On DVD: Live Free or Die Hard

Directed By Len Wisemen

Starring Bruce Willis

OK, I love the first two Die Hard films and like the third one OK.  The third one was good but it was a buddy cop movie (even though Sam Jackson wasn't a cop).  Bruce Willis hasn't had a great success as a leading man in an action flick in a while so i really hoped this film would turn it around for him.

The Movie

A few things went into the original formula that made Die Hard such a great film.  The first is the every man character that McClane is.  He's no super hoer with special powers, not even a super cop.  He also works alone.  Sure there are some side characters that help him thoruhg his task but overall he works by himself.  In the first film he had Al, the cop that kept him updated on what was going on outside but they never met face to face until the last few minutes of the film.  In the second film he had the goofy airport worker that provided him some maps and a radio and that's about it.  In the third film he had a permanent partner in Samuel L. Jackson's character.



When this film started and I saw McClane on screen I couldn't tell you how happy I was.  I just hoped for some old school action movie fun, not more quick cam cgi enhanced cartoon action which has become prevalent today and for the most part, I got what I wanted.  In the opening moments of the film we are updated on McClane's personal life, he is divorced and estranged from his children.  After this quick establishing sequence McClane gets a call sending him to retrieve Matt Farrell a hacker suspected by the FBI of being involved in a hack into the countries transportation systems. 



At Farrell's apartment some bad assed dudes try to kill Farrell and anyone les who gets in the way.  McClane and Farrell eventually discover that Farrell did in fact write a small bit of code that was used in this attack, and others yet to come.  Severl other well known hackers also wrote code for the terrorists and they are all now dead.  So, McClane's mission changes from bringing Farrell in to using him to help stop the terrorists.

The movie requires some major suspension of disbelief which is almost always the case when Hollywood makes computers a central device in their films.  At one point some of the bad guys are hacking the power grid with a PDA.  Now there may be some out there that can find a way to argue that this isn't as much of a stretch as I think it is but come on, it's a PDA people.  Also, the motivations of the villains in the film are about as cliché as it gets, they wanna teach the government that the country's security is weak and they wanna get paid for teaching that lesson.  Didn't we see almost that same motivation in Under Siege and a number of other 80's action films?

Beyond that though this movie is a leap back to good old 80's/early 90's style action films and it's a return to form for Willis as an action star.  There are several fun performances in the film, the most surprising of which is Mary Elizabeth Winstead playing McClane's daughter.  Her character appears to be a lot more like her father than her mother and she gets some scene stealing moments. Hell, even Kevin Smith is a lot of fun in the film basically playing himself which he always does unless he Silent Bob.  There are a few action scenes that go a little to far but overall the action is edgy and suspenseful, especially for a film rated PG-13.  Willis is on fire here and I'm excited to see him in an action mode again.  I hope he gets in a few more action flicks before he hangs up his holster for good and starts doing old man dramas.

8/10

The Video

The anamorphic widescreen presentation offers up some solid colors, especially flesh tones.  Detail is fairly high throughout and black levels are solid with only a little grain.  There are just a few instances o compression artifacts here and there, not bad but definitely noticeable.  It's a good transfer but not stellar.

7.5/10

The Audio

The audio comes in the Dolby Digital 5.1 flavor and it does not disappoint.  The dynamic range is great with crystal clear highs and deep rumbling bass on explosions.  The surrounds are used throughout the film doing a solid job of immersing the viewer into the world of this film.  My only question is what would this have sounded like if we'd actually gotten a DTS presentation?

8/10

Packaging and Bonus Features

The 2 disc release comes in a standard amaray case featuring Willis' grizzled mug.  He is the Die Hard franchise so I guess a floating head is ok in this instance.

First up is a feature commentary with Willis, the director, and the editor.  They share a good amount of behind the scenes stuff with the most interesting being the recut of the film to make it a PG-13 rather than the R it was originally shot to be.

Analog Cop in a Digital World is a feature length documentary covering the making of the film from the original concept to casting, visuals, score, and more.  The documentary goes beyond the typical making of marketing featurette and give a really detailed and satisfying look at how the film came to be.  Now with that said as far as the actors go things seem a little surfacy with everyone slapping each other on the back way to much, as if they're trying to sell it to us.

Co-star (sort of) Kevin Smith interviews Bruce Willis about the films and the franchise in the brief but fun featurette Yipee Ki-Yay Mother******.  Willis comes off earthy and approachable giving a great interview.

There's also a terrible parody music video featuring a song about the films and a featurette about the band.  This would be successful if it were funny.  There's a trailer for the film and a very short featurette about the entire Die Hard franchise.  The featurette feels like a promotional tool and nothing more.

8.5/10

This fascinating true story is retold here with polish and attention to detail.  The historical accuracy of this film may be responsible for keeping it from being as action packed as say a Bourne movie but that same historical accuracy makes the film a must see.  Don't get me wrong I know this film is dramatized but at the same time the filmmakers didn't take the whole thing to an extreme which so often happens.  In other words there aren't any shoot-outs with guns having limitless ammo or explosions.  Fans of the spy thriller must see this film period.

Overall (Not an Average) 8/10

The Review

The Movie 8/10

The Video 7.5/10

The Audio 8/10

The Packaging and Bonus Features 8.5/10

Overall (Not an Average) 8/10

-Stephen Lackey