Live Free or Die Hard: 2-Disc Unrated Edition (2007) ***
2 hr. 10 min.
written by: Mark Bomback & David Marconi (source material from John Carlin's magazine article A Farewell to Arms as well as characters created by author Roderick Thorpe)
produced by: Michael Fottrell
directed by: Len Wiseman
As soon as I found out that this movie was gonna be released on DVD in an "unrated" edition, I knew I could hold off seein' it in the theaters. It's not that I craved more profanity or violence, it's just that all the other Die Hard movies were rated R and it isn't the same without those elements that kinda rating brings. It saddened me that director Len Wiseman was willing to "dumb down" the consistency of this film series in order to possible garner more PG-13 money. Didn't they realize that if fans see another Die Hard movie coming out, they're not gonna pay attention to what the rating is? They're just gonna want nostalgic familiarity and action. The only reason I paid attention to this rating was cuz it's been twelve years since the last one and everything about this new one would be scrutinized to ensure that the quality, consistency (there's that word again) and characterization in this new film would be intact.
Taking that into consideration, this is a fun, over-the-top action movie. I'd kick up my feet and watch it again with some friends on a Friday night. Still, It just doesn't feel like a Die Hard movie and before I go into the reasons why, I'll just go ahead and give you the rundown. The film opens up with a handful of cyber-geek hackers being eliminated after they unknowingly assisted the requisite bad guy infiltrate the FBI's computer system. The killings are untraceable since once these hackers delete a message from our bad guy they explode into fiery oblivion along with everything else around them. Around the same time, the wee hours of the morning, the FBI found out something is up and ask that local police follow up on and any and all hackers that could possibly be doing this.
Computer geek Matthew Harrell (Justin Long) fits this description and it falls to the responsibility of a certain veteran NYPD detective named John McClane (Bruce Willis) to pay him a visit at his apartment somewhere in Jersey. It's here where we become re-introduced to the iconic character that ignited Willis' career and I'm gonna have to get into that re-introduction a lil later. Right away I enjoyed the interplay between analog McClane and digital Harrell. I saw where it was going and has ready for their pairing to bring me all sorts of action, mayhem and hilarity throughout the film. McClane winds up saving the kid from permanent deletion when the foreign-accented bad guys attack his apartment and from that point on the two are on the run from terrorists, naturally. Along the way, the father and son-like duo run into some requisite supporting characters. Some of these are on the good guys team like Special Agent Bowman (the always great Cliff Curtis), McClane's daughter Lucy (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) and the distracting presence of actor/director Kevin Smith as a computer guru names Warlock. The odd thing I found with many of the bad guy lackeys is that they were Italian (say what? Italian terrorists?) with no explanation as to how they hooked up with this American bad guy. On that note, it woulda been nice to see this guy switch roles with his right-hand woman, Mai (Maggie Q) who at least had a formidable presence. Plus, it woulda been refreshing for a woman to be the villain in a movie like this. Ah well. So, the main bag guy is a ruthless computer whiz named Thomas Gabriel (Timothy Olyphant) has taken over most of America's computerized systems, causing mass chaos nationwide. Harrell has to break that all down for McClane as they witness various traffic and power calamity on the way to DC's FBI branch. The premise is absolutely preposterous, but that's never really been a problem for "Die Hard" before and might even honestly be considered one of the series' hallmarks. That being said, it's still the least plausible of any of the "Die Hard" stories so far, and that even includes terrorists taking over an airport in "Die Hard 2: Die Harder". This is the first Die Hard film where McClane doesn't buddy up with an African American, instead we're given a generation gap to keep things interesting. Willis and Long manage to establish a fairly amusing rapport early on, and it's this dynamic that keeps things rolling through a few rough patches. Anyone knows that a great action movie must always be measured by the threat....or how "bad" is the bad guy. This is where the film goes limp. Olyphant is just miscast. He just comes across as a crybaby who didn't get what he wanted and is lashing back at "the system" like a wounded dog by using "the system". His evil intentions weren't convincing and were basically MIA for most of the film. But siding with or understanding the villain isn't what this entertaining action flick is about.
My biggest problem is that re-introduction I mentioned, he just doesn't look like the John McClane we know. I know, it seems picky but it's kinda integral if you ask me. McClane's saved his head bald, is totally serious and is lean and trim. There's no explanation as to what became of the endearing, frazzle-haired wino that was peeled off the floor 12 years ago in the beginning of the last film. So, instead we're treated to a slim and fit, head-shaven Bruce Willis. I say that cuz that's all I saw. I saw Willis and not McClane. Not that I didn't enjoy seeing Willis run around in this film but he didn't look like John McClane and with the movie not explaining what had happened to him in 12 years. It's just a lil jarring for my continuity-conscious mind.
