Live Free or Die Hard

Live Free or Die Hard

When I first heard about Bruce Willis doing another Die Hard, I felt another sequel wasn’t necessary. Where could they have gone with the John McClane franchise after Die Hard III being the best out of the series? I guess the answer is cyberspace with Mac guy Justin Long being the main hacker and guide.

Yeah, I really enjoyed nearly the entire movie except for a certain rushed ending. The writers couldn’t have created a better ending than this?

Surprisingly enough, this was probably one of the most intense PG-13’s I’ve ever encountered on film. The violence was probably just as high as part III, just with less cussing and blood splats. While not nearly as clever as Die Hard III, the newest film is a tight and nicely constructed movie that jumps from one set piece to another, which should even get the most jaded fanboy to say, “Wow.”

When the huge action set-pieces aren’t exploding on screen, some of the dialogue from some of the actors falls flat, mainly because it doesn’t have same punch as DH 1 and 3 had. I can handle that because the action scenes are what make this movie work. Director Len Wiseman seems to know how to weave the practical FX with the big CGI moments very well. For the first time in the series, we finally get henchmen who are just as badass as John McClane is. These guys jump on cars and jump from explosions just as good as our main star does. It’s good to see old man McClane go up against more skillful villains for a change. By the way, you don’t want to miss the super cool fight between Bruce Willis and Maggie Q.

Justin Long isn’t as annoying as he’s been in the past, but there are a few moments where he gets on my nerves. Timothy Olyphant (Deadwood) is all right as the main bad guy, though not as compelling as the other villains in the past movies. You should also look for Kevin Smith and Tim Russ playing small roles.

While Marco Beltrami does a passable score, and the fact he re-uses the Die Hard theme was nice, his score doesn’t hold a candle to Michael Kamen’s scores.

Despite a few problems, I enjoyed this movie. I think you should give it a try. Not as good as 1 and 3, but better than part 2.

Grade BScrew The Sixth Sense, John McClane doesn’t see dead people, because he makes dead people.

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Bruce: “Hi, I’m a good actor.”

Justin: “And hi, I’m a shitty actor.”

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