Die Hard (1988)

Celebrated as one of the greatest action films of all time, most people are familiar with the phenomenal success of the cult Christmas blockbuster, Die Hard. John McClane is a New York City cop who just wants to spend Christmas with his family in Los Angeles. Upon arrival he gets pulled into a terrorist takeover at his wife’s office Christmas party, and must fight for everyone’s survival, aided by the outside help of L.A. cop Sgt. Powell.

The film serves not only as career defining performances for Willis and Rickman, who made his feature film debut as the brilliant Hans Gruber, but also for director John McTiernan, who has several notable titles to his name. Bonnie Bedelia, Reginald Veljohnson, and Paul Gleeson star amongst others, in a finely chosen cast.

Despite the 80s hair and clothes, and a few minor hiccoughs, Die Hard remains as exciting, eccentric, and entertaining as it did 20 years ago.

McTiernan does a fantastic job in achieving a perfect balance between thrilling action, hilarious dialogue, and some fantastic character relationships, which make the audience really care about the characters. It is set aside from the usual high budget low quality action films by the cleverly but subtly layered plot, which will keep you gripped to the screen for the full 120 minutes. We want to see how the events that take place will affect the character’s relationships, and despite McClane and Sgt. Powell having never met, it feels as if they’re lifelong friends.

Visually and technically the film is still as hard hitting as it was upon its release. The sound and special effects and stunning, and coupled with some brilliant camera work, there are no complaints at all. Whilst the storyline isn’t a masterpiece in realism, and the performances won’t win any Oscars, these factors don’t take away from the experience, and the film is still thoroughly enjoyable.

Die Hard is a landmark in movie making, and if you haven’t already seen it, you’re missing out. Packed full of amazing characters, hilarious dialogue, explosive action, and a diverse kind of festive cheer, Die Hard is the ultimate action film.

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest (2009)

Following on from where The Girl Who Played with Fire left off, Lisbeth Salander is airlifted to hospital, after being shot in the head. As she slowly recovers, she must deal with the impending court case she faces for her numerous crimes, with help from journalist Mikael Blomkvist, who has also become a target in this politically driven conspiracy.

Concluding the Millennium trilogy, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest is adapted from the bestseller by Stieg Larsson. The cast and director remain unchanged with Rapace and Nyqvist reprising their respective roles as Lisbeth and Mikael, with the addition of Erika Berger as Lisbeth’s cool and collected lawyer.

Despite many welcome changes from the previous film, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest fails once again live up to expectations, and instead of a dark, thrilling, and heart pounding conclusion, we are left with slightly disappointing finale.

The series takes another violent swerve from the successful formula employed in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo’, this time relying on a dialogue driven narrative to move the story forward. Whereas this can be tedious in places, it is pleasing to see a level of realism make a triumphant return, despite a few hiccoughs here and there. The shock value has also been severely reduced, but makes a nice cameo in the form of an industrial nail gun in the films climax.

Where the film truly loses its value though, is through the feeling of insubstantiality the viewer gets at the denouement. The film feels dissatisfying for 150 minutes of viewing, feeling dragged out in places, and unfulfilling in others, despite a promising opening. The most prominent saving grace is Rapace’s stellar performance as Lisbeth, which is easily the most consistent aspect the trilogy has to offer, creating one of the most interesting protagonists of the decade.

In summary, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest is too inconsistent within itself to really make an impact, feeling slow and clunky in places. There are some things which will please viewers after the action & adventure feel of its predecessor, but also aspects which take away from the viewing experience. Hopefully David Fincher will be able to find more consistency when he remakes the trilogy with the first instalment due out this year.

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆

The Girl Who Played with Fire (2009)

Subsequent to the events that transpired in the previous instalment, computer hacker Lisbeth Salander is accused of three murders, whilst magazine journalist Mikael Blomkvist attempts to uncover a human trafficking ring with his colleagues, whilst frantically trying to prove Lisbeth’s innocence.

The Girl Who Played with Fire is the second chapter of the Millennium trilogy, adapted from the literary phenomenon from Swedish author, Stieg Larsson. Both Noomi Rapace and Michael Nyqvist return as the two protagonists, Lisbeth and Mikael, but this time round Daniel Alfredson takes on the role of director, in place of Niels Arden Oplev, who helmed previous instalment, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.

Unfortunately the film does not resonate the brilliance it predecessor did, being less believable, and not as foreboding, albeit the ever-present violence, sex, and rape.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo was one of the best films of 2009, and gave a fresh if not visceral renovation to the modern thriller. This is where the Girl Who Played with Fire differs, in that it lapses into an inconsistent and unbelievable follow up. The trademark shock makes a triumphant return, but is used incorrectly, and in some cases unnecessarily. On top of this, the new additions to the cast are ever so slightly ridiculous, such as a hulking hit man, who must have got lost on the way to the latest James Bond film auditions.

Coupled with an inconsistent narrative, and an ending which disappoints, The Girl Who Played with Fire is a far less superior part to the trilogy. The film has a tendency to drag as well, and magazine journalist Mikael doesn’t meet our bike riding, bisexual, computer hacker Lisbeth until the end of the film, their stories feeling awkwardly separate. On the other hand, it was interesting to delve further into Lisbeth’s back-story, and the film does have entertaining moments to it, as well as a handful of decent thrills.

In terms of how the film is shot, there are no complaints really, which is by far the best thing it has going for it. The shots are nicely mixed, occasionally throwing us into the fray, and sometimes making us watch from a distance, cleverly manipulating how we perceive the film. It is also worth noting the performance of Rapace is once again dazzling.

Overall The Girl Who Played with Fire is hit and miss. It feels rushed, and thus suffers the consequences, as opposed to living up to the expectations of its predecessor. It’s not all bad though, and certainly packs a punch when it wants to, but unfortunately, not as much as it should.

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