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Live Free or Die Hard

Starring: Bruce Willis
Director: Len Wiseman
Genre: Action
Year: 2007
Rating: 4 / 5

Die Hard is my favorite movie. I just wanted to make sure I was open and honest about that from the outset, in case my perspective on this entire series is called into question. As a longtime fan of Bruce Willis and his Die Hard films in particular, let me state that the original is the quintessential action film, the second is a wildly underrated action-packed adventure, and the third should not have been made. With that bit of business out of the way, I can confidently state that Life Free of Die Hard is well worth the price of admission and a surprisingly strong entrant into a rather successful series. I would go so far as to say that it is one of the better action movies in recent years, its star holds up quite well for a fifty-year-old man, and you will laugh more than you will at most comedies. It is nowhere near as good as the 1988 classic, but Live Free or Die Hard is a reminder of a time when action heroes – not the latest special effects gadgets – were the true stars of cinema.

John McClane (Bruce Willis) may be getting older, but he’s still the same wisecracking cop he always was. He is divorced now, back in New York City, but prone to drift into New Jersey to keep an eye on his estranged twentysomething daughter. An old school cop in a high tech world, McClane is tasked with bringing computer hacker Matt Farrell (Justin Long) to Washington for questioning. Someone has been attacking the country’s most secure computer systems, short-circuiting transportation and financial systems throughout the United States. As the crisis escalates and other well-known hackers begin disappearing, an attempt is made on Farrell’s life. Even as McClane finally reaches Washington with his young charge in tow, he learns that no one there has any answers. Rather than wait for the government to begin piecing things together, he sets off on his own and soon finds himself tangled up with an ex-government operative (Timothy Olyphant) in the midst of a truly grand heist.

When he first hit the big screen nearly twenty years ago, John McClane was a character like nothing we had ever seen. An everyday man tossed into impossible circumstances, McClane became a genre onto himself. He did not have any special skills or powers – he was a police officer who, rather famously, always happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. The setting may have changed – Los Angeles has been swapped out for the eastern seaboard – and Willis may have a little less hair – okay, no hair at all! – but the principles still remain. Live Free or Die Hard delivers all the action a fan could want, although I must acknowledge that some of the more over-the-top scenes seem to be straight out of the more tongue-in-cheek True Lies. Nevertheless, Willis is still perfect as the man who gives a little bit more than he gets, always staying one step ahead of the bad guys. While there may be no signature line this time, he does manage to deliver some of the funniest dialogue in the entire series.

As villains go, Timothy Olyphant seems well-cast for the role, but, admittedly, the Die Hard films have never been able to equal the presence of Alan Rickman in the original film. Considered one of modern cinema’s greatest villains, Rickman’s Hans Gruber set the standard for action films, and Olyphant, while game, cannot quite stand toe-to-toe with Willis. Justin Long, on the other hand, provides a very humorous foil in the standard sidekick role. Best known for his ubiquitous Mac ads on television, Long engages Willis in a playful back-and-forth banter that carries on throughout the film. The special effects in the film are more than capable, although, as mentioned, they are unnecessary at times. One of the best lessons to come out of the recent Jason Bourne movies has been that action movies do not need to be dependent on lavish special effects. Sometimes, vintage action sequences can deliver just as much, if not more, pop. Live Free or Die Hard may not be the end of the line for John McClane, but, if it is, revisiting this old friend after twelve years sure made for a grand, old time.

Cast:

Certification: Rated PG-13 for violence and language.
Running Time: 130 minutes.

Additional Info: Internet Movie Database
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