I don't watch so many blockbusters. I think I find the suspension of disbelief, or even more the suspension of total derision, interferes with relaxed enjoyment of them. But this was a lot of fun, irrespective of the absurdity of it.
John McClane is now older (although not as old as Willis), with a difficult teenage daughter and a separated (unseen) wife. As with the formula of the previous films in the series, he's an ordinary cop, or by now detective, caught up in a mess involving superbright criminals with a grudge.
The film plays on its heritage, with little asides about what it is to be a hero - he's just the guy who's there, who does what he has to do - and ironic echoes of previous catchphrases, but where the previous McClane was flippant, this one is serious. In that change of mood, it imitates Bond's latest outing, where there was a very conscious darkening of the hero. In many ways, Die Hard is similar to the Bond franchise, especially in this case in the clumsy title (abbreviated for British release to 'Die Hard 4.0') The outrageous stunts, and the parkour-practising baddie, are also competing with the most recent Bond.
So the improbable plot is that an ex technical security adviser to the FBI, having had his suggestions for post-9/11 essential overhaul of key systems ignored, and his career abruptly ended, commits a heist on the whole of America to prove a point. And to steal all the money on Wall Street. He stages a 'fire sale', which is an immobilisation of all essential systems - transport, communications, power - and then exploits the panic and misguided back-up systems to access secure financial information.
But, as with Bond films, the plot, and the implausibility of it (apparently one geek with a laptop can access any system in America instantly) are beside the point. The cast is one superbrain baddie (Timothy Olyphant), his geeky assistants, including a high-kicking Asian girlfriend, and Willis and one good geek. The fun is in the very inventive chases, Willis's strong-chinned determination, and completely dumb stunts. I think it pays off.
John McClane is now older (although not as old as Willis), with a difficult teenage daughter and a separated (unseen) wife. As with the formula of the previous films in the series, he's an ordinary cop, or by now detective, caught up in a mess involving superbright criminals with a grudge.
The film plays on its heritage, with little asides about what it is to be a hero - he's just the guy who's there, who does what he has to do - and ironic echoes of previous catchphrases, but where the previous McClane was flippant, this one is serious. In that change of mood, it imitates Bond's latest outing, where there was a very conscious darkening of the hero. In many ways, Die Hard is similar to the Bond franchise, especially in this case in the clumsy title (abbreviated for British release to 'Die Hard 4.0') The outrageous stunts, and the parkour-practising baddie, are also competing with the most recent Bond.
So the improbable plot is that an ex technical security adviser to the FBI, having had his suggestions for post-9/11 essential overhaul of key systems ignored, and his career abruptly ended, commits a heist on the whole of America to prove a point. And to steal all the money on Wall Street. He stages a 'fire sale', which is an immobilisation of all essential systems - transport, communications, power - and then exploits the panic and misguided back-up systems to access secure financial information.
But, as with Bond films, the plot, and the implausibility of it (apparently one geek with a laptop can access any system in America instantly) are beside the point. The cast is one superbrain baddie (Timothy Olyphant), his geeky assistants, including a high-kicking Asian girlfriend, and Willis and one good geek. The fun is in the very inventive chases, Willis's strong-chinned determination, and completely dumb stunts. I think it pays off.
1 comment:
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