LIVE FREE OR DIE HARD (2007)

[rra]

LIVE FREE OR DIE HARD (2007) - ***1/2

(NOTE: This is a review of the Unrated Edit)

As much as I enjoyed this movie, I don't really see it as a true DIE HARD sequel.

Among the charms of John McClane for me is that he's an incredibly tough lucky bastard that prevails by the skin of his teeth, making his jumps and bumps incredible not because of said moves, but because we believe in him. Along with the incredible bloody beating he always receives.

He lives in a real world that is only fantastical in that the same man can be at the wrong place, at the wrong time more than once. As I wrote in my DIE HARD review, "we feel his pain."

With Bruce Willis kicked out of a window, falling several stories, and walking it off, to surviving a bout with the fighter plane without a scratch, its not as easy to be consistently amazed by his heroics and badass preseverence.

But damn, this movie did come very close. Those two scenes aside, LIVE FREE OR DIE HARD has the McClane that we all love. Still snappy with his vulgar-laden witty remarks, still a bastard who alienated his family away, and still the man to call if terrorists run amok. Put him on speed dial, and Jack Bauer on hold.

In a way, this is the movie that DIE HARD 2 should have been, without the contrived obstacles. With the latter, another "false" DIE HARD sequel for me, you have a national hero telling the authorities over and over again about the threat, and nobody believing him because it would have ended the picture sooner.

With LIVE FREE, the bureaucrats listen to McClane and don't get in his way, but like Paul Gleason in the first DIE HARD, they're just simply overwhelmed by a better prepared, and better armed enemy. Isn't that a nice breath of fresh air for American action cinema in the epoch of 24?

The biggest surprise though I found with LIVE FREE is the chemistry that Willis had with his co-star Justin Long. The film pretty much keeps the buddy-partner formula from DIE HARD WITH A VENGEANCE, but instead of the heat stemming from the race tensions between Willis and Jackson, the slight sizzle from LIVE FREE is that Long is from a different generation and from a totally different background compared to Willis.

It's never stated, but perhaps McClane wasn't wild about the kid because while he spent years blowing up baddies, the Mac-mascot was sitting on his lazy ass playing video games.

It's Ass-kicker meets Slacker.

The fact that LIVE FREE was helmed by Leni Wiseman, the hack auteur of the UNDERWORLD pictures, is unbelievable. He shoots the movie at times with that urinated-technicolor cinematography I despise, and yet without the bullcrap, or as much, that I've complained about recent action cinema outside of the Bourne franchise.

I still though have slight problems with his 24-stylized opening credits, that the Lucy McClane subplot lacks any chemistry with Willis to make her reversal regarding her father feel organically honest, and with Timothy Olyphant as the villain.

He lacks the charismatic muster to make his scenes with McClane feel more magical than they are, like Jeremy Irons and Alan Rickman before him. His monotone presence may work for as the lead for HITMAN, but not as the villain for a DIE HARD movie.

Maybe what makes this a surprising triumph for Wiseman is that with his Unrated Edit, LIVE FREE is allowed to act like a true DIE HARD picture sequel should. I felt the theatrical edit suffered from being restrained and limited by the PG-13 rating.

Much-needed F-bombs now fly out of people's mouths and several buckets of blood squirt out, which puts some crucially missed balls back. DIE HARD is R-rated material, and damn proud of it. There's even a gunshot inflicted upon the hero in the (improved) ending that actually feels painful.

On second thought, this is a true DIE HARD sequel after all. Yippee-ki-yay indeed.

[Massive G]

PG-13? That's bush league. John McClane should be cursing (excessively), bloody, and hung over. That's what makes him awesome.

[Time Lord Soundwave]

I've only watched the unrated version, cuz John McClane is not f***ing PG-13, dammit!

I thought it was badass, BTW.

[rra]

awelcruiz said:

I've only watched the unrated version, cuz John McClane is not f***ing PG-13, dammit!

I thought it was badass, BTW.

This might be the first time, unless I'm mistaken, where a simple thing as including more profanity and violence actually improves a movie seriously.

[Jason Todd Grisham]

I haven't seen it yet, I just know I love the title.

[rra]

johnnyvulture said:

PG-13? That's bush league. John McClane should be cursing (excessively), bloody, and hung over. That's what makes him awesome.

Amen, brother.

[MCMGM]

I'm gonna go rent this on Demand now.

