Bruce Almighty
Somebody up there is protecting Willis in 'Live Free or Die Hard'
By Andy Klein
The title of the latest installment in the Die Hard franchise - Live Free or Die Hard - is just a smidgen less nonsensical than its immediate predecessor, the 1995 Die Hard with a Vengeance. But natives of New Hampshire, whose motto it references, will be disappointed to learn that their home is nowhere seen or mentioned herein. Even when the film strays from the urban environments in which hero John McClane (Bruce Willis) is most comfortable, its destination is West Virginia, not the Granite State.
It's hard to believe that it's been 12 years since the last McClane epic. But director Len Wiseman (Underworld) follows the series' pattern perfectly, with the hero fighting yet a greater threat than last time and surviving abuse even more implausibly.
Thomas Gabriel (Deadwood's Timothy Olyphant) is the mastermind behind a massive cyber-attack on the U.S., seizing control of all government computers and communications satellites, shutting down power grids, and generally spreading anarchy (all for a profit payoff that could presumably be achieved much more easily). Not one to leave loose ends, he has his thugs - spearheaded by kick-ass babe Mai (Hong Kong star Maggie Q) and acrobatic Rand (Cyril Rafaelli, star of last year's District B13) - murder all the freelance hackers he's used to break down the government security systems.
All but one, actually. After the first sign of a cyber-intrusion, FBI honcho Bowman (Cliff Curtis) asks the cops to question all the usual hacking suspects. Luckily for Matt Farrell (Justin Long), the NYPD sends McClane, who arrives just in time to help him escape Gabriel's heavily armed minions. By the time this mismatched duo reaches Bowman's Washington command center, the full force of the attack has hit, and all hell has broken loose.
What ensues is a near-constant series of action scenes, in which Gabriel's crew tries to bump off Farrell and Bowman, even though, when you think about, why should they even care at this point? Along the way, there is some clever shtick, along with some admirably preposterous stunt concepts.
My biggest problem with all but the first (and clearly the best) of the Die Hard films is the random blending of cartoon reality with a more realistic tone. When the characters start surviving 100-foot falls and continue to fight off attackers after being repeatedly shot, it cheapens whatever concern we've already developed for them.
It may be that I'm belatedly adjusting to two or three decades of changes in cinematic conventions - or, to put it another way, that I've been worn down - but I was less bothered this time around, even though McClane goes from crashing a truck to flying through debris to falling from the wing of a fighter jet and still has the energy to do battle. He's a middle-aged Energizer Bunny, this guy.
Outside of the numerous action set pieces, what makes Live Free or Die Hard essentially enjoyable is the odd-couple pairing of the immature hacker and the tough cop, who will - we can divine in no time - bond and learn to respect each other. Willis is, of course, always an effective star presence, and Long is as immediately likable as he was in his first film, Galaxy Quest, and his current Mac commercials.
Versatile New Zealand actor Curtis (whose expressions here are uncannily reminiscent of The Daily Show's Aasif Mandvi) does solid work, but there's a bit of gimmick casting that nearly steals the show: Writer/director Kevin Smith (Clerks, Dogma) - like Willis, a proud New Jerseyite - has a brief role as the most super of superhackers, and he looks totally at home in the part.
Published: 06/28/2007
DIGG | del.icio.us | REDDIT
