Great Action Movie

Rating: 8/10 (2 July 2007)

Live Free or Die Hard is an overly-intelligent action movie with more intense action than just about any other movie out there. It's the fourth movie in a series that dates all the way back to 1988, when the original Die Hard came out. Lots has changed since then: lead star John McClaine (Willis) is approaching AARP status, special effects have vastly improved, and for the first time in the series, this installment received a PG-13 rating. This is certainly a strong PG-13 movie- some of the action scenes can get pretty violent but not anything to warrant an R rating. LFoDH doesn't seem to be hampered by the rating, as all the action scenes are full-out and in your face, just like a great action movie should be.
For never seeing a Die Hard movie before this one, the story struck my by surprise. There is no ultra-violent ego-maniac trying to take down McClaine by sheer force. Instead, the story is all about a group of very elite computer hackers who have access to just about everything in the country that depends on computer signals: stop lights, gas pipes, airplane radio signals, transmitters, security cameras, etc. Their goal is to reek as much havoc as possible and to bring down the entire country. Cliché, but intriguing. Some of the hackers work is generally creepy, as you will see when you watch the movie. Director Len Wiseman counters the claims of "unrealistic" through main evil-doer Thomas Gabriel. It would be unreal for one man to have access to so much information in the federal government and the security agencythat is, of course, unless he used to work there! With the enemy knowing the ins and outs of all of his targets, how can he loose? He can't, exactly. However, there is John McClaine, a hardened veteran of situations exactly like these. As a New York police officer, McClaine is tough, smart, and sarcastic. To be even more of a badass, he goes by his last name only. In the beginning, McClaine is contacted by the FBI to pick up a suspicious computer hacker from New Jersey by the name of Matt Farrell. The FBI thinks that he has something to do with the growing number of hack-jobs they have been dealing with. However, Farrell confesses to the mess, but points out that the hackers ditched him and are now expanding their power under Gabriel. Farrell says that he would never do such a thing, and that he may know how to track down Gabriel. That is, as long as he is willing to work with McClaine.
The story isn't as polished as I would've hoped, as there are times when unexplained stuff will occur and previous ideas are thrown out the window. However, these are few and far between, so it's hard to fault the movie much for that. Live Free or Die Hard is the first true action movie of the summer, and it seems to be here for a whilewell, until July 4th, when Transformers comes out. But for these few days, Live Free or Die Hard is the movie to see.
Good) great action scenes/moments, strong lead character, very smart movie Bad) ending isn't truly satisfying, a few storyline holes Kevin Smith) The hilarious "large" actor adds in some necessary humor as the Warlock. Oh, and he plays Gears of War