DIE HARD!

In my opinion, the original Die Hard is as close to a perfect action film as you can get, embodying much of what Hollywood does best. Almost every time I stumble across it on cable I end up sucked in, watching until the next commercial break. And I own a DVD copy. Still, it's a perfect storm of character (Willis does what he does best and Alan Rickman is a brilliant villain), setting (a claustrophic business tower) and over-the-top action. The script is reasonably smart, the direction (John McTiernan) is inventive and impeccably paced and even the humor works. Sure, we could have done without the Twinkie-snarfing beat cop, but it was the best popcorn flick to come along in some time.

The sequels have been... well, increasingly disappointing. Die Harder had an idiot storyline but Renny Harlin knows how to shoot action and has a wickedly sadistic streak, letting the film live up to its title. It never achieves the awesomeness of the first but gives it a noble try.

Die Harder With A Vengeance mostly just sucked. The set up had promise and I tend to love anything Jeremy Irons is in... but the film couldn't pull its shit together, crapping out big time in its final act.

Now comes the fourth Die Hard flick and with its PG-13 rating (no more "Yippeee-ki-yay, Motherfucker"), terrorist plotline and varied locales it looks like any of a dozen recent action flicks. Maybe I'll be proven wrong but I don't have high hopes. Unfortunately, I haven't been assigned to review it so if I want to see it I'll have to shell out $9 and see it with the hoi polloi.

So, why am I dedicating so much space to a mindless action film series? Because I came across this great music video that links footage from the films to one of the best fanboy rock tunes I've heard... well, maybe ever (not that I've heard much). It's worth it if only for the chorus. Enjoy!