John McClane as archetypal hero

Rating: 9/10 (23 January 2011)

Eclipsing the first "Die Hard" and easily breezing past its first two, good-but-not-spectacular, follow-ups, "Live Free Or Die Hard" is one of the most exciting, most fun, and overall best action films to come down the pike in a long time. This one takes quite a different tract than the first two, which confined their action to a skyscraper and an airport, respectively, and shoots, chases and slams its way over much of the northeastern U.S. seaboard. When a series of precisely co-ordinated computer attacks start bringing down systems and power grids all over the country, Bruce Willis (returning as John McClane once again) finds himself drawn into the thick of it - largely by coincidence as usual - and in his best race-against-the-clock yet. Sidekick role this time goes to Justin Long, a small-time hacker initially arrested by McClane and subsequently helping to piece together all the clues as to the villains's identities and ultimate intentions, Mary Elizabeth Winstead plays McClane's daughter Lucy and is as great as always, and Kevin Smith has a couple of brief but scene-stealing appearances as cyber-wizard 'Warlock'. The whole cast does great in this and makes a few scenes that might have otherwise been just Too unbelievable manage to work.
Speaking of brushes with the unbelievable though, those who like their action movies as realistic as possible might find that the forth Die Hard goes overboard a couple of times. There are some darn close calls even for McClane in this one, and probably nearly as many as in all three previous Die Hards put together! Most times, this kind of thing, with disaster constantly being averted by uncanny combinations of sheer coincidence and plain luck, will send an action movie skidding right off the tracks. Live Free Or Die Hard was one of the few where it didn't, and may have actually turned out to be a boon, adding to the fun and larger-than-life feel of the movie. At times it's reminiscent of the 2003 Denzel Washington movie Out of Time, although that one is more dark and intense, and Live Free Or Die Hard more of a grand roller-coaster ride.
Overall, unless you just dislike action/adventure movies altogether, Live Free Or Die Hard is one of the safest bets out there. Those who find it a bit too over the top are still likely to enjoy it for the most parts, while those who don't think it went too far will just be blown away. Before they did this one I thought it would be a bad idea to do another Die Hard. After this I hope they go ahead and do a fifth. When you can deliver this kind of a winner nineteen years after the first one you've got something really good going. Scores around 9 or 9.5 on a ten point scale.