Seen: July 6th, 2007
Format: Theater
Rating: 6
John McClane is back. Sorta.
This is another summer blockbuster. This installment has been toned down to PG-13 level for mass consumption and lacks some of the edge of the previous films. There's a bit less grit and a bit more fantasy here. It's all well produced and packaged and tied up neat with a holiday release date.
Now for the good news.
The action is generally good, and occasionally great. While there are some sequences which are distinctly over the top, and reek of CGI, most of these sequences seem to be practically shot and are very effective. There are some brilliant and very original sequences here, with some amazing stunt work.
While there are the requisite "breather" moments in the film, some with decent comic relief, the action is fairly constant. There's a pattern to the pace and layout. While it doesn't really get tiring, it does become a bit predictable toward the end.
I'm seeing another trend in action movies lately. The majority of the plot is set up very early in the film, gels by the middle, and beyond that point becomes subservient to the action. While it may have minor developments after that point, they're generally not important or really surprising, and may even be repetitions of earlier developments. It some sense, theses films seem to eventually stall somewhere in the action sections, as the plot doesn't really continue to drive them.
The plot itself is a bit thin. While some of the realization of it is impressive, the underlying premise is a bit hard to swallow. The scope is very large as well, which has us jumping from location to location in a frenzy. There are large time jumps as these changes happen. All this is different from the previous films, which were more tightly contained. They were compelling because of the constant tension generated by the closeness time constraints of of the scenario, and the proximity of the bad guys. This version is much more free range. It looses some of its edge because of this.
Willis is great here. This is his home turf. The sardonic humor are in full force, and there's some added genuine surprise at his own fortune on occasion. While McClane has always had a human side, this may be the most we've seen of this side of it.
I like Tim Olyphant, and I think he's a good choice here. Unfortunately, his character is pretty thin and stereotypical. I have no clue why Justin Long is getting parts like this. He just doesn't fit here and I'll leave it at that. Kevin Smith's part was a surprise to me. I have a big soft spot for the guy. But again, the role was trite and incomplete and he didn't have much to work with or time to develop anything.
The henchman kick ass. Maggie Q was amazing. One of the other guys (Cyril Raffaelli I think?) had some amazing parkour/acrobatic sequences. The rest were excellent as well.
Despite all the goodness, this one still fell a bit flat for me. It's worth a look, but the action is a little more comic book and a little less edgy and the plot a little bit more far-fetched.
The Good: Yippee Ki Yay
The Bad: Justin Long? really?
The Ugly: Going over the top.
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