The fourth Die Hard movie. Trailer's here.
There's a never-ending rumor that Fox will cut this flick to get a PG-13 rating, rather than the "R" the other three films in this series have. The people posting on IMDB talk like that's a done deal.
I've heard it as more than a rumor, and that to keep that rating, there won't be a "Yippee-Kay-ay, Mother******" line.
According to the official site, it's rated PG-13. Even though the current TV ads have it as "not yet rated." It must be official, as the MPAA ratings and all connected designs are copyrighted.
I've heard it as more than a rumor, and that to keep that rating, there won't be a "Yippee-Kay-ay, Mother******" line.
I never would have believed all of the above. Especially since the ads on the sides of MTA buses have "Yippee-Kay-Ay Mo--" and then "John 6:27." Which would make you believe that the line is in the movie.
Is it going to be set in New Hampshire?
The title suggests so.
Several PG-13 movies use the F-word, usually they will let 1 or 2 slide. Armageddon springs to mind, I usually could come up with more, but I'm kinda drunk right now.
Reviews are surprisingly good. Here's one now.
And another.
Spoiler: According to the review, McClane does say his "Yippee-Kay-Yay" line, but only once. Thank you, PG-13.
I must say, the forth edition of the Die Hard series was incredible! The action was great, the plot was believable, and the cast was pretty good. Unfortunately, the number of physical and technological impossibilities are numerous; plus I didn't really get the John McClain(?) feel as I did in the previous movies.
I'm going to mostly stay away from the computer stuff in this movie, as it's not my cup of tea, but I would bet at least half of what went on was not probable. One thing I'll mention though is that scene with the F-35 jet. For one thing, the US isn't using the JSF (joint-strike fighter) yet, the contract was just approved a couple years ago, and I don't think the pilot did anything that was DoD approved.
While John was killing his way to the top bad-guy, he had opportunity to obtain other weapons along the way but stuck with his side-arm the whole movie. That's not necessarily a nit but when people are coming at you with assault weapons I would think it's common sense to at least even the odds.
A tribute to the first movie: when the agent who was driving them to DHS headquarters he identified himself as Agent Johnson, and John repeats it. For those who recall, the two head FBI agents were Johnsons, "no relation."
A good flick, not quite as good as the third IMO but still worth the ticket price. I have many more nits but I'll hold back because it was one of the better action movies I've seen in a while.
Entertaining film that doesn't waste time.
Timothy Olyphant really was only so-so as a villain; I'm fairly certain Hans Gruber could have eaten him for lunch and then spat him out again for tea. However, Maggie Q was GREAT as his chief lieutenant.
I was also impressed by Mary Elizabeth Winstead as Lucy--she's quietly establishing an impressive filmography.
Wow. I LOVED this film. It was AWESOME! It was just so much fun! It was way better than the third one, and interestingly, whereas I had high expectations for Ratatouille, but was slightly disappointed by that film, I had rather lower expectations for this one, and it WAY SURPASSED THEM!!!! Way to go Bruce! You da man! NEW JERSEY RULES!!!!
Um, okay, I thought the beginning of the film was set in New York, since that's where McClane works. but then (IIRC) he and Bowman run to see if the Capitol is okay after they see the video of it destructing, and McClane is able to get to West Viriginia quite quickly. So they were DC all this time? What was McClane doing there? (I must've missed something.)
Okay, so when McClane and Matt are at the electrical "hub", they're on the fourth floor. McClane gets knocked out the window by Mai, and falls several stories, gets into an SUV, and then returns to the fourth floor in it? How did he do this?
Okay, the second I saw McClane ram Mai in that SUV, and saw her flip over onto the hood, I figured, "Well, that's it for her". Then, in the next shot or two, we see her very much alive, and she subsequently is able to again engage McClane in fisticuffs (and footicuffs). Um.........what? No. Uh-uh. Not happening. Sorry, but I don't think so.
After McClane kills Russo, he picks up Russo's walkie talkie, and basically announces to Gabriel, who's holding his daughter hostage, that he's still alive, is on the premises, and is coming for him. Typical movie scene stuff, but a really, really, really, really, STUPID thing for McClane to do.
