Bastille Day (aka The Take) (2016)

Apparently filmed before the Charlie Hebdo massacre but released after, this action movie is loaned a gritty political realism through its Paris setting, a city that in the movie experiences an act of terrorism and a chaotic aftermath as multiple agencies descend on the city to chase the pickpocket assumed responsible, but that the gritty realism was unintended becomes clear as the pickpocket and Idris Elba's CIA operative form a Lethal Weapon pair of mismatched crime fighters who run around Paris dodging bullets until a really not very sensible Die Hard siege ending.

★★☆☆☆

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Under Siege 2 Dark Territory (1995)

A hostage situation in the Nakatomi Plaza was the first iteration of the Die Hard formula, since used in an airport (Die Hard 2), in a boys school (Toy Soldiers), aboard a boat (Under Siege), on a plane (Air Force One, Non-stop), in The White House (Olympus Has Fallen), in a neo-nazi clubhouse (Green Room) and here, in an Under Siege sequel about as cinematic as a MacGyver episode, the formula is applied to a transAmerican train and it is again up to Steven Seagal's unruffled former Navy Seal cook and his niece (a pre-comedy career Katherine Heigel) to sneak around and thwart the bad guys' diabolical nuclear plans.

★★☆☆☆

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Die Hard (1988)

Ever since Hans Gruber and his 'terrorists' faced off with John McClane in the Nakatomi Plaza, action movies have tried to emulate the 80s action classic Die Hard to the extent a formula developed: add to one hostage situation an everyman hero, a droll baddie who spends a scene pretending to be a hostage, then mix in a smarmy, self-interested double-crossing hostage who gets his comeuppance; among the hostages, have an insider love-interest, while outside there is an out-of-their-depth assistant; and make the authorities, the police and government agencies, powerless; but despite the efforts of many copycats, no action flick has bettered Die Hard's formula - not even its four sequels.

★★★★★

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Air Force One (1997)

Jack Ryan eventually became President in Tom Clancy's series of books, and Harrison Ford who played Jack Ryan in two movies went on to become President in this popcorn action adventure - but why not as Jack Ryan is something to ponder as you otherwise mindlessly watch terrorists hijack Air Force One only to have their diabolical plans undone by the most winning, wholesome, fist-fighting, plane-flying, terrorist-trouncing do-gooder US President since, well, Jack Ryan.

★★★☆☆

CINECAL: ONE SENTENCE REVIEW

Green Room (2015)

Underdogs fighting back in seige situations is a genre that was heralded by Die Hard in 1988 with boys-own adventures like Toy Soldiers and Under Siege following suit in the 90s but this 2016 entry about a punk rock band caught up with a murderous neo Nazi gang opts for horror over adventure - the band members bear weapons, not MacGyver-style smarts, and in the absence of plot, the audience is asked to remain interested in 90-minutes of weapon choices (fluorescent tubes, box knives, vicious dogs), the bullet count (he has three bullets left, she has two...), and the difficult task of keeping track of who has and who hasn't been violently hacked to death.

★★☆☆☆

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Olympus Has Fallen (2013)

The US President is held hostage in a White House overtaken by North Korean terrorists and only John McClane -- I mean, only Gerard Butler's Mike Banning -- can save the day, in this oh-so-lame Die Hard ripoff that steals entire scenes but lacks the humour, charisma, sense, and suspense of the action movie classic.

★☆☆☆☆

CINECAL: ONE SENTENCE REVIEW

Non-Stop (2014)

Liam Neeson does his Taken tough guy act again in this ridiculous but fun Die Hard-esque action thriller set aboard an international flight which has found itself at the mercy of a mysterious...phone texter!

★★★☆☆

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