Live Free or Die Hard (Full Screen Edition)

Description

Product Description New York City detective John McClane (Bruce Willis) delivers old-school justice to a new breed of terrorists when a massive computer attack on the U.S. infrastructure threatens to shut down the entire country over Independence Day weekend. desertcart.com Twelve years after Die Hard with a Vengeance, the third and previous film in the Die Hard franchise, Live Free or Die Hard finds John McClane (Bruce Willis) a few years older, not any happier, and just as kick-ass as ever. Right after he has a fight with his college-age daughter (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), a call comes in to pick up a hacker (Justin Long, a.k.a. the "Apple guy") who might help the FBI learn something about a brief security blip in their systems. Now any Die Hard fan knows that this is when the assassins with foreign accents and high-powered weaponry show up, telling McClane that once again he's stumbled into an assignment that's anything but routine. Once that wreckage has cleared, it is revealed that the hacker is only one of many hackers who are being targeted for extermination after they helped set up a "fire sale," a three-pronged cyberattack designed to bring down the entire country by crippling its transportation, finances, and utilities. That plan is now being put into action by a mysterious team (Timothy Olyphant, Deadwood, and Maggie Q, Mission: Impossible 3) that seems to be operating under the government's noses.Live Free or Die Hard uses some of the cat-and-mouse elements of Die Hard with a Vengeance along with some of the pick-'em-off-one-by-one elements of the now-classic original movie. And it's the most consistently enjoyable installment of the franchise since the original, with eye-popping stunts (directed by Len Wiseman of the Underworld franchise), good humor, and Willis's ability to toss off a quip while barely alive. There was some controversy over the film's PG-13 rating--there might be less blood than usual, and McClane's famous tag line is somewhat obscured--but there's still has plenty of action and a high body count. Yippee-ki-ay! --David HoriuchiBeyond Live Free or Die Hard Live Free or Die Hard on Blu-Ray Top U.S. Box Office of 2007 More from Fox Stills from Live Free or Die Hard (click for larger image) > > > > > > Review: Most fun I've had at the movies in a long time!! - No, this movie does not compare to the original DIE HARD. Let's just get that out of the way right off the top, shall we? I frankly can't imagine any movie comparing. It was one of those rare movies that turns an entire genre on its head...or even invents a new genre. How many DIE HARD rip-offs have there been? Many of them awful...and many of them pretty good...but still, they are knock-offs. SPEED? DIE HARD on a bus. Still a great movie...but it didn't feel 100% original. DIE HARD did. Simple as that. I still watch that film and thrill to it...I may know everything that's coming...but it is so well-crafted and structured...so well edited and acted...you just see over and over why it is unmatched. LIVE FREE OR DIE HARD is still a damn fun movie!!! So what if it isn't DIE HARD...it's still one of the most exciting and outrageous films in a long time. A formula flick that delights, surprises and satisfies on a gut level. It promises a thrill-ride and it delivers. It does not promise intellectual insight (and delivers none), great political commentary (arguably there is a little bit snuck in) nor would it ever claim to be a Best Picture Oscar contender. And that's a GOOD thing. It is fun! And the kind of fun that only a movie can deliver. Willis is John McClain again...many years older. His wisecracks are a little dispirited (at least at the beginning), not because the movie is unoriginal...but because McClain is a little burnt out himself. We first see him spying on his teenage daughter to make sure the guy she's making out with is okay. It's a funny situation, but it's a little sad too. Here's this guy who has basically saved thousands of people from obliteration...and he still can't get his personal life together. He is quickly thrust into saving the life of a computer nerd (Justin Long), and wouldn't you know it...this is no ordinary case. This is another world-shaking, cataclysmic terrorist event in the making...and only McClain can save the day! Yep, you just want to roll your eyes...but 99% of you just smiles, kicks back and relaxes. You know you're in good hands. Willis really delivers. He knows how to play this part with his eyes closed...but the great thing is, he doesn't coast. (He has coasted in the past...but to his credit, Willis is one of the most physically committed actors around...he seldom just phones in his work.) And he is well-matched with Justin Long. Talk about an odd-couple! Naturally, as the movie progresses, and Willis saves Long's life for about the 100th time, Long grows to respect this artifact of a by-gone era. And Willis grows fond of this nerdy kid. Nothing earth-shattering there...but their by-play is so well-done that it feels, if not fresh, at least well-thought out. Maggie Q is in the Alexander Gudonov role...you know, the henchman to the main bad guy...the one who almost never talks but can sure kick some serious butt. She is extremely physically in her role, and she and Willis have a brutal and brilliantly stage (and super exciting) fight scene. This alone almost makes the entire movie worth seeing. It's one of the best fight scenes in a long time. Outrageously unlikely...but only made more enjoyable for that fact. Speaking of bad guys...Timothy Olyphant plays the master criminal, and it's an odd casting choice. He's supposed to be one of these mild-mannered, soft-spoken but oh-so-dangerous psychos. Sadly, he mostly comes across as mild-mannered and maybe a little peeved. The plan he's executing is a lot of fun (I won't spoil it...but suffice it to say that he wants the world to go REALLY low-tech), and the details of it are enjoyable to follow...but Olyphant is only really weak link in the acting chain here. The stunts in this movie are among the most jaw-dropping I've ever seen. Apparently, the more ridiculous the better...and again, it's that sense of glee, that sense that the filmmakers know perfectly well that what they've constructed is entirely without credibility...that makes it WORK! I've never laughed more at stunt work...but in a good way. I was almost like a little kid, ready to just clap my hands and stamp my feet in delight. LIVE FREE OR DIE HARD is a totally "big-studio, money-grabbing, escapist summer movie." But it shows that sometimes, that kind of film, well-done, is exactly what the doctor ordered. If you enjoyed DIE HARD...you should love this film too. It doesn't reinvent the wheel...but it sure makes the biggest, loudest, most awesome wheel you've seen in a long time!! Review: Great Movie, Lots of Action, Better than 2 or 3 - I really liked this movie. I have seen numbers 1, 2 & 3 many, many times and I am very happy that this movie lived up to the hype that it was more like the first movie. Although I did not feel like the villains, especially the man, looked or acted evil enough, as my husband said, you cannot tell how evil someone is by just looking -- it is within them - that is how they get away with it. I thought the woman "bad guy" was more evil looking than Timothy Olyphant's character. VERY GOOD ACTION, lots of fun -- be on the lookout for the vehicle coming out of the tunnel. What an amazing feat. I have this 2 disk set but it was late when we watched the movie and I have not had a chance to check the extras. Sometimes it is better to watch a movie two or three times before you watch the "how to" features or it really spoils the movie for you. This happened with Cast Away with Tom Hanks. I watched everything in one sitting and all I can remember is the blue screens used for the many scenes. I haven't even seen the whole movie in full since then. I would like to forget the "how to" features. 3/6/09 I finally did watch Cast Away recently and had almost forgotten how they made the movie and enjoyed it much more. I recommend Live Free or Die Hard - I do not know what the theatrical version looks like, I believe it is included in this set, however. I am sure that it maybe doesn't have as much language and maybe graphic violence? Not really sure since the movie seemed "normal" for this genre. ;-) 3/6/09 I do NOT like that in every Die Hard movie the wife (and in this one - the daughter) hates the main character John McClane, and then he saves their lives and it is OK again until the next movie. Now why would the daughter hate her father? Because he doesn't live with them? Not his fault - the mother divorced him not the other way around.