Joe Quesada Explains the Marvel Knights Mission Statement

Editor in Chief of Marvel Comics, Joe Quesada, answered my question about the Marvel Knights line of books, and X-MEN: MAGNETO TESTAMENT in his latest CUP OF JOE column, #27:

CUP OF JOE #27

Here's the text:

Rivka writes:

Hi, Joe,

I think there's some confusion about the mission statement of the Marvel Knights line, and which books are Marvel Knights books. It seems that Marvel Knights today is different from yesteryear. Some of the MK books are outside continuity, such as Silver Surfer: Requiem, and some are in-continuity books, such as Angel: Revelations and Magneto: Testament. There is also the Ghost Rider: Trail Of Tears which is not out of continuity so much as pre-continuity.

Could you please clarify that Marvel Knights today publishes some books that are out-of-continuity such as Sub-Mariner: The Depths, and some that are in continuity? That today, the MK category encompasses both kinds of books?"

All the Best,

Rivka

JQ: Rivka, this is a great question and you've kind of nailed the answer. There are some MK books that are out of continuity, while some are definitely in. I would consider Battlin' Jack Murdock and Magneto: Testament as stories that are absolutely in continuity, as was Daredevil: Father.

Here's a little background info on Magneto: Testament. When the project was originally being planned, it was going to be an X-Men solo character mini-series. Then the script started to come in, which was extraordinary, and we started to see the art, which is beautiful beyond belief, and then we started to rethink the marketing and launch of the project.

We thought to ourselves that we really wanted to give this story more of a "boutique" look, and the MK imprint has become our boutique imprint for special stories. Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale's "spectrum" mini-series were a good road map for this. So, this is why Magneto: Testament has the MK imprint, but imprint aside, it is definitely in continuity and was always planned to be that way.

X-Men: Magneto Testament #1 REVIEW

Title: X-Men: Magneto Testament Part 1 of 5

Writer: Greg Pak
Artist: Carmine Di Giandomenico
Colors: Matt Hollingsworth
Lettering: Artmonkeys’ Natalie
Production: Paul Acerios
Asst. Editor: Alejandro Arbona
Editor: Warren Simons
Editor in Chief: Joe Quesada
Cover Art: Mark Djurdjevic
Publisher: Marvel Comics

Special Thanks: Mark Weitzman and the Simon Wiesenthal Center

Reviewed by: Rivka Jacobs

X-MEN: MAGNETO TESTAMENT is the definitive origin story of the comic book character Magneto. Judging by issue #1, this might be one of the most significant, impressive and heartfelt limited series Marvel has ever published.

As many know, but some may not, Magneto is a character created in 1963 by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby. He was introduced as the villain, the foil, the adversary for the team of teen-age super heroes known as the X-Men, led by X-Men founder Charles Xavier.

From the start, the X-Men were not the usual band of super hero vigilantes chasing criminals. They were a new race, a new offshoot of the human species, called mutants. They not only fought the "bad guys," but they had to fight prejudice, hatred, and cruel bigotry as well. With the introduction of the sentinels, mutant-hunting robots, in issue #14, Stan Lee inserted the possibility of a Holocaust, of genocide against mutants, into the Marvel Universe.

The X-MEN comic book was canceled in the late 1960s, but revived in 1975 by Len Wein, Dave Cockrum, and Chris Claremont. Chris Claremont then helmed the X-Men books from 1975 to 1991, one of the longest, most imaginative and productive runs in the history of comic books. One of Claremont's most important and creative decisions was to give the character Magneto, who before was a typical one-dimensional Silver Age antagonist, a back-story. In UNCANNY X-MEN #150, Claremont introduced the fact that Magneto had lost his entire family during the Holocaust, and had been a Jewish prisoner in the death camp of Auschwitz.

In later years, Chris Claremont would reveal that Magneto had served in the Auschwitz Sonderkommando (UNCANNY X-MEN #274, EXCALIBUR vol. 3 #14). And that his family had been driven from their homeland and hunted to their deaths, with no one coming to their aid (UNCANNY X-MEN #199).

