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Live Free or Die Hard
20th Century Fox
PG-13
Running Time 2:20 (Previews to Credits)
Luckily for us, America's favorite "mostly" bullet-proof cop is once again in the wrong place at the wrong time in this week's high octane thrill ride "Live Free or Die Hard."
When the FBI's computer security is breached they want answers immediately and begin calling on local police departments to help round up the "usual suspects." Problem is that someone is "erasing" this list before the FBI can grab them up.
NYPD detective John McClane (Bruce Willis) is dispatched to Camden NJ to pick up nefarious computer wiz Matt Farrell (Justin Long) and as McClane's storied luck would have it (i.e.; The Die Hard Trilogy) he arrives just as the bad guys do.
McClane takes off for D.C. with his wise-acre suspect in tow only to find that the real bad guy is still out there. Thomas Gabriel (Timothy Olyphant), the Darth Vader of computer hackers, is back for vengeance against the FBI. The organization unceremoniously disregarded his warnings about the country's computer vulnerabilities years earlier and now he is going to show everyone what true chaos can be wrought.
Gabriel and his team, led by the lovely and lethal Mai Lihn (Maggie Q), begin shutting down the US one grid at a time; financial, communications, and utilities. As the FBI flounders for answers, McClane and Farrell go after the computer genius on his level using Farrell's skills and the powers of the "Jedi of hackers" "Warlock" (Kevin Smith). Can this most unlikely team find a way to stop Gabriel and avert his cataclysmic scheme?
One thing about Bruce Willis, aside from that disaster known as "Hudson Hawk" you ALWAYS get your money's worth every time he hits the screen with action to be done. Unlike his contemporaries Stallone and Schwarzenegger, Willis has been able to comfortably float between the action (Die Hards, Armageddon) and the dramatic (Alpha Dog, Fast Food Nation). And probably most endearingly, he doesn't take himself so seriously that he is beyond turning up on"Friends" or "That 70's Show" opposite his ex-wife's new love interest. And in reference to his latest "Die Hard" outing, he is once again in top form. The supporting cast does its job most admirably but aside from Justin Long's spot on sarcastic compu-genius and Kevin Smith's delightful geek, they are just faces in a crowd.
While the second installment left something to be desired, the first and third are arguably two of the finest big budget action films ever, with the original garnering that title hands down (Yes, I will wrestle you over it). The film delivers everything you want from your afternoon getaway to fantasy land; non-stop action, wise-assed sidekick, and a bleeding (yet giggling) Bruce Willis. Throw in one of the single most amazing vehicle chase sequences in cinematic history and it sounds perfect to me.
There were a few minor plotline glitches that would make one pause to think "how'd that work?" But, if you can get past the use of a police cruiser as a missile, you can work your way around a minor plot disparage. All in all in this summer season, "Live Free or Die Hard" delivers on all counts and I recommend it most highly to anyone looking to have a good old fashioned high-budgeted, testosterone laced movie going experience. Yippee Ki-Ay Moviegoer. Enjoy and take care! |
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