Movie Review

Live Free or Die Hard

"Live Free or Die Hard" is the movie that basically starts the summer for me. Spider-Man, Shrek, and Jack are all favorites but when it comes down to amazing pop-corn-style action, who could beat the incredibly indestructible John McClane when it comes to all-out excitement. It's just always great to see him, sidekick or no sidekick, barefoot or bald. That the movie is nothing short of a tremendous thrill ride is no surprise. The plot never really matters in these movies but just for shits and giggles, a group of cyber-terrorists, led by Deadwood's Timothy Olyphant, is responsible for attacks within the United States. They are well-equipped, well-financed, and know that there is a lot more you can do with technology than just use it for porn. Someone has to stop them. Enter McClane (Bruce Willis) and his computer hacker sidekick Matt (Justin Long) to save the day.

This fourth installment of "Die Hard" is a fast-paced, rousing gem of an action movie. The kind of ballsy, hardcore action hero verse sadistic villains type that allows an audience to cheer and shout at the screen the entire way through. Willis proves again that action heroes are far from dead, giving the same cool, wise-cracking, ass-kicking performance he always does. Twelve years after the third film and Willis doesn't seem to have missed a beat. He still has a great physique and he seems to be having just as much fun playing the role as ever.

The villains make for fantastic foes, with Olyphant deftly joining the ranks of cold-eyed and deviously intelligent villains. The screenplay does a great job of showing just how screwed we'd be if terrorists did use technology against us. A scene involving a rush of cars coming at each other from opposite directions in a dark tunnel is particularly suspenseful. This wouldn't be a "Die Hard" movie without action though and it's in that regard that the movie is absolutely genius. Like always McClane gets everything, including the kitchen sink, thrown at him and continues to chug along, confidently shrugging it off in its wake. This time he faces a helicopter, a bitchy ass-kicking Japanese henchwoman, cars flying at him, and a fighter jet just to name a few things and he dispatches all of these things in ways that just make you sit back and revel in the sweetness of McClane.

I also want to mention that Justin Long is continuing to be a likable and charismatic screen presence. If you don't remember him, he was in the light college comedy Accepted last year. He has some funny scenes here and he supplies Willis with a reassuring shoulder for the more dramatic moments. All of this taken together makes for one of the best movies of, not just the summer, but the year as well. In a summer where it seems like so many sequels have stumbled or made it clear that they've over-stayed their welcome, it's so cool to see one that's continuing to race along with the same amount of adrenaline pumping excitement as its predecessor. The first "Die Hard" is a classic and no other action movie will ever touch it, but the filmmakers have made the series just as strong as ever. Please make more!

Craig's Grade: A

A	10.9%
B	41.8%
C	31.8%
D	15.3%
F	0.3%