Live Free or Die Hard!

I did finally see this movie Friday night. I really liked it. I thought it was far better then the previous two films. As the fourth and likely final in the series, it goes back to basics.

John McClean is finally divorced and estranged from his ex-wife and children. His kids are all grown up and he is back to being a NYC detective. The file opens up with A young women in a sticky situation with sexually aggressive date. Naturally after its a about to go to far the car door opens and the young man is put in place by our favorite NYC detective. The girl is John's daughter Lucy. What follows is a hard to watch argument that shows how alone John really is.

After being shut out again by his family, John is making his way home when he gets a call from dispatch to pick up a suspect for the FBI and drive the suspect to DC. What happens next you can guess from the preview above. Soon after John arrives an assassination attempt goes wrong and the movie's action never stops from there.

In classic die-hard style John takes a beating through out the film but somehow hangs on until the very end. In this episode the FBI is not inept but clearly over whelmed by events. John side kick a young hacker (the suspect) is very funny and very believable as a scared computer geek trying very hard not to die.

Unlike previous movie John is not glib or even witty with the dialog. He is harder and colder with a tinge of "bad" in him that was not present in previous films. He decides very early on in the film that this is no place for a policeman and stops acting like one. Nor does he behave like a commando, or whip out kung fu moves, he just a wall of pain and brutal violence to protect the suspect and later rescue Lucy his daughter.

There is a lot of great action scenes and a great sub plot about the true meaning of a "hero" and the true price it brings at least to John. All in all its a rock-em-sock-em good time with the John McClean of old.

Thumbs Way Up!