A mostly satisfying BSM...

Rating: 7/10 (7 February 2008)

...which is to say, Big Stupid Movie. Helmed surprisingly well by Len "Underworld" Wiseman, "Live Free or Die Hard" positions itself nicely as what will hopefully be a fitting end to one of the better franchises in Hollywood history. The action is almost non-stop; the production values are excellent thanks to the likes of production designer Patrick "I am a man of many talents" Tatopoulos, and art directors Beat "Star Trek" Frutiger and James "Polar Express" Hegedus; Simon "I, Robot" Duggan's cinematography is fluidly enervating, aided by Nicolas "Terminator 3" De Toth's precise editing and Marco "3:10 to Yuma" Beltrami's fine score. I don't think anyone can argue that the $110mil budget was frittered away, unlike the more recent disappointment, "I Am Legend." Acting-wise, our sturdy Bruce "no longer moonlighting" Willis hero, John McClane, is in fine form, albeit a dozen years more grizzled and world-weary. Some fans have complained that he's not the same McClane, but I wonder why anyone would expect that after more than a decade since his last brouhaha. People change over time, and I have no problem with fictional ones doing the same. They'd be boring if they didn't. Of course, this McClane has the usual cartoonish ability to avoid bullets and survive bone-breaking falls and beatings, but with the exception of the first film (to some extent), that's par for the course, especially in this age of video game indestructibility. "LFoDH" is still, after all, a BSM.
Timothy "Deadwood" Olyphant may not measure up to the steely menace of his predecessors, but acquits himself well nonetheless. Maggie "Mission : Impossible III" Q. is fetching as his butt-kicking automaton henchwoman. Justin "Jeepers Creepers" Long is surprisingly appealing as McClane's unintended sidekick, while Mary Elizabeth "Grindhouse" Winstead suitably apes her screen father's persona. The slew of baddies (where did Olyphant's uber-hacker hire all these guys?) and rasher of good guys acquit themselves as expected, with notably limber antics from stuntman/actor Cyril "The Transporter" Raffaelli, and some shameless paycheck-taking from Kevin "I'm not really an actor" Smith. All in all, a good time was obviously had by all.
Mark "Godsend" Bomback's screenplay may be comic book crap, but it serves its purpose, which is to showcase McClane's superhuman durability and dogged determination. Why would anyone expect anything else? Nothing will ever match the original film anyway, at least not in my book, and if by some miracle something does, I'll be the first to admit it. Though definitely a big screen film, "LFoDH" translates well to video, especially in its unrated DVD form. Yippy-ki-ay, indeed.