The 313 Second Movie Review: "Live Free or Die Hard"

Welcome back once again to the 313 Second Movie Review. Yeah, I know. I've been keeping myself busy this summer. And I got the bank statement to prove it. Anyways, why don't I look at the next movie? Today, I'll be talking about the British/American movie "Live Free or Die Hard." The film stars Bruce Willis as John McClane, Justin Long as Matt Farrell, Mary Elizabeth Winstead as Lucy McClane, Timothy Olyphant as Thomas Gabriel, and Maggie Q as Mai Lihn. Now, I trust you've all seen the previous "Die Hard" movies, so I really shouldn't bother hitting rewind. Let's do this. Everybody's favorite loose cannon cop, John McClane, is back. However, things have not really improved for him in the last twelve years. His wife divorced him for good and his daughter, Lucy, isn't talking to him. Well, things start off ordinary. And for McClane, that means being in the wrong place at the wrong time. White, nerdy, and dangerous Thomas Gabriel, flanked by loyal henchmen Mai Lihn and Rand, has broken into the FBI computer crimes lab. The guy is a little obsessed with getting back at the government. See, he tried to convince the Department of Defense that even after 9/11, our technological infrastructure is very fragile. Unfortunately, he pissed off military officials by hacking into NORAD (the American and Canadian satellite defense system) from a laptop. They wind up humiliating him and throw him out on his ass. Well, not only has he busted the FBI, he's knocking off skilled hackers. One of them, Matt Farrell, is taken by McClane to go to the FBI for questioning about the aforementioned hacking. Thomas' men try to eradicate Matt and McClane in the process, but fail. Soon after, Washington's traffic comes to a complete standstill, and McClane and Matt find themselves in a battle that only heats up as Thomas' plan continues to unravel. Overall, this was a very solid "Die Hard" movie. It contained the suspense of the original three. Also on the plus side was they rehashed the McClane isn't alone angle. Just like how Samuel L. Jackson unwittingly found himself assisting Bruce in "Die Hard With a Vengeance," Justin "Hello, I'm a Mac" Long finds right in to balance McClane out. McClane handles the hand-to-hand combat, but since he can't even get "Fortunate Son" by Creedence Clearwater Revival as his ringtone, Matt uses his techno-geek skills to aide McClane in once again getting out of an accidental situation to save the world. The effects were were amazing, from the highway game of Chicken to the numerous explosions to the "Matrix" like and jumping from building to building fighting skills. And I gotta give big ups to Bruce Willis. He still does his own stunts. I'd think a block of concrete hurts your back more at 52 than it does at 32. You just can't kill this man, though. He's a freaking machine. Must say, this lastest version of the "Die Hard" series has made the last 19 years of explosions and gunshots so much fun. And you know I'm not ending this thread without saying it. Yippee-ki-yay, motherfucker!

My time's up, you've been great. For the road: The Academy Is... "We've Got A Big Mess On Our Hands"