It's obvious that action films must adapt due to "our changing times" but I just feel like the whole "computer hacker" bit has been done to death over the years. I imagine it's hard to find a good script for a McClane movie cuz viewers are inundated with all these tech-savvy Jack Bauer types. It felt like this time around McClane was this unstoppable supercop and that's why I'm fine with it as a Bruce Willis film. You can't tell me that McClane wouldn't have had several broken bones, a punctured lung and some severe burns. Then again this is a summer blockbuster movie so the believability factor thrown out threw the windshield.
The action is expectantly brisk and non-stop: baddies are dispatched violently, car chases come fast and furious and explosions abound. McClane has almost become a caricature of the tough, wisecracking cop we first met in 1988---and there are still traces of mortality at times, but the danger doesn't feel quite as dangerous anymore. We could almost substitute Jack Bauer himself in John McClane's role---and let's be honest, it really wouldn't change much. It would been cool if the setting of the film went back to Christmas time like in the first two but I can't have everything. Still, there's a lot to like here: from the stylishly shot action sequences to the razor-sharp editing and effective comic relief....for a Bruce Willis action film. It just doesn't feel like a Die Hard film and once I acknowledged that, I enjoyed it and hey....what it lacks in believability it makes up for in action.
Special Features:
This unrated, two-disc package gives fans what they should've gotten at the theater: more profanity and blood (what can I say? It keeps with continuity) Interestingly enough, both cuts are included on Disc 1, which leads me to think, if you're given the better version, why would you opt for the watered-down? The story in this uncut version hasn't changed one bit, but it's good to know that such an lame marketing decision has been reversed for the DVD release. Thing is, I knew it would cuz the latest fad is to release a movie in an "unrated and uncut" version to draw in more numbers.
There's a ton of good features here and some that are kinda weak, all of which have a solid technical presentation. As usual, I didn't devour them all but I'll list them out for ya and comment on what I did take in.
The only extra on Disc 1 is a feature-length Audio Commentary with star Willis, director Len Wiseman and editor Nicholas de Toth. I didn't re-watch the film with this commentary but I wouldn't mind doing so, if the copy I had wasn't borrowed from a co-worker I woulda made time for it and the other extras.
On Disc 2, the longest feature is entitled "Analog Hero in a Digital World: The Making of Live Free or Die Hard" This documentary is a fairly detailed promotional nugget, covering the story origins, franchise history, casting, stunts, editing, visual effects, sound mixing and music...everything is covered here. Because "Analog Hero" covers so much, I did wind up skimming through it. It was indepth and insightful but a lot of ground to cover.
Then there's the "Yippee Ki Yay MotherF*****!" feature, a casual chat with co-star Kevin Smith and Willis, who discuss the star's career while simply hanging out on the Fox lot. It's just the two of them sitting on the steps if the set. Willis looks like a Hobbit next to Smith. It's a laid-back interview that doesn't include a much brand-new information, but the candid atmosphere really stands in good contrast to everything else. It was interesting to see what Willis thinks of his previous two sequels. While I liked them both, apparently he feels this film is the superior to those two....how wrong you are, Mr. Willis. Overall, this interview seems as pretentious and uneccessary as Smith's inclusion in the film.
I didn't bother with the next three extras: first up is a
Music Video for the film by
Guyz Nite, which I actually did scan out of curiosity. I didn't know if the guys in this band were for real or what. After all, I didn't remember any song that stood out as I watched things blow up in the movie.
From what little I caught, it's a stupid song with the gratuitous inclusion of the trademark Willis catchphrase in rowdy rock fashion. Accompanying the insipid music video is
"Behind-the-Scenes with Guyz Nite", which will probably only be of interest to fans of the band (you know who you are).
The final feature I did see was the boring "Fox Movie Channel Presents: Fox Legacy", a brief, promotional-type recap of the franchise which doesn't really add much but it did ceack me up when the host described why the movie is called "Die Hard 4.0" (see above) to non-U.S. theatres. Sigh.
Of couse, there's the Theatrical Trailer, as well as a few Previews for current and upcoming Fox releases. Not all of these minor features fit in with the main "Analog Hero" one and it's too bad cuz I woulda preferred some focus on storyboards. They could even included some deleted scenes or man, at least a gag reel. Oh well.
