This two hour and 10 minute film delivers the action and excitement while boosting this action film series and its famous hero who’s at the wrong place at the wrong time. It’s rare to see a film series take a step down in their ratings (the previous three were rated R), but the change doesn’t really affect how this Die Hard installment still delivers the goods amid a national technology attack on July 4th weekend. The film’s entertaining tone is nearly perfect and the stunts are amazingly realistic as special effects blend seamlessly into the non-stop action.

Bruce Willis (like Jack Nicholson) has the rare luxury of being loved by audiences even after several misfires (e.g. Perfect Stranger) because of his wider acting range. Filmmakers capture the same “analog” versus “digital” theme recently seen in Ocean’s 13 as McClane uses mostly weapons hardware (and then some), leaving the computer software work to other characters. Willis plays this reluctant hero well and turns McClane comically maniacal when the constant barrage of attacks begins. "All you have to do is go pick up a kid from Jersey and drive him down to DC, how hard can it be?!" he says.

That kid is Matt Farrell, played by Justin Long (Dodgeball, Galaxy Quest and those funny PC/Mac television commercials) who makes a great impression and bridges the generation gap for audiences and the computer gap for McClane. The sidekick cliché might have hurt the film, but his humor and computer expertise help as he dives into a new world of insane heroism. This high-tech wiz, an important player in this disaster, has an obvious dependence on McClane when things get rough. “Why are you so calm? Have you done that kinda stuff before?” he says to McClane.

Timothy Olyphant (Catch and Release) plays the high tech antagonist Thomas Gabriel with some resourceful gusto, but doesn’t have that menacing presence (not even close to Alan Rickman’s Hans Gruber in the first film). Olyphant keeps a “lightweight” villain status, which matches the film’s tone and opens up some 'insult the bad guy' comedy for McClane and even Matt. The plot provides some interesting political and security issues as Gabriel attacks the U.S. government’s infrastructure; the fast-paced screenplay was written by Mark Bomback and David Marconi (Enemy of the State).