Movie Reviews: Die Hard Quadrilogy

Screw Rambo... John McClane is the Hollywood's coolest human action hero(the coolest ever action hero is Terminator). Having watched Die Hard 4.0 a handful of times and Die Hard 2: Die Harder on TV, I finished the puzzle by buying a Die Hard 4 in 1 DVD.




Die Hard begins when NYPD cop John McClane visits his wife at the Nakatomi plaza, a corporate skyscraper on Christmas Eve. A group of terrorists led by the icy Hans Gruber(Alan Rickman who played Snape in Harry Potter) takes control of the city. Fortunately for them, the security guards are killed off easily BUT unfortunately, there's McClane.

McClane makes a few kills and gains an MP5 SMG's plus some magazines, some C4 and detonators, European cigarettes and lighter from his kills. He tries to steal a shoe as he was barefoot in his wife's room when the chaos ensued. He throws it off saying "Nine million terrorists in the world and I get to kill one with feet smaller than my sister." This proved to be McClane's undoing because the men shot the glasses and forced McClane to flee with a bleeding foot.

McClane makes a few attempts to call for back-up. He gets back-up in the form of Sgt Al Powell(Reginald VelJohnson)a cop who sits behind the desk who gets his first taste of action when McClane called.

The terrorists mysteriously lacked motives and demands unlike others. In the end, it appears that Hans and his goons wanted the trade bonds secured in the Nakatomi building worth 800 million dollars.

However all ends well when McClane kills em all.

Not surprisingly, this film set a new standard for action films and launched Bruce Willis into Hollywood. Arnold Schwarzenegger was the first choice for John McClane but director John McTiernan turned him down. Obviously Arnie didn't have the cowboy persona that John McClane has. Arine also lacks the humor and fast talking persona of John McClane. Kudos to Bruce Willis. I couldn't imagine someone other than Bruce Willis playing John McClane... Van Damme? Stallone? Steven Seagal? BOOOO...

Alan Rickman also did a good job playing Hans Gruber, the villain. He's sort of a more quiet and sinister version of an Al Pacino character. A charming sociopath + gentleman.

Die Hard is an awesome action film. Quite logic, packed with gunfights and explosion that put Rambo to shame. McClane is also part of the treat. A tough but funny guy who often jokes and laughs in the face of death. Hard to imagine Arnie doing the same.

This movie has a solid 8.5/10....

Also, my dad took my mom to see this show on a date before I was born... Jeez, good movie but not for lovebirds...LOL




Bruce Willis returns as John McClane in the sequel. McClane recently moved to the LAPD to spend more time with his wife and kids. This time, his wife's life is again jeopardised when American rebel mercenaries thwart the airport's communication and landing systems, forcing the planes to circle the area with the risks of running out of fuel. Guess what, it's Christmas again and John McClane is going the distance to avoid his wife's plane to crash.

The mercenaries led by Colonel Stuart(William Salder) are aiming to collect their ally, General Ramon Esperanza(Franco Nero), a drug lord and dictator of Val Verde(fictional country).

Now, this sequel takes John McClane outdoors. From the baggage area to the runway to the underground tunnels. This film has bigger explosions(planes exploding) and more gunfights that the first film. The climax is when John McClane brawls with Colonel Stuart and his conspirator Major Grant on the wing of Esperanza's plane... Cool stuff eh?

Despite being an efficient and terrific action entertainment, this film lacked one vital part. A good villain. General Ramon Esperanza, Colonel Stuart and Major Grant just doesn't measure up to the standard set by Alan Rickman's Hans Gruber in Die Hard. However, we get to see Robert Patrick(the T-1000 liquid villain in Terminator 2: Judgment Day) as O'Reilly, one of Major Stuart's soldiers in his film's debut. Although he almost kicks Arnold's ass, he is easily shot down by John McClane... SWT...

John McTiernan refused to return to the director's chair. He chose to make the popular The Hunt For Red October instead. He is replaced by Renny Harlin who later directed other action machines such as Stallone's Cliffhanger, Deep Blue Sea and recently 12 Rounds with John Cena...

Of course you'll enjoy and laugh off this movie... A respectable 7/10....




Die Hard: With A Vengeance marks the return of John McTiernan to the director's chair. Also, John McClane is now divorced and has since returned to the NYPD.

This time, a mysterious terrorist by the name of Simon plays a game with the NYPD particularly with McClane. The game called "Simon Says" tasks McClane to push his limits by doing near impossible tasks with the threat of blowing up a public place should McClane fails.

This time, McClane has a partner. Zeus Carver(the one and only SAMUEL L JACKSON), an Afro-American extremist who hates white men including McClane. However, he is pulled into Simon's scheme when he saves McClane's life, interfering with Simon's original game plan.

It turns out Simon is actually Simon Gruber, the big brother of Hans Gruber from the first film. In his games, he attempts to humiliate and mock McClane in public in retaliation of McClane's killing of his little brother. Simon is as cunning as his brother and is certainly more aggressive and ruthless. Hans is primarily a schemer but Simon is both a schemer and a front line soldier.

Behind his revenge is to steal the gold bullion from Wall Street. Like his brother, Simon is both a terrorist and big time thief.

The third film is my least favorite of the four Die Hard films. Although it marks the return of a cheesier and icier villain, Simon Gruber(Jeremy Irons. He played the equally icy Scar in Lion King) but it lacks gunfight and brawls. McClane also sheds most of his humor and jokes less on-screen. However, the notion of Bruce Willis teaming up with Samuel L Jackson gives the film it's redeeming quality. It is also the darkest film in the series, with McClane being an angry guy after being humiliated by Simon's games.

This film is good, but not as good as it's predecessors or successor. It is interesting yet not so exciting. A favorable 6.5/10 for this one...




Die Hard 4.0 brings John McClane into the 21st century. A group of hackers plan to decimate the United States government by taking out all transportation, stock markets, utilities, electricity etc. Despite the age of technology, John McClane is still there to save the day.

This is the biggest film of the Die Hard series. It has a cool villain(the hacker) and an interesting plot. More gunfights, explosions, McClane taking on a F-22 Raptor jet. Also there is a scene where John McClane and a hot kungfu chick kicking each other's asses. Although McClane retains his trademark humor, it is considerably less compared to the first two films. Maybe McClane is now a wiser man.

Die Hard 4.0 is only surpassed by the first film. 8.0/10