Live Free Or Die Hard (2007)

2.5 out of 4

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

Director: Len Wiseman

Time: 130 mins

Viewed: Loews Monmouth Mall, Eatontown, New Jersey

Yippee kiyay, John McClane (Willis) is back! The hero of the greatest action film of them all (and 2 sequels) fights cyber-terrorism this time out, when a computer maestro (Olyphant) and his team systematically shut down the transportation and utilities infrastructure across the entire US. Joining McClane for the ride are hacker Matt Farrell (Long) and, later, his daughter, Lucy (Winstead). Return of iconic and influential series after 12 years in film wilderness is welcome, but, even though McClane still spouts the sarcastic one-liners, he is less a man under siege than a wizened cop just doing his job, which means he could have been played by anybody. Action setpieces are expertly staged (with a refreshingly low reliance on CGI effects), though they decrease in intensity as the film progresses, leading to a climactic vehicular confrontation that’s more ludicrous than spectacular. Willis can play this role in his sleep, Long is a little annoying, and Kevin Smith’s (fan that I usually am) cameo is totally unnecessary, but the acting revelation is Winstead (from Sky High), who adds sass as McClane’s feisty offspring. The film would have been better if there was more of her. The claustrophobic atmosphere that defined the original and provided so much of the tension is almost completely absent (save for a taut opening siege in Long's apartment), so while the film is entertaining enough, it is more Die Hard in name than in content.

(c) Joe Wong (1 July 2007)