‘Live Free or Die Hard’

The picture becomes a duel of laptops and fists; computers seem to be necessary to propel action films these days, in the story and behind the scenes.

By: Bob Brown

Bruce Willis gets back to action in Live Free or Die Hard.

   It seems like only yesterday that a young Bruce Willis blew apart the big screen in the first Die Hard (1988). Here we are almost two decades, and three Die Hards, later and the actor, who claimed he would never again play an action hero, is back at it.
   What makes this franchise so successful? The one common denominator in all these films is Willis. He earned the then princely sum of $5 million for the first in the series. That was unprecedented for a single film. But he earned it because the producers saw in him a unique warmth and humor that would soften an otherwise cold, ruthless character. That warmth is still there. Along with the bad-ass attitude and an ability to survive the most outrageous destruction.
   Throughout, John McClane (Willis) is the man who single-handedly takes on the bad guys, "because there’s no one else to do it," as he says. Whether he’s jumping from crashing cars or plummeting helicopters, or skittering away from onrushing fireballs, McClane hardly has time to worry. It’s a tough, dirty job that demands an obnoxious cop who doesn’t take crap from nobody.
   All you need to know about the plot is that there’s a very smart, very PO’ed ex-Federal employee, Thomas Gabriel (Timothy Olyphant), who knows that the government’s computer database on everyone’s finances is vulnerable. Since his warnings have been ignored and he’s been passed over for a promotion, it’s only natural that he creates an elaborate underground computer network of his own to bring the country to its knees.
   He staffs it with a dozen or so computer geeks, who penetrate government firewalls to disrupt communications and energy supplies. His chief henchperson is his girlfriend, the very lanky, lithe Mai Lihn (Maggie Q), who combines sex appeal with cold-blooded ruthlessness. (Why are such villainesses always dressed in cat-woman type suits?)
   McClane, who like Willis himself is weary of saving civilization every few years, gets brought in when the FBI taps him to corral a suspected hacker, Matt Farrell (Justin Long, the Apple guy), who lives in (are you ready for this?) Camden, N.J. Willis gets the call while he’s on the Rutgers campus one night, spying on his daughter, Lucy (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), who is parked with an over-amorous date.
   Once McClane has collared Farrell, he realizes there’s more to this than bringing the hacker in. It seems like a very high-powered mob with heavy firearms is trying to kill the kid — in spectacular ways. Like riddling his apartment with bullets that penetrate doors, walls, refrigerators, etc. Just getting back to FBI H.Q. and FBI director Bowman (Cliff Curtis) in D.C. is a chore, what with gargantuan traffic tie-ups orchestrated by Gabriel, whose goons are tracking McClane and Farrell from a helicopter.
   McClane leaves a trail of bad-guy bodies as he presses wearily on. When he runs out of bullets, he uses vehicles as projectiles. The guy is made out of rubber, bouncing back from one fiery crash to another. The only sign that he may be hurt is his red-streaked face and his blood-stained shirt. Otherwise, McClane is always good to go. (Willis’ stunt double, Larry Rippenkroeger, took all the punishment and actually wound up in the hospital after a 25-foot fall, disrupting production for a while.) Farrell mostly cowers on the sidelines, complaining that his asthma is acting up.
   Once the trouble is tracked to Gabriel, the picture becomes a duel of laptops and fists, with his computer geeks vs. Farrell and his Star Wars-obsessed friend Warlock (Kevin Smith in a cameo appearance), aided by McClane’s brawn. Computers seem to be necessary to propel action films these days, in the story and behind the scenes. The usual studio magic brings a lot of the impossible-looking fight sequences to life.
   Writer Mark Bomback (responsible for the dreadful and deeply illogical Godsend a few years ago) doesn’t try to complicate things with complex psychological motivation. Gabriel is just a very mad, immoral guy, a role that might very well have been played by Willem Dafoe — who wouldn’t have been as sexy. For all its two hours and 10 minutes, the picture does not drag for moment.
   The movie is bloody and violent to be sure, but with such cartoonish action that no gore is in your face. In fact, of all the Die Hard films, this is the only one that was edited down to earn a milder PG-13, in hopes of improving box-office receipts.
   Willis is old enough now that anymore Die Hards are unlikely in his future — or anyone else’s. No other actor suits the role as conceived. If you’ve seen the others, complete the set on a high note by catching this one. They don’t, and won’t, get any better.
Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action, language and a brief sexual situation.