Lacks the feel of a "Die Hard" movie

Rating: 8/10 (28 June 2007)

Live Free or Die Hard is a good film but seems different from the original three movies. It lacks in what made the first one great and the other two good! I was impressed with solid acting and a very interesting story! It has intensity but not as much as the other three Die Hards in my opinion.
Len Wiseman directs this fourth installment. The film is rated PG-13 and not R. That already told me it would not be as good as the other ones. Violence and vulgarity are toned down way low (very disappointed). Violence especially, there is not as many cool, intense, and dramatic killings in this film that the originals had. The film brings back some of the original Die Hard music which really got me excited! I loved the original film's music and too hear them return to that got me excited, not to forget where the film has come from. The action sequences are bigger and better. One with a jet, That is pretty crazy. I dislike the way the film was shot! At times, the camera seems to be all over the place and changing shots way too often! Especially when it is completely unnecessary!
The story is both good and interesting! An interesting concept to put behind a Die Hard film. I liked it. And we spend absolutely no time with McClane's past which is good! Focus on the future story! No need to try and remind the viewer of McClane's past, we focus on his current situation which I like.
Bruce Willis, as usual, fulfills his role of John McClane. Ten years can not change the way he portrays that character. He is as great as ever! His character is just as funny and serious as the originals. Timothy Olyphant does a good job as the villain, Thomas Gabriel. He is no Hans Gruber, but he does come off as being a dangerous threat! Maybe not to McClane, but to the nation! Justing Long does good as his computer-hacker character. I really do not like him and did not approve of him being in the movie but he did a good job. He did not give me something to criticize him for. Mary Elizabeth Winstead plays Lucy McClane and she does a great job. Her character is played just like her father and she does a good job of doing it. She even has her fathers mentality (beyond what you may think of McClane being just a cop). Especially when she is with Thomas Gabriel. Wonderful casting and wonderful characters.
Overall, it is a good film! I do consider it high enough caliber to be a Die Hard movie but it feels different than the other ones. The acting and story is good but I think it lacks in intensity, language, and violence. People do not watch Die Hard for a purpose or meaning. They watch to be entertained! And I feel the entertainment of this "Die Hard" movie was not as good as it could have been! A very good movie though!