Willis still goes strong

Released in the US as "Live Free or Die Hard" and as "Die Hard 4.0" in Thailand and the rest of Asia, this is easily the summer's best action movie. Leave "Transformers" to easily excitable tots, this one's for the big boys meant to be enjoyed on the big screen.

There are plenty of stunts as Bruce Willis revives his role as streetwise cop John McClane for the fourth time.

This sequel about a digital attack on America (on July 4, of course) is probably the best since the 1988 original by John McTiernan.

Putting together Willis and Len Wiseman, the crafty, slick director of two "Underworld" movies, was dangerous - the result is a roller-coaster ride not seen since Tom Cruise and Jamie Foxx drove around Los Angeles in "Collateral".

The first "Die Hard" was excellent because it introduced a great fiend, played to the teeth by Alan Rickman. In this one we have an equally delicious villain, played by Timothy Olymphant, the seething, intense sheriff in HBO's "Deadwood" series.

Playing Willis' unwilling sidekick, thanks to his computer hacking skills, is Justin Long, whom film fans may recall as Lindsay Lohan's bumbling boyfriend in "Herbie Fully Loaded".

The Bangkok version has been edited down so there's no strong language, which was quite noticeable in the first "Die Hard".

Nothing much is a surprise for movie fans in this prudish, politically correct world, which is why they will have no trouble relating to why hackers hate the system so much. While the censors may have toned down the expletives, they really could not do much to the barrage of gunfire, explosions and flying bodies that sends the body count through the roof.

The scene where a jetfighter blasts a city expressway will no doubt shock viewers. Prior to 9/11, it would have been unthinkable that a trained US Air Force pilot could do that at home, but now in 2007, we know that times have really changed for the worst.

by hanuman