The same cannot be said of "Die Hard 4.0" -- a decent entry in the genre that probably stretches the limits of credulity to the breaking point in every scene.  I still had a good time watching John McClane (Bruce Willis) return to foil the bad guys, but I never fully released the thought that I was watching a movie.

In this current instalment, McClane is sent to escort a young computer hacker from his electronic lair back to the police station.  Upon arrival at Matt's (Justin Long) apartment, they are both greeted by a hail of gunfire.  Naturally, they manage to escape and head back to headquarters.

Elsewhere, a team of bad guy super-hackers are systematically shutting down the entire country's computer network.  First the internet goes down.  Then television and radio airwaves are commandeered.  And finally, electricity and gas resources are cut off.  This process is referred to as a "fire sale".  The team is led by Thomas Gabriel (Timothy Olyphant), an ex government employee who is resentful that his security warnings were never heeded and that he was run out of Washington with his name tarnished forever.  This is his revenge.

So McClane and his temporary wacky sidekick, Matt, navigate the panicked streets hunting down the bad guys, sniffing out the plan, hacking and re-hacking.  It is all a little incomprehensible and silly... but nevertheless energetic and exciting.

On more than one occasion, "Live Free or Die Hard" committed the cardinal sin of serious action movies... it made my eyes roll.  Consider the scene where McClane drives a car through a maze of traffic, inside a darkened tunnel, only to jump from the car at the last minute and have it strike a median, fly into the air and crash into the bad guy's helicopter.  That scene is almost as ludicrous as the one with his pinpoint aim with a fire-hydrant.  But you haven't seen anything until the final stand-off between a 16-wheeler and an F-17 fighter jet.

I would have liked a little more conversation and a little less action in this movie.  Mary Elizabeth Winstead is completely underused as McClane's estranged daughter, Lucy.  Justin Long and Bruce Willis are restricted to one liners and cheesy exchanges.  Nothing really smacks of substance.  It is all smoke and mirrors while we await another insane stunt or explosion.

Yet, with all of those complaints, I still had a reasonably enjoyable time.  "DH4" is fast paced and spectacular.  If it had been the first film involving John McClane, I may not be recommending it.  However, because I already knew this character from the previous three movies, I forgave the lack of character arc or development just enough to care.  This fourquel gets a mild pass from me, but it doesn't hold a candle to the original and only vaguely approaches the entertainment levels of the two sequels.