Old habits 'Die Hard'.

Rating: 7/10 (23 May 2008)

My Take: This effects-laden stroll-down-memory-lane is fun, mostly thanks to Willis' return as McLane.
"Why can the same thing happen to the same guy twice?" That's what John McLane asks, and after 12 years, until now John McLane is still having a bad day. Back at the wrong place at the wrong time, Bruce Willis is thrust back to play one of his most beloved characters in LIVE FREE OR DIE HARD (or simply DIE HARD 4.0), a long-delayed sequel to the highly successful DIE HARD franchise. Back as McLane, Willis proves that, even if he lost most of his hair, he hasn't lost the "Yippee Ki Yay"'s and all.
So far, the series has been healthy. The first three DIE HARD movies have been successful box-office hits. I liked the first three DIE HARD movies (the first and the second as the best), but does this big-budget effects-driven fourth entry measure up. The answer, it's just about as good as the third film in the series DIE HARD WITH A VENGEANCE, but I don't think it's as good as the first two. Still, during these days where sequels all but promise a bigger more promising sequels, LIVE FREE OR DIE HARD lives up to its legacy.
Back fighting against terrorist in every way, McLane is pitted against a maniacal computer genius named Thomas Gabriel (Timothy Olyphant), a surprisingly competent villain who's nearly up there with Alan Rickman's Hans Gruber, who took over the city's power and computer systems, who ransoms for a large amount of money to give it all back. McLane aids help from computer hacker Matt Ferrel (Justin Long) to stop the mastermind and save his daughter (the stunning Mary Elizabeth Winstead) who's been captured, but not without any style, action, stunts and all those yippee Ki Yay's.
Since CGI has already taken advantage from many other action films to date, LIVE FREE OR DIE HARD is not about to get left behind. Director Len Wiseman (whose recent resume is the UNDERWORLD films) put in a lot of excessive flashy unbelievable stunts triggered with CGI, much like those stunts in XXX and the Bond film DIE ANOTHER DAY. Due to its use (or more overuse) on special effects, LIVE FREE OR DIE HARD loses the solid impact of its predecessors. The stunts are unbelievable, and t6he CGI makes it look more exciting, but not any more believable.
Still, what an impact. It ain't the best in the series, but it's a worthy effort and a terrific successor to the first three pictures. Fans won't be disappointed.
Rating: ***1/2 out of 5.