The days are long, the temperatures are high, and the explosions are big. That’s right, it’s once again summer and the season of the blockbuster. It’s that fabulous time of the year where the cinema invites us to leave our brains at home while we escape the heat in the comforting darkness of the theater. The summer has returned, the blockbuster has returned, John McClane… has returned?
Over ten years have passed since the last Die Hard movie, 1995’s Die Hard: With A Vengeance, was released and the question is, can Bruce Willis still bring it as the tough guy cop who is just in the wrong place at the wrong time? I think the answer is a happy yes, yes he can.
And oh thank goodness for that. Because really, what we don’t need is another lackluster sequel killing a promising franchise (*cough* Spiderman 3). So believe me, I’m thrilled to say that Live Free or Die Hard delivers.
The premise is very 2007. Cyber-terrorists compromise the entire United States infrastructure through use of the internet, McClane is in the wrong place at the wrong time, and it’s up to him and a hacker kid to save the day. Why is he that guy? Because someone needs to do it and there’s no one else.
The best part of this movie isn’t its plot. It’s not its depth and social insight (because there really isn’t any). The best things about this movie are the giant explosions, the ridiculous stunts, and the rapport between McClane and the hacker kid Matt Farrrell (Justin Long). I also liked McClane’s daughter. Or at least the part where she punched a bad guy in the face.
And really, that’s what the summer blockbuster is all about. Big explosions. Clever dialogue. Absurd stunts. You know what you’re getting the second you watch the trailer.
“You just killed a helicopter with a car.”
“I was out of bullets.”
And more along those lines.
Where does it stand in the context of the series? How does it fit in with the Die Hard franchise? I’m going to go ahead and agree with the friend I went to see the movie with: not as good as the third, better than the second, and definitely a Die Hard movie.
It’s bigger than the previous movies. The threat is bigger. As I’ve mentioned, the explosions and stunts are bigger. The consequences are bigger. Of course bigger isn’t always necessarily better. In places it felt too big, too spread out. The threat was a little ephemeral; it never feels real or incredibly plausible. It was always fun though. Which is what it comes down to. We’re going to see a Die Hard movie because John McClane is awesome and we love him.
There is something very wrong about this theatrical release however. Have you noticed the rating? Um, PG-13? Really? Who thought that was a good idea? Not only is nearly incomprehensible that they would make a Die Hard movie less than R, the movie actually suffers for it. Some of the edits are so incredibly bad you just can’t help but cringe. It makes me sad. I want to see the un-butchered R version. Oh well, that’s what the DVDs are for after all. We can’t just have the real version up front. We have to pay again to see it uncut in out own living rooms. Jerks.
So should you go see? Well, what did you think of the trailer? That’s your answer right there.
P.S. Kevin Smith has a small role as the Star Wars loving hacker “Warlock”. Yay.
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