• Home
  • Podcast
    • Specials
  • Interviews
  • Movie Reviews
  • TV Reviews
  • DVD Reviews
  • Columns
  • News
    • TV News
    • Film News
    • DVD News
    • Online Entertainment News
    • Space News
    • Music News
    • On Stage
    • Geeky, Funny & Weird

Slice of SciFi

This is How We Geek Out: Interviews, Reviews & More

  • Writers, After Dark
  • The Babylon Podcast
  • Slice of SciFi TV
  • Charlie Jade Verse
  • Contact Us
    • About Us

Live Free or Die Hard — A FilmCritic Review

June 28, 2007 By Sam Sloan 5 Comments

A film review by Sean O’Connell – Copyright © 2007 filmcritic.com

livefreediehard.jpgHe’s back. The fly in the ointment. The monkey in the wrench. The pain in the… well, since Len Wiseman’s Live Free or Die Hard is the franchise’s first installment saddled with an audience-friendly PG-13 rating, we’ll have to dance around that last quote. But that’s about the only thing toned down as Bruce Willis resurrects his iconic blue-collar cop character John McClane for a timely, terrifying, and terrifically entertaining popcorn flick.

Chances are I enjoyed this new Die Hard, the fourth in the series, more than you will. Full disclosure time: The original Die Hard is my favorite film. Not my favorite Bruce Willis film. Not my favorite action film. My favorite film, period. And Willis’ invulnerable but impossibly human John McClane is, to me, the quintessential movie hero — a street-smart civil servant with a knack for disrupting the best-laid plans of vicious malcontents.

That being said, I loved this movie. It has problems, but they are forgivable. Live Free is a perfect Die Hard sequel. It captures the outmatched tone of the first two pictures, and reclaims McClane’s trademark sarcasm that was absent in the clumsy, sloppily plotted third film, Die Hard with a Vengeance. In no way does Live Free measure up to the original. It would be unfair to think that it ever could. But as a continuation of the saga, Live Free delivers.

At 52, Willis can’t ignore his age. The still-rugged actor’s current take on McClane, though, is exactly how I picture the character to be at this stage. He’s jaded, frustrated, unappreciated, and more than a little bored. When we first see him, he’s staking out his college-attending daughter, Lucy (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), and shaking down potential boyfriends. We get the impression the beleaguered hero misses the action, and resents the complacency that comes with old(er) age.

Sean’s full review can be found HERE

Share on TwitterShare on LinkedInShare on FacebookShare on Email

Filed Under: Film Reviews

Comments

  1. Thomas says

    June 28, 2007 at 1:52 am

    The second one of the series has always been my least favorite, because it ignores reality so deeply. There is a problem at Dulles, then reroute air traffic to National, BWI, Richmond at least and if it’s really emergency you have Andrews and a few other military air bases nearby by. It stopped me from entering the movie fantasy worl from word go, the first and the third were far more fun.

    Reply
  2. Jeremy from Seattle says

    June 28, 2007 at 6:55 pm

    And it has “Mac” in it! Yay!

    (“Hi, I’m a Mac,”)

    Reply
  3. Kurt in Saint George says

    June 29, 2007 at 5:13 am

    It’s a popcorn movie. The laws of physics will be ignored. Logic will go right out the window.

    I saw it last night and had a good time. My only complaint is Timothy Olyphant is just OK as the bad guy. One of the problems with all the sequels is no one has touched Alan Rickman’s performance as the villain in the original.

    Maybe they should have brought Rickman back for this one. Yes, his character survived the fifty floor fall at the end of Die Hard and wants revenge. That would be cool and it’s no less improbable then most of the action scenes in any of the Die Hard movies.

    Reply
  4. Kyle Nin says

    June 29, 2007 at 3:47 pm

    If Alan Rickman’s character hadn’t died in the first movie, then the the third movie’s storyline wouldn’t make any sense.

    Reply
  5. Marlina says

    June 30, 2007 at 5:35 pm

    Not really.. No one would have known if his character didn’t die in the first one.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Generic selectors
Exact matches only
Search in title
Search in content
Post Type Selectors
Filter by Categories
Audio Productions
Awards News
Book News
Book Reviews
Columns
Comics News
DVD News
DVD Reviews
Entertainment Business News
Events
Fan Films
Fan Productions
Film News
Film Reviews
Gaming News
Geeky, Funny & Weird
Human Interest
Interviews
Music News
On Stage
Online Entertainment News
Science News
Slice of SciFi
Slice Video News
Space News
Specials
Technology News
TV News
TV Reviews

Slice

Follow Slice of SciFi

  • twitter
  • youtube
  • facebook

Listen to Slice of SciFi

  • iheartradio
  • playerfm

Subscribe to Podcast

Apple PodcastsGoogle PodcastsiHeartRadioPodchaserTuneInRSS
  • Movie & TV Reviews

Father's Day - Deals on 4K UHD Collections

Recent Comments

  • Lou Tambone on Finding “The Joker”: Rich Handley and Lou Tambone on a complex villain: “Thanks! Always a pleasure!”
  • Sean on “Oppenheimer” is a cinematic tour de force: ““Tour de Force” is exactly what I said to the buddy who invited me to this as we left the…”
  • Erik on “The Lazarus Project” Episode 3 and who controls the singularity: “Louis, I agree with most of what you are saying here. Vinette’s portrayal of the multiple birth scenes however; while…”
  • Mark on Reviewing “Return to Sender”: “It was a movie settle down”
  • Greg R. on “Hotel Artemis” offers splendid lodgings: “Hotel Artemis – I just had the chance to watch Hotel Artemis again on SHO and looking for an answer…”
Tweets by Slice of SciFi
death to humans 160x600
Save 20 on all pre-order statues at TFAW.com!

Slice of SciFi
415 Pisgah Church Rd #302
Greensboro NC 27455
602-635-6976

Artwork:
Slice of SciFi spiral logo designed by Tim Callender

Theme Music:
Slice of SciFi music and themes
courtesy of Sci-Fried

Sister Sites:
Writers, After Dark
The Babylon Podcast
Charlie Jade Verse
Slice of SciFi TV

Slice

Copyright Slice of SciFi © 2005–2023 · WordPress · Log in