Um......since when do Joint Strike Fighter jets have hover capability? If they really wanted this scene, they should've used a Harrier jump jet, like in True Lies.
Apparently, they've had since......forever. I was going to double check with Wikipedia before posting, but I forgot to do so until just now, and apparently, F-35B's do have STOVL (short-takeoff and vertical-landing) capability. I honestly had no idea of that. That's embarrassing.
LN: I thought the beginning of the film was set in New York, since that's where McClane works.
John was checking in on Lucy, since she hasn't been answering her phone, and she's a student at Rutgers. He gets the call to pick up that hacker and take him to DC. Why a NYC cop was asked to pick up a guy in Jersey just because his car was traced there I don't know.
LN: McClane [...] gets into an SUV, and then returns to the fourth floor in it?
There's a quick scene of him driving up the parking garage in the SUV. However, I highly doubt the mainframe of any power plant would be so easily accessable by a vehicle. What I want to know is when the natural gas pipelines were all routed to that facilty, what caused them to explode, and why would a power plant need natural gas?
LN: "Well, that's it for her". Then, in the next shot or two, we see her very much alive, and she subsequently is able to again engage McClane...
That display was at the top of my physical impossibilities list. A couple other henchmen must've trained with that bomber from Casino Royale because they were jumping around like he did, or 'spider-boy' as John aptly put. While many of these feats are not impossible, the scene in the air conditioning room was because all the surfaces had frost on them.
LN: apparently, F-35B's do have STOVL capability... That's embarrassing.
Don't beat yourself up Luigi. The design is only a few years old but they are supposed to eventually replace the US's aging fighter fleet, and the Harrier as well which has probably caused as many accidents as it has successful attacks. It looked a little weird on screen but the STOVL shown is exactly how it's supposed to work, which is why I doubted the pilot going under the overpass.
It was said that the FBI was shorthanded, because all their personnel were scattered due to the holiday, and that they needed to ask the NYPD for help.
Jersey doesn't have any experienced detectives? In an emergency the Bureau would call their agents back, just like police and military. I doubt there were that many who were too far away to respond.
The Bureau's cybercrime headquarters would not have to evacuate from an anthrax alarm because it would use a closed ventilation system; plus the multi-level/building alarm should've tipped off the fact that it was a hoax.
Maybe it's because the NYPD is the largest police force in the country, and have more manpower? Yeah, that was a weak point.
I'll give the film a pass on the one henchman's athleticism because for the majority of the film, it is just that one guy who does most of the jumping (he is the shooter at the opening who jumps on the car, jumps out of the copter, and is jumping around in the fan room). So I can accept that he, like the bomber in Casino Royale, was a "free climber" or whatever it's called.
Maggie Q's invincibility is a little less realistic--if she had more time to react, I would have accepted she could have jumped enough to avoid getting smushed, but the way it's filmed, it's like Bruce hits her head on and she shrugs it off.
I actually enjoyed this flick- good action film, lot of fun, cheesy bad guy. A few new stunt sequences to break the mold of the "tried and tired". Slightly better than DH3 IMO, but without Samuel Jackson's awesome presence.
As a Rutgers alum, I'd love to know where that opening scene took place. I've never seen that building on any of the Rutgers' campuses. Good thing they didn't ever say that Lucy was a student- there's no way that place would have been student housing!!
The Feds don't need to "call in favors", as McClane's supervisor put it. If they call a local police force to apprehend a suspect, the locals do it.
As has been said, there was no reason for a NYCPD detective to handle this job. The Camden NJ PD would have handled it- or the Camden County Sheriff, or the NJ State Police.
During the gunfight at Farrel's apartment, McClane switched mags 4 times. But he only had 2 mag pouches in his shoulder holster. In his defense, he only fired 5-6 rounds out of one of the mags before switching, so he might have reloaded with a half-loaded mag.
Especially after the big gunfight at Farrel's apartment, why did McClane take Farrel to DC? Why not take him to the NY FBI field office, and put him into federal custody right away?
Even after all those Nationwide Insurance commercials, that bus-cab accident in front of McClane's car scared the snot outta me.
