Die Hard 4.0

As Rajnikanth scorches screens across the country, a moment please for this ageless hero. Almost two decades after the first Die Hard, 12 years to the last one, Detective John McClane is back, surviving bullets, dodging fighter planes and missiles, bringing down helicopters with cars, telling people as it is and warning the villain who has shut down the entire United States of America that he is coming to 8220;kick his a8221;.

And who says he can8217;t?

As Willis strides on to the screen, it8217;s as if time has never passed, that the reluctant hero constantly caught in national crisis had never been away. From a hostage crisis in a building to a city in the grip of a madman and now to a country on the brink of a disaster, McClane8217;s canvas has been widening. And still Willis, effortlessly, slips the shoes back on.

Yippe Ki Yay8230;!

The filmmakers underline that McClane is the old-school hero, where if one has a gun, that8217;s the plan. He doesn8217;t understand computers, never felt the need to, and up against a villain who8217;s hacking into all the systems which practically run America, doesn8217;t bother about the niceties. His logic is simple: kill the man, kill his evil designs. And that includes driving a truck into a room that controls all of East Coast8217;s power supply.

It8217;s an oft-emphasised juxtaposition 8212; The Everyman McClane against Clever Men Who Know Too Much And Are Not Afraid To Tell You So. To everyone who has ever had words thrown at them to which they could only weakly shake their head, or been frustrated by authority, he is the man for you.

Those tired of the computer gimmickry and hi-tech wizardry that passes for movie-making now will be equally welcoming.

Sadly, there is no Alan Rickman or Jeremy Irons to take on McClane this time. What we have is a sartorially perfect Thomas Gabriel Olyphant, who shows hardly a sweat patch in his silk shirt while McClane is again, practically, down to a vest. Gabriel has an interesting sidekick, but she is kicked to the side fairly quickly.

On a good day, McClane has men like Gabriel for breakfast. Though he insists that he doesn8217;t enjoy doing it. Asked why he continues, McClane shrugs: 8220;Someone has got to do it8230; And right now I don8217;t see anyone around.8221; As Sivaji would have himself said, 8220;COO8230;L8221;