizabeth Winstead.
Plus I want Bruce to win. I met him two years ago at an LA hotel. He was with Brooke Burke. I was hanging with friends ( of course lots of chicks) And he called me a handsome devil. And a lucky one to be surrounded by these lovely women. Thank you Bruce.
So you see I wanted him to kick it with LFDH.
Does he?
Yippee Kay Yay Mother Fucker!
LFDH is by no means perfect. The plot involving cyber-terrorists, felt spun off from 24. And at first, I wasn't feeling Justin Long (the Mac Guy) as McClane's side kick, computer hacker Matt Farrell. But he did grow on me. There were times I would look at Bruce/John on the screen and see McClane from the first Die Hard. Then there were other times, it felt like Bruce lost his footing... Timothy Olyphant is no Hans Grueber (Alan Richter). And where is the limo driver Argyle when you need him?
But at the end of the day, I judge a Die Hard film by the amount of times I say, "oh fuck and oh shit." Director Len Wiseman (the Underworld movies) delivers. I say, "Oh fuck and oh shit" more than enough times to recommend this film. LFDH is an good old fashioned ass kicking film. Something we don't get anymore. Just as in last week's 1408, it's kind of a throwback. And in this case it's a welcome throwback. The elevator sequence involving McClane and hot baddie, Mai Lin, played by Maggie Q, is top notch. So is the final set piece involving a semi-rig, a highway and a F-35.
And finally, Die Hard comes down to Bruce Willis. He may be my favorite all around actor right now. He does for me what Roy Scheider did in the 70s and 80s ( I just was watching Blue Thunder at the gym). Bruce can deliver a punch just as well as he can show sadness that he is divorced from Holly and he is estranged from his daughter, Lucy,
So I would say, give Bruce a hit. Go see it and have some fun. LFDH deserves it.
Yippee Kay Yay Mother Fucker!
THREE AND A HALF BALL POINT PENS