Live Free or Die Hard (2007)

When I started writing reviews for Kung Fu Cinema back in 2000 I never imagined there would come a day when I would end up covering a DIE HARD movie. However, trends have changed in action filmmaking and while LIVE FREE OR DIE HARD celebrates everything that makes old school action filmmaking from Hollywood great, this latest entry in one of the greatest action film franchises of all time now embraces the new school martial arts action of Hong Kong and France.

Back in 1988, director John McTiernan and producer Joel Silver blew audiences away with the original DIE HARD. This classic, recently honored as the greatest action film of all time by Entertainment Weekly, introduced us to a wise-cracking, D.C. cop named John McClane, played by Bruce Willis. The over-the-top action and flawed, yet likable hero was a rehash of Silver’s 1987 movie LETHAL WEAPON, which spawned its own successful action franchise.

Through each of its two sequels, the DIE HARD films established and reinforced their winning formula of an increasingly haggard and bloodied McClane taking on highly skilled and well equipped thieves masking their true intentions under the guise of terrorism. DIE HARD 2 made the only departure for its villains were chiefly intent on freeing one of their own. Regardless, the violence remained extreme as McClane would jokingly blast his way through innumerable thugs before climaxing with his trademark battle cry of “Yippie-kai-yay…”

Twelve years after DIE HARD: WITH A VENGEANCE, McClane finally returns and thankfully not a whole lot has changed where the series staples are concerned. McClane is still estranged from his family, although this time the focus is on his grown daughter (Mary Elizabeth Winstead). She ends up kidnapped by a group of computer-savvy thugs under the leadership of Thomas Gabriel (Timothy Olyphant), a high tech terrorist who has turned his wrath on the country’s entire computer infrastructure.

An older and slightly less chatty McClane teams up with a young programmer (Justin Long), who is being targeted for termination by the thugs. Their mission is to track down the mad programmer and rescue McClane’s daughter.

Long-time fans of the series will be happy to know that the action is definitely up to par with past features and that may or may not come as a surprise to some given who is at the helm. For LIVE FREE, McTiernan steps into the producer’s chair and hands the reins to UNDERWORLD director Len Wiseman.

I was personally unimpressed by the UNDERWORLD films, especially the horrid sequel. While Wiseman did prove himself capable of shooting large-scale action sequences with live-action and digital effects, his action scenes were drowned out by cartoony fantasy elements, a silly script of vampires battling werewolves, bad acting, and a heavy-handed visual style.

With LIVE FREE Wiseman appears to have matured as an action filmmaker. An early shootout in an apartment is as intense and visceral as any in past DIE HARD features and is even reminiscent of Luc Besson’s classic LEON (aka THE PROFESSIONAL).

Big effects stunts such as a car being sent flying into a hovering helicopter are heavily dependent on digital wizardly and do push the boundaries of plausibility to the extreme, yet still look impressive.

The real showstopper is when an F-35 Lightning is duped by the villains into targeting McClane on a highway. In reality, the advanced fighter has yet to enter service but who cares about a little gaffe like this. This movie will forever have the distinction of being the first to dramatically showcase this incredible piece of machinery that is being built to replace a number of the U.S. military’s aging strike fighters.

An important element of DIE HARD has always been its villains. No one to date has surpassed Alan Rickman’s turn as the devious Hans Gruber and Timothy Olyphant is the worst stand in yet. He has all the qualities of another Billy Zane with good looks, a bland personality and suspect acting ability. Luckily, the villains’ sidekicks have always played an equally important role. This one has two that martial arts movie fans can get excited about.

Hong Kong model-turned-actress Maggie Q continues to make strides into Hollywood after co-starring in MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE 3. Yes, I know she’s no replacement for Michelle Yeoh, but she’s just as easy on the eyes and thanks to her action film experience in a handful of movies like NAKED WEAPON, Q has the potential to be Hollywood’s new “Dragon Lady.” I imagine she wouldn’t mind getting normal roles, especially since her American-bred English provides no stumbling block. Yet we all know that with few exceptions Hollywood execs are hopelessly racist and will never accept an Asian female lead that won’t do kung fu or star in a period role set in Asia.

Maggie definitely dishes out the fu in a unique and surprisingly brutal, extended tussle with Willis. It is a tad reminiscent of Jet Li’s bout with Mel Gibson in LETHAL WEAPON 4. Maggie unloads with the fancy moves, while Willis counters with less elegant, yet equally damaging man-handling.

Maggie does alright, but she isn’t a stunt actress by trade. For this sequence, Maggie is doubled by Boni Yanagisawa, a talented Californian who has been busy contributing action moves to other A-list movies including GRINDHOUSE and TRANSFORMERS.

Making the best showing where the screen fighting is concerned is France’s Cyril Raffaelli, best known for his starring role in DISTRICT B13 (aka BANLIEUE 13). He also notably went up against Jet Li in KISS OF THE DRAGON.

Raffaelli applies parkour moves and his own acrobatic martial arts to this role and in the process becomes something of a running gag as Willis pokes fun at his monkey-like dexterity throughout the movie. Raffaelli’s main match with Willis is short but sweet, giving John McClane one of his most challenging opponents. His gruesome exit is also arguably the greatest in the series.

What some fans may decry is the PG-13 rating this film has been given. It appears that it was a last-minute decision to make this rating and the apparent proof is a few odd voiceovers that appear, likely to remove some of the foul language which used to be one of the series trademarks.

I remember taking my mother, who is normally gung ho for action movies, to see DIE HARD 2 and feeling a little awkward about the quantity of profanity. I knew that was where she set one of her limits.

In LIVE FREE, the dialogue in far tamer and more sparing in general. What most viewers, even the sensitive ones, will likely remember is Justin Long’s light-hearted quips. Even Willis’ comebacks are fewer and less abrasive. If not for the constant action, I’d say John McClane has finally grown up. That’s not a bad thing though.

One aspect of the movie I didn’t care for was the presence of CLERKS director Kevin Smith as a hacker named Warlock. He was more of a distraction than anything. His casting is the perfect argument against using well known personalities in supporting roles, especially when they’re virtually playing themselves.

LIVE FREE OR DIE HARD is paced perfectly, possesses exceptional production design and with its constant explosions, fights and chases, makes for a thoroughly satisfying merger of old school bang ups and modern mayhem. Even so, what makes the movie a truly great actioner isn’t the wild stunts or the addition of martial arts and parkour, although welcome. It succeeds because it’s relevant.

There is added world weariness to McClane’s aged character that fits the times. LIVE FREE references disasters Katrina and 9/11. The theme that screenwriter Mark Bomback works with is a general dissatisfaction with our present government and how it has failed us.

McClane is the working-class hero, out of touch with modern times yet he still values humanity, wants the best for his children and is willing to stand up and fight to prove it. He cuts through all the government red tape, mismanagement and supposed computerized efficiency and gets things done in a time of crisis.

There is a strong strain of patriotism, mixed with typical cowboy spirit that runs though LIVE FREE that may not impress far liberal-minded foreigners especially, but it certainly taps into the frustration and impotency many Americans feel today. John McClane was an intriguing film hero in 1988, but is even compelling today. That said, you can still check your brain at the door and thoroughly enjoy two-hours of Hollywood’s finest action filmmaking set to overdrive.