Live Free or Die Hard - Bad Title or Good Movie?
Live Free or Die Hard B
Starring Bruce Willis, Justin Long, and Timothy Olyphant
Directed by Len Wiseman (Underworld)
Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action, language and a brief sexual situation
Appropriate for ages 16+
The Story: An older and much more cynical John McClane (Willis) gets thrown into another situation where he must help or watch everything go down in flames. This time, he is sent to pick up a computer hacker (Long) and bring him to Washington D.C., when he ends up saving the kids life from a cyber terrorist (Olyphant), and maybe saving the world as well.
The Good: While the story isn't mind-blowing, due to my very low expectations, I was actually impressed with how well thought out and fun this adventure was. The action doesn't take a second to breathe and the tongue-in-cheek wit outshines the humor of the first three films in the franchise. The set pieces are numerous and huge in scope providing many fingernail-biting moments.
The Bad: The first thing I would have changed would be the title. It's horrible. It's embarrassing. Was Die Hard 4 taken? I know that there are better minds in Hollywood than this that come up with a more appropriate and not so annoying title.
Also, the stunts are a lot over-the-top. While they are impressive, they tend to take you out of the picture due to their lack of any kind of realism.
What really gets my goat on this film is that this was a Rated R film that was changed in editing. Some of the dubbing looks really poor due to the filmmakers removing bad language to get a lighter rating. One of the most obvious dirty word loop-outs is Bruce Willis calling Kevin Smith "Truckface." This should have remained an R rated film and might have been better if the film makers would have kept their integrity and not tried so hard to attract the thirteen-year-old male demographic.
The Summary: While the new Die Hard might be a little too silly and over-the-top, ultimately, this is a good summer popcorn flick.
Truckface is absolutely classic!
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