So here comes along Die Hard 4 (The official title is Live Free or Die Hard, but since that is a monumentally stupid title, I just refer to it as Die Hard 4). The film has had online fans a bit put off for a couple of reasons. First was the announcement that Len Wiseman (The Underworld films) was going to direct. Personally, I thought this was a nice move… but the majority of people hated it. The next big outrage was when it was announced the film was getting a PG-13 rating. I maintained this was no big deal… but many others thought it instantly ruined the film before even seeing it. Many actaually vowed to never watch it due to the lower rating.

THE GOOD

It’s great seeing Bruce Willis back. I will admit that I was quite concerned about the believability of a 52 year of Willis pulling off all the action of a Die Hard film, but he really did it. He and Wiseman made you believe that the Bad Ass John McLane was back in charge and taking names. Willis’s pure wit and charisma haven’t faded one ounce. He made me believe he is still the quintessential action hero.

The humor. Humor in action films can be a tricky thing. Most of the time it can come across as lame and just make you roll your eyes. The humor in the Die Hard films has always been one of the aspects that made it special, and Die Hard 4 (while not quite as funny as the previous films) pulls it off. There were several funny moments that had me still mildly giggling a good full minute after the joke was done. When humor is done well with action that is done right… the results are normally pretty entertaining.

The Action. A lot of people thought the action in Die hard 4 would be toned WAY down due to the PG-13 rating. I’m happy to say it wasn’t. As a matter of fact, some of the action in this film is far more over the top than in any of the previous films. I’m not saying it was “better” action than the previous ones… just a lot more there in your face. I could have sworn Michael Bay was directing the damn thing. There are some issues I take with a couple of the action scenes (See below), but they sure as hell packed a lot of it in there.

The supporting cast. The small role by Kevin Smith was another thing I was worried about. I was a little afraid Smith as a personality would be too big for the role, and it would pull us out of the movie. Surprisingly, Smith made you forget he was Smith about 30 seconds into it and ended up adding much to the film. Justin Long truly pulled it off! A lot of people were doubtfull that the “I’m a Mac” guy could hold his own standing beside Willis, but you know what…. he played the part beutifully.