poster


Rating:

7.75


AKA: Die Hard 4

Year of release: 2007

Genre: action

Director: Len Wiseman

Action director: Brad Martin

Producers: Stephen J. Eads, Michael Fottrelli, John McTiernan, Arnold Rifkin, Bruce Willis

Writer: Mark Bomback

Cinematography: Simon Duggan

Editor: Nicholas De Toth

Music: Marco Beltrami

Stars: Bruce Willis, Justin Long, Timothy Oliphant, Maggie Q, Cliff Curtis, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Kevin Smith

Rated PG-13 for mild violence and language


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Live Free or Die Hard

die hard

Can an analog action hero survive in the digital age? That's the deepest question posed by Live Free or Die Hard, and frankly, in this reviewer's opinion, that's not really a bad thing. In a day and age when even the most basic "popcorn" movies try to justify their existence by putting in an undertone of supposedly deep meaning (which usually just derails the proceedings), Live Free or Die Hard simply does what it sets out to accomplish -- deliver a bunch of ass-kicking along with a few wisecracks.

Of course, nowadays, that means putting everything together in a "family-friendly" PG-13 package, so mom and pop can drop off the kiddies without feeling too much surburban guilt. Thankfully, the producers must have slipped the MPAA a lot of cash, because Live Free or Die Hard is one of the more "extreme" PG-13 movies (if such a term is applicable) ever made. Sure, there's not much blood, absolutely zero nudity, and only one "yippie kai yay mother fucker", but this most definitely did not feel like a sanitized action movie like so many others Hollywood studios seem intent on pumping out nowadays.

die hard

As for fans of Maggie Q who want to check out her biggest role in a US production to date, you'll probably not be disappointed. Though it sadly falls prey to some of the stereotypes of Asian women in this genre (a woman who is both good at math and martial arts) and some of the dialogue veers into near-insulting territory at times ("she's a little Asian chick who likes to kick ass", "I got that damn ninja off of me"), this still feels like much more of an actual acting job versus her "jade vase" role in Mission: Impossible III. One might think with this role that she will no longer be in any more Wong Jing productions, which is a really good or really bad thing depending on your particular filmic tastes.

John McClane might have gotten older, but he still takes a lot of delight in making bad guys die, and that feeling transfers on to the viewer. Yes, I will grant that Live Free or Die Hard lacks the smarts or claustrophobic adrenaline rush of the first movie, or even the gloriously over-the-top violent nature of the second and third parts, but this is still one of the best "pure" action movies I've seen from anywhere in the world for quite some time. And even though I find the Mac commercials some of the most cloying, elitist, and annoying things to have ever been put on the air, Justin Long (aka "The Mac Guy") makes a perfect sidekick. The combination -- along with some nice eye candy from the female leads -- makes Live Free or Die Hard into near-mandatory viewing for the action freaks out there who are tired of the CGI characters or little wussy wizards clogging up cineplex screens this summer.

die hard