Slick and generally enjoyable entertainment

Rating: 7/10 (17 January 2008)

This latest entry in the Die Hard series isn't bad. In fact, it's a rather fun summer blockbuster action film. While it still suffers a little from the general problems that plague the rest of the Die Hard series, it also retains most of their strengths, leading to a rather entertaining, if empty, watch.
Bruce Willis is again John McClane. The character has hardly changed, although he shows more bitterness. But, generally, McClane is completely in McClane mode throughout the whole thing and there's very little variation from it. His accomplice this time is in Justin Long as a computer hacker. Justin's character is generally reactive and not a particularly strong character, but at least his personality is more dynamic than McClane's rock-steady determination. The villains are a bunch of combat ready computer nerds and while some of them do make for kinetic displays of action, they are still rather uncharismatic and consequently, uninteresting, although still not as all-out boring as the villains in Die Hard 2.
The story itself deals with some computer hackers that basically bring the nation to its knees. While the disaster it causes is one heck of a headache, because of the nature of the threat, it all feels rather distant, lacking the urgency of direct people-killing, crashing planes, or blowing up chunks of Manhatten. McClane rescues the hacker and they go off trying to stop the big bad. All rather ho-hum, but Live Free takes the route of the first Die Hard to keep the stakes up by involving McClane's daughter, Lucy (who is written humorously like a young female John McClane). However, since the actual threat over the course of the film doesn't escalate, the overall sense of suspense is a little diminished.
The action pieces in Live Free are spectacular. Whether the tunnel with the crashing cars, the fighter plane versus a big rig, or the many fist-fight/shoot-outs that occur, they are all exciting and keep the suspense fairly high. Unfortunately, the action pieces in this film also show highlight the extreme improbability of everything that McClane does. He frequently gets by solely on luck, which isn't as compelling as when he makes good decisions that lead to his success. It stretches the believability factor almost as much as Die Hard 2.
Ultimately, this is a slick piece of entertainment. The core story primarily appears to exist to string along a bunch of action and McClane-style badassery, with a tiny little bit about what it means to be a hero. While in the end, it's not greatly compelling, it serves its function well in sticking the action together and provides an enjoyable enough popcorn flick. And while it doesn't quite reach the level of the first and third of the series, it's not as ridiculous as the second and has higher production values than all of the rest to boot. So, a slick, enjoyable action film with not a whole lot more going on. And sometimes, a little junk food is okay. 7/10.