Three years ago, editor Warren Simons began planning a series about Magneto's origin. He pitched his idea to current Editor in Chief Joe Quesada, and Mr. Quesada was completely supportive. It took three years to get the project off the ground, put together a creative team, do the research, and find a window of opportunity in the publishing schedule.

The result, X-Men: Magneto Testament, is not only the definitive account of Magneto's origins, but a sincere and careful attempt by the creative team to portray Magneto's Jewish youth and the Holocaust with accuracy and respect. Typed in white on black, on the last page of issue #1, is an essay titled: "Afterward: A Few Words About History," by series writer, Greg Pak.

Mr. Pak says: "We've done our best to remain true to these elements while fleshing out the rest of our hero's experiences based on research into the actual historical record. Longtime readers will notice a wealth of surprising new details -- for example, for the first time we're revealing Magneto's birth name. And sometimes, because the comics record is contradictory or conflicts with historical fact, we've had to choose one detail over another. But at every step, we've done our best to remain true to the key moments that have contributed so much towards making Magneto the deeply compelling character we know today."

Magneto Testament #1 opens in the city of Nuremberg, in the year 1935. The young Magneto's family is trying to live as normal a life as possible, in this Bavarian city that was so central to Nazi ideology and propaganda. The young hero is only nine years old, and still attending school, when we first meet him. We see a brief glimpse of what it's like to be the outsider, the alien, a physically average boy who is emotionally abused by his teachers as well as his fellow students.

We also see a young girl, a Gypsy girl, named Magda, forced to clean the trash off the streets with her mother. Since the Gypsies of Germany were overwhelmingly Sinti, we now know that Magda was a Sinti. The young Magneto becomes smitten with this girl, and she with him.

But the dark clouds of the Nazi storm are rolling in, engulfing the young Magneto and his family, and by the end of this book, issue #1, the boy's world has already changed forever.

The story is not a memory, or told by Magneto, but is about Magneto, and always we see things from the young hero's point of view. It is a remarkable achievement.

Greg Pak, in particular, has done an outstanding job. He spent long hours reading about and researching the historical era, and the comic book canon, and as a result, Magneto Testament feels authentic and honest. Mr. Pak brings his cinematic sensibilities to this story. With some of his previous Marvel work, it seemed like he was a comic book writer who happened to be an award-winning film maker. With Magneto Testament, Mr. Pak is a film maker writing a graphic novel told in five parts, and has successfully integrated his entire creative and academic background for this project.

Carmine De Giandomenico's art is refined yet dynamic. There is a purity of purpose and clarity in each panel. The characters live and breathe, their faces full of emotion.

Matt Hollingsworth has done an exceptional job on the coloring, using colors as another narrative device that expands or sometimes counterpoints the action. I suspect that the colors will continue to play a big role in the story, as we get closer and closer to Auschwitz.

The art and writing, the pace, the stylistic choices made, elevate this series beyond the usual origins saga. Issue #1 is a moving and powerful book that never forgets, not only is this a Holocaust story, but the story of Magneto, and the man the boy will become.

I highly recommend issue #1. I highly recommend this entire series.

X-Men: Magneto Testament is, in all respects, a history-making achievement.

Below are some links to interviews with the creative team of X-Men: Magneto Testament:

newsarama.com

comicbookresources.com1

wizarduniverse.com

comics.ign.com

comicbookresources.com2

My Inking Portfolio

More inking...

Red Sonja inks page 2 by *CrazyEnglishGuy on deviantART

The Beast Within

The Beast Within by *CrazyEnglishGuy on deviantART

Red Sonja

Another inking sample, this time over the excellent pencils of Ariel Padilla.


Red Sonja page 1 inks by *CrazyEnglishGuy on deviantART

Red Sonja!

Red Sonja inks by *CrazyEnglishGuy on deviantART

More inking...

Cyborg with guns by *CrazyEnglishGuy on deviantART

Pure Serenity

Nothing to do with the Firefly movie. This piece was based on a picture entitled "Pure Innocence" by the deviantart user SerenitySteph, hence the title, "Pure Serenity."