[Palatial Regalia]

I found the f-bombs in the unrated version to be uncalled for in most of the situations. They dropped so many f-bombs just to appease all those who complained about the PG-13 edition (A too be honest most of the f-bombs sound dubbed in just for the unrated version).

Thanks people for that, with what success Live Free had in the box office, it will become the norm to see a vastly cut PG/PG-13 version of a movie only to release a real "unedited" version. As if the theatres werent raping us enough.

[rra]

protoroc said:

I found the f-bombs in the unrated version to be uncalled for in most of the situations. They dropped so many f-bombs just to appease all those who complained about the PG-13 edition (A too be honest most of the f-bombs sound dubbed in just for the unrated version).

Thanks people for that, with what success Live Free had in the box office, it will become the norm to see a vastly cut PG/PG-13 version of a movie only to release a real "unedited" version. As if the theatres werent raping us enough.

(1) I disagree. I wouldn't be surprised if they were dubbed in, looped in post-production for the Unrated cut, but I felt the F-bombs worked, form Willis telling Long to "Shut the F--- Up" to Willis telling the baddie what he really thinks after Olymphant tried to justify his actions.

(2) Now I agree with you there. Boo! indeed.

[MCMGM]

Just watched it, it was pretty damn good. I agree Long and Willis had great (comedic) chemistry together.

The extra storyline with the daughter felt empty to me because they didn't develop the relationship between the two very much. One minute she hates his guts, and the next its "Daddy I love you!".

And as much as I love Olymphant, he didn't fit in this role. It might have been because he was "too young" for the role of 'super intelligent, gonna destroy the world' type mastermind. He didn't feel like he had been around long enough to be a 'victim' of the system.

Other than that, I really enjoyed it and it deserved the rating you gave it. Though Vengeance is still my fav. Willis, Jackson and Irons=permission to print money.

[Paul Servo]

Does anyone know if there is a gif available of Justin Long getting shot? I loved that scene. I rewound that at least 10 times.

I think the difference in the way McClane was portrayed in this comes from the fact that it has been years since WITH A VENGENCE and a lot could have happened in that time. Just a thought.

[Bob Schlapowitz]

awelcruiz said:

I've only watched the unrated version, cuz John McClane is not f***ing PG-13, dammit!

I thought it was badass, BTW.

Same here. I stubbornly refused to see the PG-13 version in theaters, because I knew the REAL version would be available on DVD.

Pretty good review rra. Just wondering, what do you dislike about Die Hard 2?

[Hensley]

Movie of the Year, for me. Absolutely loved every second of it. It was like Crank to me, almost. Except it was twice as long!

[rra]

bobschlapowitz said:

awelcruiz said:

I've only watched the unrated version, cuz John McClane is not f***ing PG-13, dammit!

I thought it was badass, BTW.

Same here. I stubbornly refused to see the PG-13 version in theaters, because I knew the REAL version would be available on DVD.

Pretty good review rra. Just wondering, what do you dislike about Die Hard 2?

Remember when McClane falls off the plane, DURING TAKE-OFF, and walks it off?

Remember how the airport authorities don't believe him, in spite of coincidences and evidence?

Remember how a great downer moment is sapped because its used to simply to heighten the danger for the wife?

Better yet, remember how DH2 was too much of a follow-up to the first movie?

[rra]

doubleh1530 said:

Movie of the Year, for me. Absolutely loved every second of it. It was like Crank to me, almost. Except it was twice as long!

Oh God, CRANK.....or should it be called CRACK?

[Grendel]

I went to see this in the theatre with a friend of mine, and I thought it was entertaining. But as we left the theatre, I remarked that I couldn't wait until they released a directors cut, because I felt that alot of things were cut out so that it would get it's PG-13 rating.

And I have to say after adding the movie to my collection (thus having the full set), I haven't been disappointed. This should have been the movie that was released to the theatre, not the neutered version.

[Near Fantastica]

It was alright. I generally hate these kind of movies. Action simply does not appeal to me whatsoever, but it was alright. I'll never watch it again, nor will I recommend it to others, but I relaxed and suspended my disbelief (as one should do from time to time) and I got through it. Olyphant was horrendously miscast however. The bad guy isn't much of a bad guy when I feel like I could punch him out (and I'm 5'8 and about 145lbs).

I will say I'm glad I saw it as Die Hard 4, and not the god-awful name Live Free Or Die Hard.