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Overall Rating
  Awesome: 9.82%
Worth A Look: 47.32%
Average: 14.29%
Pretty Bad: 16.96%
Total Crap: 11.61%
9 reviews, 58 user ratings
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Live Free or Die Hard |
by William Goss
"The Return of Bruno"

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We know the drill. Neither blasphemous nor especially worthy of its legacy, this summer’s 'Live Free or Die Hard' joins the ranks of similarly overdue and underdesired sequels such as 'Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines,' 'Jurassic Park III,' and 'Alien: Resurrection' by dusting off a seemingly sacred series and offering up adequately shallow, sporadically exciting summer spectacle under the guise of franchise continuation.Finally matching Ellen Ripley in bouts of wrong-place-wrong-time syndrome, detective John McClane (Bruce Willis) stumbles across yet another elaborate terrorist plot when dispatched to retrieve a hacker (Justin Long, of Mac ad fame) who seems to have unwittingly aided scorned federal employee Thomas Gabriel (Timothy Olyphant, TV’s “Deadwood”) in the systematic technological takedown of America’s infrastructure over the Fourth of July holiday.
For all its extravagance, director Len Wiseman (the Underworld flicks) and writer Mark Bomback (Godsend) have created a showcase for many practical stunts, relying on CGI effects to a minimal degree and thus grounding several outlandish sequences with the suggestion of blood and bone at stake instead of pixels. The arguable highlight of the bunch – a breathless series of close calls with cars, in which McClane and Mac find themselves pinned between both directions of oncoming traffic within a darkening tunnel – is bound to affect your pulse, regardless of whoever is dodging the Dodges.
However, nearly every other scene that is merely watchable without Willis borders on worthwhile because of him. It’s world-weary McClane saving the day once more, because even in this day and age, someone still has to be willing to do what’s right, armed with elbow grease, brute force, and the occasional smirk. Long does his hectic reaction shots as best he can, and even lands a quip or two along the way; as the inevitable daughter in distress, the lovely Mary Elizabeth Winstead makes Lucy McClane out to be every bit the force to be reckoned with as her father; and Kevin Smith is adequate for his role as a hacker capable of uploading third-act exposition and doing all the right favors. Olyphant’s baddie is about as bland as they come, and only slightly more compelling is his gal pal (Maggie Q), whose kung-fu antics bring a surprisingly level of satisfaction to a mid-point confrontation that culminates in yet more elevator shaft shenanigans for McClane.
What ultimately prevents DH4 from being one of the season’s most relentless entertainments is its clunky pacing, as the narrative focus clumsily shifts the narrative focus between McClane’s perils and the necessary expository evil that is FBI Assistant Director Bowman (Cliff Curtis, in a thankless role). Every other scene consists of Bowman shouting orders, staring at screens, and being informed of just the critical info that happened to be above his pay grade. Creating an episodic rhythm at best, these scenes only allow for one’s excitement to dissipate, disbelief to recover, and bladder to empty. (Look, there are worse times…)Although never less than familiar – there are bits here seemingly cribbed from 'Die Another Day' to 'True Lies' and beyond – 'Live Free or Die Hard' stumbles into enough of its own thrills to earn a look. If you’re looking to be blown out of the back wall of the theatre, pick up the original on DVD and use your imagination, but if you’ll settle for the edge of your seat, McClane might just have something up his sleeve yet.
link directly to this review at https://www.efilmcritic.com/review.php?movie=15580&reviewer=409 originally posted: 07/11/07 07:57:03
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USA 27-Jun-2007 (PG-13) DVD: 20-Nov-2007
UK 04-Jul-2007 (15)
Australia 09-Aug-2007 (M)
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