Pure Serenity by *CrazyEnglishGuy on deviantART

New Inking Sample

Annihilation Conquest inks by *CrazyEnglishGuy on deviantART

Latest Inking Sample

What If Annihilation Inks by *CrazyEnglishGuy on deviantART

Eleventh Hour

Eleventh Hour Vol 1 is out this week, and in case you've missed it, here's the promotional video we produced for it. Sadly you might find it hard to track down a copy in your local comic shop as I suspect very few will have ordered a copy just to sit on the shelf, but rather they will have ordered copies for specific customers who requested a copy.

Never fear, however, you can still get hold of a copy direct from the publisher, AAM/Markosia by visiting their website. Also, the book's available to order from Amazon, you can find the listing here.

Welcome back...

Yes, yes, I know, I'm a bad blogger, no updates for six months is not really on, is it? I can only apologise to the three men and a cat that actually read this blog. I could make the obligatory pledge to update more often but it probably won't happen. If anyone out there wants some more regular updates from my crazy, fun packed life, you can check out my LiveJournal (which I actually do update regularly), or if you prefer random, meaningless crap, no longer than 140 characters, then subscribe to my Twitter feed.

Now, on to the business of actually updating you all...how do I cram six months into one blog post? You know, I recently caught up with some old school friends on Facebook who I hadn't spoken to for thirteen years, and it amazed me how easy they found it to sum up the last thirteen years of their lives in just two sentences. I didn't think I'd had that eventfull a life until I had to try and sum up everything I'd done since leaving school. I thought it was just normal for people to do the things I've done, but I guess it isn't. I know I can't be happy in life unless I'm striving to achieve something bigger and better with my life.

So, what's been happening?

Orang Utan Comics Studio

The last six months have been fairly huge for the Orang Utans, with a huge amount of growth in just about every area. To a certain extent, too much growth, too soon. For a group of friends who essentially got together just to put out an antholgy of our own stories to get our names out there we suddenly found ourselves hailed as an up and coming new indie publisher, the bright new hope of the British comics industry. All a little overwhelming, really, and not something we ever wanted to be. Pete and I both found ourselves quickly bogged down in the process of "running things" rather than creating things. So, the last few months have seen us restructuring and refocusing and ultimately rebranding ourselves as a studio. I think the main reason we didn't call ourselves a studio from the start is that we wanted to differentiate ourselves from Visionary Comics Studio after we split from them. However, I think we've established our own identity to the point now that we don't need to worry about people comparing us to them.

On the studio side of things, we've been really successful. One of our artists, Diego Simone, has recently taken over the artistic duties on Starship Troopers, and by the end of its run, Kong: King of Skull Island was an Orang Utan Comics Studio production, artistically speaking. Recently, I've contributed colours to Kong, Starship Troopers, Lazarus: Immortal Coils and Johnny Saturn, and I've been inking a book called Legendary. Contraband has received some great reviews, even if they didn't mention my inks, and my colour work on The Flying Friar received a fantastic review in The Guardian. The recent Bristol International Comic Expo was a big success studio wise, and it was particularly satisfying to have editors approach us about working on new projects.

On the publishing side, we picked up Baby Boomers, which hasn't sold bucket loads (yet), but has been picked up by AAM/Markosia as a regular web comic and they have plans for a 100 page tradepaperback. Not only that, but there's some Baby Boomers animation in the works and Markosia's Hollywood agent is particularly excited about the property.

