Everything I’ve learned about terror attacks, I’ve learned from watching the Die Hard franchise.
I know that when terrorists perpetrate elaborately orchestrated attacks on the U.S., they can expect a few things. First, there will be some bureaucrat in charge of the local PD or federal law enforcement agency who will initially respond arrogantly in the face of overwhelming cicumstantial evidence and deny to take any actions which might easily and immediately halt the terror attack. Thank God for that, because if these guys did have any common sense early on, they’d extinguish the terror plot and we’d be left without a Bruce Willis movie. Clearly though, we can’t count on any of the people who are supposed to protect us to be the first line of defense.
The terrorists also know this, and it allows their schemes to unfold in highly dramatic waves of attack. First, send an unmistakable warning, which will be mistaken. Next, knock out the authorities’ infrastructure. At this point, the good guys will scramble to actions which play into the hands of the bad guys. Terrorists also always have an inside man or former employee of whatever agency is investigating them. Finally, as terrorists’ actions become increasingly ruthless and they show complete disregard for human life, we ultimately find out that all terrorists are motivated by money, not ideology or power. The one comfort that keeps us all from heading to doomsday bunkers in Montana is that terrorists never plan on a tough guy falling into the wrong place at the wrong time.
And so we enter the fourth (or is it fifth) movie in the Die Hard series. Formula aside, I think I enjoyed this Die Hard almost as much as the original. It doesn’t have the raw edge, shock value, or desperation that the first one had, but this might have been the most entertaining. The script is faithful to John McClain’s character without spewing too many catchphrases (although you’ll find one or two familiar ones), and it shows a pleasant evolution. All in all I can say that I would go see a lot more sequels if all of them were this good.
*********NO MAJOR SPOILERS, ONLY GENERAL DISCUSSION OF THE BASIC MOVIE PLOT *****************