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Title: Live Free or Die Hard
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Parents, though the movie received a PG-13 rating this is just as violent as the previous "Die Hard" movies, sans the blood and language. Recommended for ages 16 and up. |
It's been twelve years since "Die Hard With A Vengeance" came out to theaters. You want to know what I was thinking about in those last twelve years? Well, I was thinking about the Playstation 2 and then the Playstation 3. I was looking forward to all the upcoming Pixar films while dreading whether or not a decent sequel could be made from "Shrek." I was debating the comparisons in quality between Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings, and then ultimately decided to shift the comparison so that everyone could agree that "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy was better then "The Matrix" trilogy (many of my friends though have stated that, sadly, they will not watch "The Godfather" trilogy out of fear that it turns out to be the movie trilogy of all time). I went from thinking girls were scary, selfish, overrated creatures to think they were beautiful, fun, and (at times) scary people.
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I will say this though, I hadn't given much though to what John McClaine's been up to in the last twelve years. Granted, I only saw the original Die Hard movies fairly recently, but after the third installment I can't say I felt there were any unanswered questions I had about the character. But when given the opportunity to check up on an old friend, how can you possibly say no? So I went to "Live Free And Die Hard" to see what old John McClaine was up to these days. Apparently he's still a run-down LAPD cop. He's divorced and has a non-speaking relationship with his daughter who, like her mother, shows her disgust for her father by using her mothers maiden name (no attempt to speak with his son happens in this film). Because McClaine is always in the wrong place at the wrong time, he is called to pick up a computer hacker (Justin Long, who you may know as Mac) on the way home.
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This results in a shootout from the hackers apartment, which then results in the two teaming up to stop a bunch of internet terrorists, which then results in lots of shooting and explosions, which then results with a Kevin Smith cameo appearance, which then results with one more explosion, capping off with a loss of hearing. Though I must say, McClaine has still got it. In fact, despite the fact that he's 52 years old, I was surprised to discover John McClaine seemed to be in better shape now then he was twenty years ago in the first Die Hard movie. There's a scene where got gets beat up by a Chinese girl, shot, thrown out a window, lands on a pipe, falls off the pipe and onto a truck, falls off the truck, and then he just picks himself back to run up the stairs fight this same Chinese woman on an elevator with hardly a scratch on him. This bloodless and cartoony fight is either result of some serious working out, or the result of the new PG-13 rating.
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What's also noticeable is that McClaine is still doing his own stunts. In a year where almost all the big budget Hollywood movies have epic CGI battles all over the place, it's nice to see some good old fashioned stunt work in "Live Free And Die Hard." Though the stunt work is still real, it is disheartening to see many of the story elements and action sequences more cartoony then they ever have been before. I wanted to ask John how a fight with a British dude in the first Die Hard movie results in a sprained arm and black eye, while leaping five stories from a fighter jet results in a "Woo hoo!" scream. I expected the leap from the fighter jet to result in a broken leg or two, but I guess I was wrong. Still, despite my questions, I must admit I enjoyed catching up with John. Despite the fact that he doesn't appear to have the bite he used to have, I did enjoy watching him in action once more. I just wish he'd finally get his family problems worked out.
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