Which brings me to Eleventh Hour. What can I say? I would hope that anyone reading this will know that the book got picked up AAM/Markosia, and that an 80 page tradepaperback featuring twelve new stories (okay...okay...technically ten new stories...) is due out from them this week. On one hand the book has been a huge success. It's had rave reviews, been nominated for an Eagle Award, and I've spoken to a ton of fans and creators who have all said that Eleventh Hour is exactly what the industry needs right now. We've had some amazingly talented writers express an interest in contributing to further volumes of Eleventh Hour, including Cy Dethan, Dwight L MacPherson and Scott Lobdell (yes...Scott Lobdell...fingers crossed that he actually sends me a script). On the other hand, one sector of the industry clearly hasn't caught the vision with Eleventh Hour, and that's the retailers. At this point I should say that there are some amazing retailers out there who have been extremely supportive. The good people at Comic Guru in Cardiff have hosted signings, Mario and his pals at Apocalypse Comics are not only some of the best people you'll ever meet but have aslso bigged up Eleventh Hour at every opportunity. That's just two examples, others include Mike Sterling, who I know ordered the book for his store, and there are many others. Okay, well, "many" probably isn't the right word. The order numbers were very disappointing, maybe that's because there isn't a market for the book. Well...maybe not...after all, at the recent London MCM Expo, Eleventh Hour was the best selling book on Markosia's stand over the weekend. It sold well at Bristol too. The market is there...I know it...the fans know it...it's just a matter of persuading the retailers too. That's our job, I fully accept that, and hopefully with more glowing reviews and a few "name" writers on board, we'll win a few more of them over next time.

Both Young Gods and Slam Ridley continue to tick over. It's frustrating that neither of them are out there yet, but that's the reality of the indie comics business. These things take time, and I hope that people will agree that they're worth waiting for when they finally arrive. The Young Gods OGN is very nearly completed and we're starting to look for a publisher for the book.

There's a ton of other stuff, I'm sure, but I think that'll do for now.

Go order Eleventh Hour Vol 1 to keep yourself amused until the next update.

Ian.

Young Gods: Sneak Peak

Just to whet your appetite, here's a sneak peak of Paladin's new costume, which will debut in the second part of Young Gods: Birth Pains.

Costume design by Ezequiel Pineda.

What I'm Doing and Something Worrying from the news...

Well, it's been a while, I know, but I thought it was time that I posted a quick round up of everything I'm working on at the moment, just so you all know I'm not spending my days watching Power Rangers and Charmed (Rose McGowan and Alyssa Milano in one show together...it's so hard to resist...).

ELEVENTH HOUR #'s 1 & 2

Both issues of Eleventh Hour have been spectacularly well received. We've had some great reviews online, particularly from Geek Syndicate. However, I think my favourite review has to have been Doctor Who and Wisdom writer, Paul Cornell's comment on #1, "It was lovely." In fact, he thought that it was so lovely that he was the first person to buy a copy of #2 when we released it at the Birmingham show a few weeks back. He was walking past our stand, just after we'd set up and did a double take. "Eleventh Hour!" he exclaimed. "I loved the first issue, I have to have the second." Considering the fact that he's become a bit of an idol for me and Pete, you can imagine what a boost that was to both of our egos. We're pretty much sold out of both issues now (although if you're in the Cardiff area you can still pick up a copy of #2 from Comic Guru, and I'm planning on dropping off my last few copies of #2 at The Grinning Demon in Maidstone this weekend). We'll be ordering more copies of both issues soon, so we can keep up with demand. So, not only were we able to pay for the printing of #2 with the money we made from sales of #1, but we've also been able to pay for our tables at next year's Birmingham show with the money we made from sales of #2, and we still have money left to pay for reprints! We're still a long way off from becoming a global publishing empire, but it's a good start.

ELEVENTH HOUR #3

Would you believe we've already started work on #3? Well, yes, you probably would. I don't want to give too much away at the moment, but you can expect stories from myself, Pete and Cherie, in collaboration with an array of talented artist from around the world. Not only that but #3 will also feature a story by our good friend James Redington, who we all sorely miss. I'm so glad that I got to work with James before he passed away, and it's just a shame that he won't get to see the results in print. My own contribution to #3 will hopefully see the return of an artist who was associated with Orang Utan Comics in our early days, plus the return of the first ever comic book character I published - watch this space. Issue Three will be released at the Bristol Comic Expo in May.