I guess the FBI trains it's shooters at the Imperial Stormtrooper firing range, as they can't hit a hovering helicopter, yet the sniper in the chopper can pick them off within 3 seconds of them being exposed.
While I enjoyed the chopper v. police car chase, I'd imagine that those nearly-empty side roads McClane is using would be flooded with commuters trying to get around the traffic accidents.
When the baddies routed traffic into both ends of the tunnel at McClane's borrowed police car, and shut off the overhead lights, not one of the cars in the tunnel had it's headlights on. Almost every vehicle made today has automatic headlights.
I wondered why Gabriel parked his rig so far from the Woodlawn facility for the beginning of the scheme? They couldn't access the info at Woodlawn without the stage one and two portions of the plan, so what difference would it have made if he'd parked a mile away?
Only 2 security guards on duty at the power station that supplies power to 1/3 of the country? Uh huh.
Good thing that giant gas explosion petered out right when it hit the van that McClane used to hide.
So Warlock's home would be "the one with the lights on"? No one else has ever gone to Home Depot and bought a portable generator?
And another thing...
Lucy gets stuck in an elevator as the power goes down on the east coast. Just before the power goes out, she doesn't seem terribly concerned, despite the fact that this happens several hours after 2 terrorist TV broadcasts and news coverage of the breakdown of basic services.
How did Gabriel get Lucy to the Woodlawn facility so fast? She was in Jersey, McClane was in Baltimore.
When McClane and Farrel arrive at the Woodlawn facility, they pull the car off the road and follow a fence covered in razor wire up a hill. The scene cuts to Gabriel and Lucy, then we see McClane and Farrel running down a flight of stair on the other side of the fence. How did they get over the fence?
As McClane searches for Gabriel at Woodlawn, he opens a door into a cylindrical room with a frozen catwalk over a giant paper shredder, with no door on the opposite side. He naturally decides to go in, even though there's no other way out of the room. I called this the "homage to the Death Star" fight scene.
During the fight in the cold room, the baddie climbed walls and swung on pipes ala Jackie Chan. How did he keep his bare hands from freezing to the ice-covered metal? Remember what happens when moist, bare skin touches cold metal in "The Christmas Story"?
As McClane drives the rig, we hear the engine rev and idle through gear shifts several times while McClane has both hands on the wheel. Either he's just pumping the clutch for no reason or the sound FX guys screwed up.
McClane gets shot in the upper shoulder by a single round from a sub-gun wielding baddie. All movie long the baddies emptied full mags at McClane- why get economical with ammo now?
Had McClane shot himself in the shoulder, he'd likely have broken his collarbone or punctured a lung. Either way, it's unlikely he would have been able to lift his right arm. But he does so several times after shooting himself.
Sorry, but if McClane had been shot through the shoulder, he wouldn't have been sitting on the back step of an ambulance with his arm in a sling. He'd be flat on his back and fighting for his life.
"Would-have-been-great" alternate ending: McClane walks into the warehouse and shoots the computer geek with a round from a sub-gun. Gabriel holds a gun to Lucy's head. McClane drops the sub-gun and puts his hands atop his head. Some smart-alec banter between McClane and Gabriel. McClane then reaches to his back, pulls his pistol from hiding, taped across his back. Draws a bead on Gabriel and... gets plugged in the shoulder by the other baddie.
MikeC: I'll give the film a pass on the one henchman's athleticism because [...] it is just that one guy who does most of the jumping.
For some reason I thought they were different guys, thanks Mike!
ObiJuan: Good thing they didn't ever say that Lucy was a student
Are you sure? I could swear somebody said she was; John perhaps?
MJF: During the gunfight at Farrel's apartment, McClane switched mags 4 times. But he only had 2 mag pouches in his shoulder holster.
Some people carry extra mags in pockets too but yeah, he didn't get many shots out before reloading.
ObiJuan: When the baddies routed traffic [...] and shut off the overhead lights, not one of the cars in the tunnel had it's headlights on.
As usual, you've managed to point out something that I've either missed or forgot about, and this is both, nice work. I forgot about daytime running lights but why didn't anybody turn their's on? That should've been instantanious.
