By Geno McGahee
“Another day in paradise.” – John McClane (Bruce Willis)
In 1988, arguably the best action film of all time was created. DIE HARD made Bruce Willis a star and, amazingly, he was the sixth actor under consideration. Burt Reynolds, Harrison Ford, Richard Gere, Mel Gibson, and Arnold Schwarzenegger all passed on the film, giving Willis the chance to make his mark and he made it in a big way. DIE HARD brought a new sort of action star and paved the way to many sequels. DIE HARD 2: DIE HARDER was released in 1990 and picked up where the first left off. It was a quality follow-up with just as much action and wit. Willis wanted to have John McClane, his character, killed off, but the machine was printing money and that was not going to happen.
DIE HARD: WITH A VENGEANCE was released in 1995, teaming up Willis with Samuel L. Jackson and bringing direct ties to the first one with the brother of Hans Gruber as the bad guy. The steam seemed to have run out of the series with the third. It barely made its money back and the career of Bruce Willis began to fade away. In the early 2000s, Willis began to rebound with SIN CITY and ALPHA DOG. Although a box office failure, 16 BLOCKS brought Willis back to the role of a gritty police officer and it was difficult not to start thinking about DIE HARD again. In 2007, the series would be revisited with LIVE FREE OR DIE HARD.
All these years later, we catch up with John McClane (Willis) and his career and personality have made him estranged from his family. He ambushes his daughter, Lucy (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), and drags her boyfriend out of the car. His overprotective nature and quick temper are not welcome and his need to be a cop doesn’t translate into a family man. McClane is a flawed hero.
McClane gets the call to pick up a computer hacker, Matt Farrell, and bring him into the FEDS for reasons unknown. Playing the role of Farrell is Justin Long, an actor that can play dramatic and comedic equally well. He had some notable performances in JEEPERS CREEPERS, ACCEPTED and DODGEBALL: A TRUE UNDERDOG STORY. He was exactly the right actor for the role. He is physically weak compared to McClane, but has the ability to play the role in a strong manner. Long and Willis work very well off of each other.
The hackers are being murdered and as McClane picks up Farrell, the apartment is attacked. McClane shoots up the bad guys and is now pitted against a new terrorist group that is attacking the country through its dependency on technology. Thomas Gabriel (Timothy Olyphant) has declared a fire sale (all things must go) and has shut down the traffic and has taken over the television. Olyphant is no stranger to action films, having roles in the Nicolas Cage action film “GONE IN SIXTY SECONDS” and Vin Diesel’s “A MAN APART.” He plays the sarcastic bad guy very well and has the right personality to battle the equally sarcastic and witty, McClane.
Gabriel and his group cripple the nation and only McClane and Farrell’s hacking can stop them. A big showdown at a power plant leads to the death of Gabriel’s girlfriend, Mai (Maggie Q). The martial arts of Mai is overcome by the heart and grit of McClane in a great battle that involves vehicles, elevator shafts and computer monitors. In true DIE HARD fashion, they put great focus on the action sequences.
The duo meets up with the Warlock (Kevin Smith), another computer hacker. Kevin Smith, known for CLERKS, CHASING AMY and MALL RATS has shown that he can act and he does a good job in this. The cellar dweller that is obsessed with STAR WARS has a huge set up and knows about Gabriel and his history of working with the government. The interactions between Willis and Smith are very funny.
Gabriel goes after McClane’s daughter, leading to a great showdown where McClane needs to take out the bad guy again. Some great chase scenes and destructive sequences lead to the hero’s big fight. Farrell also finds his tough side and helps in the battle.
LIVE FREE OR DIE HARD was twelve years in the making and it was a different and more complex time than where we left off. Technology took a huge jump, 9/11, and a world in turmoil was new for the John McClane character, but the direction that he was taken was perfect. Director Len Wiseman, fresh from his work on UNDERWORLD, brought much needed energy and vision to this production. He understood the franchise and the players and Willis took this role very seriously and it showed. He has films where his heart is just not into it and it shows, but he gave his all on this one.
Although not as good as the first two, it’s easily as good as the third or maybe better. It belongs in the series, unlike the one that follows, but on the good side, it appears that Wiseman is directing what will most likely be the final DIE HARD. I’ll be looking forward to that.
Rating: 8/10
For me, Bruce Willis’ best films are Die Hard, The Last Boy Scout, and Tears of the Sun. I love these movies and watch them over every chance I get. “Come on down to LA. We’ll have a few drinks. See the sites.”