YOUNG GODS

I've decided to split the Young Gods OGN into a two part mini-series entitled Young Gods: Birth Pains. As such, issue one is now completely pencilled and inked and just awaiting colouring and lettering. I've also asked several artists to produce cover art for the book, and once they're all done, and we've got a few pages finished, we'll start looking for a publisher for the book. It's looking fantastic, Ezequiel Pineda is a star in the making.

THE INTERGALACTIC ADVENTURES OF SLAM RIDLEY

The pencils for # 1 have been complete for a while, and, indeed, so have the inks. However, after discussions with our publisher (yes, we have a publisher for Slam Ridley - surely that's the worst kept secret in the world by now? For those of you that don't know, we'll hopefully be making an official announcement about that soon) we've decided to redo the inking for a cleaner, brighter look. I've actually decided to digitally ink the book in Illustrator, and the results so far have been fantastic. We're also planning to use the traditional DC colouring palette to ensure that the colours have a bright and vibrant feel to them.

We've also just released this promo video to whet people's appetite for the book:

Let me know what you think!

IRAQ: OPERATION CORPORATE TAKEOVER

I did the pre-press work for this OGN from the charity War On Want which, I believe, has just been released. I know that it was mentioned recently in the Guardian's "Guide", but I haven't heard too much about people's response to it yet. Obviously, my own involvement in the book was fairly limited, but hopefully it will do well.

THE FLYING FRIAR

The Flying Friar was recently released to much critical acclaim. The nice thing for me being that, as it has previously been released in black and white, every review has commented on the colouring, and those comments have been very favourable. I really enjoyed working on The Flying Friar, and outside of OUC, it's probably the single piece of work I'm most proud of to date. If you haven;t picked up a copy yet, shame on you!

CONTRABAND

Contraband by TJ Behe & Phil Elliott - a multi-issue graphic novel hitting the shelves February 27 2008 from Slave Labor Graphics.

Caught filming an illegal violent content transaction, a self-styled “citizen journalist” is bullied into finding the female activist who's sabotaging the world's most controversial cellphone video channel - Contraband. His search leads him into voyeur underground where profit-hungry youths prowl city street filming violent events to satisfy society’s accelerating demand for sensational content.

A rich character-driven thriller, Contraband vividly highlights our near-future use (and abuse) of wireless technology by incorporating modern elements of mobile communication throughout the story including text messaging, online blogging, avatars, alerts and live video broadcast.

Canadian writer TJ Behe has over ten years experience developing wireless content for global entertainment companies including BBC, Playboy, MTV and T-Mobile.

UK Artist Phil Elliott’s graphic novels include Illegal Alien (Dark Horse) and Tupelo (Slave Labor) and he has over 20 years experience providing illustrations for international publishers including Marvel, DC, Image and Fantagraphics.

Ian Sharman (Inks) and Cherie Donovan (Tones) are active professionals in the UK comic scene currently developing sequential titles at Orangutan Comics.

"Contraband is a great sci-fi thriller…" - Comics International

"Cool stuff!" - Ben Templesmith (30 Days of Night)

“Contraband is as visionary as the technology Behe writes about.” (Broken Frontiers)

"Phil Elliott's work is optimistic and loving and fine...he makes it look so easy.." (Neil Gaiman)

Issue #1 Available @ www.Eyemelt.com.
Free Preview @ www.contrabandcomic.com.
Pre-order Contraband @ www.Amazon.com.

OTHER STUFF

As many of you will know, I'm now working full time in comics, which is a little scary. Thankfully I picked up a couple of new paid inking jobs this week, which should keep the wolves at bay for a little longer.

Check out the website for one of them, there's not much there yet but it looks interesting enough: www.ginaaxiom.com

AND FINALLY...

I was reading The Guardian Weekly today when I came across this little passage which I found rather disturbing, I won't editorialise too much here, just read it and draw you own conclusions. The one thing I will ask, however, is what is this woman's crime?

"Consider the case of a 23-year-old Muslim woman who was found guilty last week under new anti-terror laws. Samina Malik worked for WH Smith at Heathrow, but was given to writing poetry about beheading non-believers and martyrdom. Not long after she had begun visiting chatrooms, calling herself the "lyrical terrorist" - she thought the name "cool" - the knock at the door came. Examination of her computer revealed she had downloaded something called "How to win in hand-to-hand combat". She lives in Southall, and she now awaits sentencing."

