Die Hard 4.0 - John McClane in the MCU

Okay, so my title is a little bit misleading - Bruce Willis' tough-talking, no-nonsense New York cop will never fight Thanos alongside Captain America and Iron Man.  The reason I mentioned Marvel movies is because I always see 'Die Hard 4.0' as a 'superhero movie.' The original 'Die Hard' film was about an ordinary man who was flawed and just so happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.  When terrorists took over a large building, he was the only one who could stop them.  It's wasn't just an action film, but a tense, claustrophobic thriller.  However, as the sequels piled in, the action got more and more overblown and it became less 'Die Hard' and more 'Die Impossible.' In short, it's probably easier to kill the entire Avengers line-up than one - supposedly normal - human.  Now, that may be a criticism, but then I quite like Marvel superhero movies, so I just go with it.

Sometimes 'Die Hard 4.0' is also known as 'Live Free or Die Hard.' If you're wondering what that means then don't expect an answer here.  It simply marks the beginning of the film-makers' desire to start naming the films using 'cool-sounding' phrases that don't actually make any sense.  Therefore, I prefer 'Die Hard 4.0' (what followed, aka 'A Good Day to Die Hard' is even less fathomable!).

This time round poor ol' McClane simply gets a call to escort a young man to the FBI one night.  This results in him (eventually) destroying a helicopter with a car and taking out an American fighter jet while armed only with a truck.  Yes, the 'Die Hard' franchise has progressed to that from one man with a gun and no shoes.  Therefore, if you're willing to accept this mega change in the way the story is told, you'll have an absolute blast.  I see this film more like a Bond film (pre Daniel Craig, of course), rather than a super-serious, ultra-realistic spy-thriller (ala Bourne).  It's got so much overblown action that it's the perfect film to watch while munching popcorn (if anyone still eats popcorn at home while watching various popular online streaming services).

The trick is simply to suspend all disbelief to enjoy this.  You'll have to just accept that Bruce Willis is - once again - in the wrong place at the wrong time (possibly making him the unluckiest man alive in the process!).  You'll also have to accept how a bunch of cyber-terrorists trying to bring down the American economy also directly happens to threaten McClane's daughter (after his wife was put in the firing line in the first two and his son in the - next - fifth instalment).  And, if you can do that and put up with Bruce Willis' trademark smirk and array of one-liners, then you should have a lot of fun in this.  Big.  Dumb.  Fun.  Besides, it's a worthy of Oscars if you compare it to what came next in Russia alongside Jai Courtney.

8/10 The Force is definitely strong with this one