Yippie-ki-yay McClane Lovers: Bruce Willis is Back at His Die Hardest Yet!

It’s been a year shy of two decades since the world was first introduced to the resilient smart-ass everyman hero John McClane. In that time, McClane has rescued the hostages of the Nakatomi building, directed passenger planes to the Dulles runways (snakes not included), saved New York City from the schoolyard game obsessed bomber, and put Bruce Willis on the map of celebrity stardom. Now it is up to John McClane to save the United States of America from total economic collapse and nation wide anarchy. In Die Hard 5, will McClane prevent an earthquake by flying around the planet 1,000 times or defeat General Zod? Yes, the idea that one man alone can save the world from terrorists is comical and ridiculous in theory, but Willis’ McClane is always able to pull it off. Willis was born to play this role and exudes his wise guy Jersey roots in every scene. I grew up believing that the Die Hard films were the Big Daddy of the action genre. In the same respect, I always felt that John McClane was the king of action movie heroes. My love for this series is why I’m especially ecstatic to tell you that McClane’s fourth adventure is an updated, uproarious, blockbuster event and one of the best chapters in the series. In Live Free or Die Hard, Willis’ presence is as commanding as ever and the film is a fast paced thrill ride that dares you to blink.

I was hooked as soon as the 20th Century Fox logo at the films opening is made to look as though it is shut down like a town losing power. The film opens with computer operators talking to each other via phone headsets. One of these operators hits a delete button and it’s the 4th of July in his apartment. For some reason, a group of terrorists is killing off expert computer hackers (the kind of hackers the FBI keeps case files on). Meanwhile, John McClane is radioed to take care of one last job to pick up a kid and bring him downtown. The kid is Matt Farrell (Justin Long), a nerdy hacker that is wanted by the authorities alive, but wanted dead by the terrorists. As always, what was supposed to be a simple delivery job becomes the first of many expertly made exhilarating action sequences.

We soon realize that the terrorists are lead by Thomas Gabriel (Timothy Olyphant) who is hell bent on teaching the U.S. government a lesson in national security. Gabriel has developed the perfect plan for disabling all functions of American life by hacking into every government run facility and taking them hostage. Armed with his own private geek squad and suave Gucci attire, Gabriel uses his new power to turn every stoplight green, control the T.V. airways, and shut down electricity to the eastern coast. In this post-9/11, level orange, technology obsessed society, this plot plays off our nations deepest fears and is all the better for it. Every James Bond villain’s mouth would drop if they could see this film. Considering how far fetched this evil plot may sound, later developments will illustrate that Gabriel is probably the only man who could initiate such events. He would have gotten away with it too if it weren’t for that meddling McClane. It must be hard for Olyphant to have to follow Oscar winner Jeremy Irons and the equally talented Alan Rickman for the spot of new bad guy in town, but he does an adequate job. Perhaps he’s not as menacing as his predecessors, but he embodies a collected, simmering hostility that makes Gabriel an enticing adversary.

John McClane rampages back to the big screen like an aging gunslinger from a spaghetti western that’s never lost his straight shot. This is one of the first movies from a series I have seen that beautifully merges its origins with the high tech advancements in filmmaking. The main criticism you hear in regards to the Star Wars prequels is that the updated CGI effects don’t match with the model work of Luke Skywalker’s generation. It’s quite the opposite in this film, in which the obstacles are bigger and meaner, but we still have the same old John McClane. For example, McClane faces off against two henchmen that force him to muse, “Is the circus in town?”. The first is the sexy martial arts expert Mai Lihn (Maggie Q) who is more than an even match for McClane (she’d probably give Beatrix Kiddo a run for her money). He can’t take an eye off of her for more than a second without being tossed out a window. The second is a monkey man acrobat that moves with agility and an improvised Spider-Man method that would have been unthinkable in the 80’s action era. This forces McClane to rely on his quick thinking resourcefulness more than ever, which makes the movie ridiculously entertaining.

The stunt work and special effects are all top notch in this film. Whether McClane is speeding a car into a helicopter or driving a tractor-trailer over a collapsing bridge, it is all realistic and pulse poundingly exciting. I even caught myself ducking down in my chair to dodge a few bullets here and there. The movie is so action packed, it makes Mission Impossible 3 look likes kids stuff. The film is well directed with an interesting visual style and for an action film of this caliber it is intelligent and very well written. Justin Long is great as the helpful sarcastic sidekick and actually has his own interesting character arch. There is even a fun small performance from Clerk’s II director Kevin Smith. And of course, Willis is balder and better than ever!

Maybe everyone needs an action hero to root for now and then. Someone who won’t take anybody’s crap and refuses to acknowledge the word quit as existing in the English dictionary. Some people may go with Rambo, James Bond, Dirty Harry or any of The Governator’s roles. For me there are two I always turn to: Sigourney Weaver’s Ellen Ripley and Willis’ John McClane. To me they are the mother and father of action movie magic. McClane always has my trust and devotion and so far, Live Free or Die Hard is the best blockbuster of the summer.

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