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Some of you might be worried about Bruce Willis. He isn’t getting any younger, you know. And coming back to play John McClane after twelve years, with all that action and adventure and stuff, could—you might worry—lead Bruce to break a hip or something. But don’t you worry about Bruce—because he can still kick your butt.
In the fourth Die Hard movie, McClane is sent to pick up hacker Matthew Farrell (Justin Long) for questioning after there’s a digital attack on the FBI’s security. He gets there just in time to save Farrell from a bomb that was set up in his computer. Seven hackers are already dead—and Farrell was supposed to be the eighth.
As McClane tries to transport Farrell to Washington, D.C., a team of digital terrorists led by Thomas Gabriel (Timothy Olyphant) begins systematically shutting down the entire country. They start with transportation. Then they take down the country’s financial systems. Then they start attacking the utilities. It’s called a fire sale, Farrell explains—and he may have inadvertently helped the terrorists start it. Now, the nation’s security is at stake, and McClane needs to keep Farrell alive—because he’s the country’s only hope.
Before I saw Live Free or Die Hard, I had a conversation with my brother-in-law about whether or not hackers could really be all that deadly. But, as it turns out, geeks can do some serious damage—especially if they’ve managed to employ a team of well-armed mercenaries, a couple of Eastern European acrobats, and a hot Asian hacker (Maggie Q) who also happens to be a martial arts expert. Olyphant, however, makes a less-than-perfect villain (just as he made a less-than-perfect romantic lead in Catch and Release). And the story…well, it’s a bit iffy. It doesn’t always make a whole lot of sense—something that the writers cover up with a lot of fast-paced techno-babble. But that’s not what really matters, is it?
It also doesn’t really matter that Justin Long loses his appeal about halfway through. You might be surprised to find that chicks are no longer the whiniest characters in action movies. In fact, the chicks in this movie are pretty tough—whether it’s Maggie Q’s kickboxing Mai or Mary Elizabeth Winstead’s tough-as-nails Lucy McClane. But Long more than makes up for the lack of whiny female characters as the scrawny, unkempt computer geek who shrieks his way through most of the movie. But, well, he could have been worse. I’ll give him that much.
But what really matters is that Bruce Willis blows stuff up. What matters is that there’s a scene that involves taking out a helicopter with a flying cop car—and a high-speed chase scene involving a semi and a fighter plane. There’s lots of fire. People die. And Bruce Willis gets all battered and bloody, but he still manages to wisecrack his way through it all.
Live Free or Die Hard is a long movie—and you’ll feel every minute of its 130-minute runtime. But it’s 130 minutes of action and shootouts and explosions and Bruce Willis doing what he [still] does best. Despite its surprising (some might even say scandalous) PG-13 rating, there isn’t a thing missing—and there’s rarely a dull moment. So even if you’re not a Die Hard fan, Live Free or Die Hard is well worth the price of admission.