Orang Utan Comics Unveil New Look Website!

Orang Utan Comics are pleased to announce the launch of their new look website at www.orangutancomics.co.uk

Surf on over to enjoy exclusive art and info about their upcoming projects.

While you're there, why not pop in to the online store and order your copy of the critically acclaimed Eleventh Hour #2.

CHC Podcast: Pilot

It is finally here!
We have decided to join the ranks of Podcasters everywhere to bring you a weekly update in audio form, discussing the latest film releases, games, comic - anything geeky, really.

Click here to download the Pilot episode (WMA format).

Be warned, however... This is complete and unedited. Two hours in length.

Eleventh Hour #1 Touches Down On IndyPlanet!

Finally, the wait is over!

Eleventh Hour #1 is now available from IndyPlanet.

"Vampires, executions, post apocalyptic fish suppers and Extra Humans - just some of the surprises in store in the debut issues of Eleventh Hour. Featuring "Bloodstain", "Brothers in Arms", "Purgatory Blues" and an exclusive preview of "Young Gods". All wrapped in an exquisite cover from 2000AD's John Charles and featuring gorgeous pin ups by Azim Akberali. With a rosta of talent from around the World, this all new anthology is not to be missed.

"Eleventh Hour is a new and exciting black and white anthology series from a collective of writers and artists from around the World. It features exciting stand-alone short stories with a sting in the tale, as well as exclusive previews of upcoming Orang Utan Comics projects."

Get your hands on 36 pages of high quality comic book for just $3.99 from IndyPlanet.

Movie Review: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

It almost seems a little pointless reviewing this
film. After all, if you haven't already seen the first
four Harry Potter films then you almost certainly
aren't going to go and see this one, and, indeed,
you'd be foolish to do so as it would make little or
no sense to you. If, however, you have seen the first
four films, then you're going to go and see this
regardless of what any review says because you're most
likely a Harry Potter fan (like me). Indeed, I'd go as
far as to suggest you've probably already read the
book upon which this film is based, so you know
exactly what's going to happen anyway.

Indeed, the main purposes of any review of a Harry
Potter film seem to be to let fans of the books know
which bits have been left out, and to say if the
people playing the new characters are any good.

The most glaring omission is the visit to St Mungo's,
which means that Neville's backstory must be told in
another way, and so it makes far less of a real impact
upon us. We're also left with very little information
about the origins of the prophecy, and how they relate
to professor Trelawny, which is a shame. Both Luna and
Tonks have much smaller roles in the movie too, which
is understandable as the focus would naturally have to
be on our main trio of heroes, but it also robs us of
some of the novel's highlights.

Of the new additions to the cast, it's Imelda Staunton
as Dolores Umbridge, the Ministry of Magic appointed
Defence Against the Dark Arts mistress, who gets the
most screentime. She is suitably horrid, and every bit
as sadistic and evil as she was in the book. Other new
additions include, as mentioned above, Luna, who is
excellent but underused, and Tonks, who is just as
cool as she is in the books, but sadly hardly present
in the film at all. Helena Bonham-Carter also finally
makes the cast of a Harry Potter film (it was kind of
inevitable...still waiting for Richard E. Grant and
Bill Nighy to make their debuts) as Sirius Black's
deranged Death Eater cousin, Bellatrix Lestrange.
She's good, as is everyone else. The established cast
also put in first rate performances, and all the
younger members of the cast (those playing the
students) prove that if you spend that much of your
time working with the creme de la creme of the British
acting elite then something is bound to rub off.

My only real criticism of Order of the Phoenix would
be the same problem I have with the book - it really
has no real plot. It serves two main purposes,
firstly, it gives us pause to consider what effect the
events of the first four films/books have had on
Harry, and secondly, it sets things up for the last
two books, where everything finally comes to a head.
As such, in and of itself, it's rather unsatisfying,
but, of course, more than any of the rest of the
films/books, this is part of a much larger story, and
should be seen as thus.