Some people carry extra mags in pockets too but yeah, he didn't get many shots out before reloading.- inblackestnight
Good point. My initial reaction was that he was off duty and in Jersey, so there'd be no reason to carry more mags than his shoulder rig could hold. But this IS John McClane we're talking about- he probably stuffs extra rounds in his socks.
As usual, you've managed to point out something that I've either missed or forgot about...- inblackestnight
Thanks for the kudos. Funny, I haven't posted anything to Nitcentral for months. I'm really surprised at how much I posted on this film- I usually get nits during a second viewing. Phil's wonderful website has conditioned me to pay attention, something that 12 years of public schooling couldn't do!!
Region 1 DVD comes on November 20. Region 2 users get theirs October 29. More here
Got the two-disc set. It contains both PG-13 and unrated versions of the film. Running time listed for both is 129 minutes. There is commentary from Bruce Willis and director Len Wiseman. Also, a downloadable digital copy of the movie is on disc 2. And, there's a ticket for the movie Hitman in the pack as well. (The Hitman ticket expires 12/12/07.)
This flick premieres on Cinemax on July 5 10 p.m. With more showings throughout July.
Obi-Juan: Only 2 security guards on duty at the power station that supplies power to 1/3 of the country? Uh huh.
I thought there were three initially, then John and Farrel sees a couple more dead ones when they get there, I believe they're in different uniforms?
ObiJuan: Good thing they didn't ever say that Lucy was a student
Me: Are you sure? I could swear somebody said she was; John perhaps?
I suppose it doesn't matter whether it was stated she was a student or not, you were referring to the building not looking familiar.
At the end when Farrel is getting his wounds tended to it seemed like he had never heard of morphine before. It's possible he was high or in shock, though it didn't seem like it the rest of the conversation, but I find it hard to believe that an intelligent person in his mid-twenties would be so out of touch to not have at least some knowledge of morphine.
Twice in this movie we see a McClane gain control over an opponent's sidearm enough to shoot them in the foot while the gun is still in it's holster. Aside from maybe pocket pistols and ones for single-action relvolvers, I don't think a holster has been made where you can acquire access to the trigger for at least a couple decades.
Still a great movie! I think I've changed my mind about liking With a Vengence more than this one.
When John was driving that police car back at the helicopter 'spider boy' was shooting at him most of the way but when it shows the exit to the tunnel there is no helicopter to be seen, and there is no way he would be able to hit that car from the angle he was at.
The scene where Gabriel et al were about to take over the easter hub power plant, Middleton, WV I think, the computer guy who lives a bit longer said they already had control of the middle and western hub. If that's the case why was the east coast the only place loosing power and did Tom really have that kind of many power?
Me: did Tom really have that kind of many power?
That's supposed to be man power and obviously Tom had a pretty good-sized team at his disposal. Upon re-watching this particular scene, the map of the US that had all the power shutting off in the easat did indeed show no power in the central and western US, but why didn't the FBI or anybody else mention the rest of the US? How did those guys get there; were they apprehended afterword; was there really only one cop and one hacker having success figuring out anything...?
Three times by three different people was the word crucified used in regards to what happened to Thomas Gabriel: Bowman, Warlock, and Tom himself. Did the hackers of the US have a meeting and decide that this was the term to use in such a situation, instead of the several other ones?
Tom asked the French henchman, aka spiderboy, to kill McClane and he'd get Maya's(?) (Maggie Q) cut and he leaves to do so, but moments later when they're talking on the radios he's leaning against the wall, at least I think that's him.
Spider-boy is shooting at John driving at him from the tunnel, sees the car hit an incline and come flying at the helocopter, so he jumps out. After he rolls off of a van, and away from the chopper wreckage, you can clearly see his headphones laying on the street, yet when he stands up he takes off the headset.
Thomas' team members used silencers quite a bit for some reason. Sure there were a couple times where they came in handy but for the most part they were not needed, and may have gave them away that they weren't who they said they were.
Matt Farrell hits the front bumper of a BMW (7-series, IIRC) with a trash can and sets off the front airbags. No way can that happen. Airbags are designed to deploy at a collision into a fixed barrier at eight to 12 mph. Hitting the bumper with a trash can won't cut it.