Ultimately, this is an excellent film, the spectacular
special effects never overshadow the most important
element of Order of the Phoenix - the growing and
deepening bond between our three main heroes, Harry,
Ron and Hermione. This film is far more about
character development than it is about magic and the
fight between good and evil, and, for me, it's all the
more better for it.

Production has already begun on the sixth film, Harry
Potter and the Half Blood Prince, with the same
director as this film, which is a good sign. With the
final chapter of this saga due to be released in book
form at midnight tonight, Harry Potter fever is at an
all time high. However, don't let talk of
"over-hyping" and rampant commercialism (neither of
which I can see any real evidence of anyway) put you
off. Harry Potter is popular for one reason and one
reason only - it's really very good.

Rating: 9/10

Movie Review: Die Hard 4.0

John McClane is back! He's older and wiser now, and so, of course, realises that even if you are being hunted by terrorists and shot at from every angle - that's simply no reason for bad language.

Seriously, I'm baffled by the decision to go for a PG-13 rating for this film, and thankful that in this country they got a 15 rating, enabling them to retain McClane's trademark catchphrase (you know the one, the one that ITV has been dubbing over as "Yipee-ki-yay Kemosabe" for years). That said, I have to admit that I'd rather have the film relatively swear word free, rather than find myself watching it on ITV in a few years and having to suffer hearing someone called a "gal dang melonfarmer."

However, the lack of a wee swearie or two hardly makes this film family friendly, with a whole multitude of violent and painful deaths filling the movie from start to finish. Why our society is ok with our young teens seeing acts of gratuitous violence, but doesn't want them to hear a few bad words, I'll never understand.

The language is nor the only thing that's different about the UK version of this film, it has also received a name change on its way across the atlantic. Billed in the US as "Live Free or Die Hard", it's received the simpler and less imaginitive title of "Die Hard 4.0" over here. One suspects that this has something to do with not wanting to produce multiple language versions of the poster artwork for the international release. Once again Hollywood seems to fail to understand that we do not speak a different language in this country. This attitude is what often leads to us having to wait for all the foreign language dubs and subs to be done on a movie before it's released in the UK, a policy which has sometimes lead to a film not receiving a theatrical release here in the UK until after the DVD release in the USA. And yet they wonder why there is such a big problem with pirate DVDs here?? I know I've mentioned this before here, but isn't it time that Hollywood got its act together and started releasing films over here at the same time as the US? If they were serious about fighting piracy they would.

Okay, so, time to get off my high horse and get back to the subject of the film! Is it any good, you ask? Well, actually, yes, it's great fun. That is, assuming you like your action movies larger than life, full of giant explosions and preposterous set pieces and you're happy to leave your brain at the door on the way in. Rest assured, you can happily give your brain the night off if you go and see this movie as whenever anything gets a bit technical or complicated, McClane is there for you, scratching his head and asking people to explain everything in words of one syllable just in case you've never heard of the internet or computers or something.

The main purpose of the plot in this movie is to lead you from one giant explosion to the next while firing off as many rounds of ammunition as is humanly possible. At one point, McClane takes out a helicopter by essentially firing a car at it and you think to yourself, "That is by far the most ridiculous thing I've ever seen"...trust me, you'll be revising that opinion by the end of the movie (probably during the "truck vs fighter plane" sequence).

Solid performances are delivered by everyone involved. Willis is, as ever, brilliant in the role he was made to play, and Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Justin Long also shine as McClane's chip-off-the-old-block daughter and his new hacker side kick respectively. Kevin Smith pops up in his now obligatory cameo role, and if like me you're a Kevin Smith fan, you'll enjoy it. I'm sure these cameos must really grate on those people that can't stand him though. Heh. What this film does lack is a really memorable villain, Timothy Olyphant is no Alan Rickman and the film suffers for it.

So far, in the year of the threequel, Die Hard is proving that four is the magic number.

Rating: 7/10