starring Bruce Willis, Timothy Olyphant, Justin Long, Maggie Q, Cliff Curtis, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Kevin Smith

directed by Len Wiseman

20th Century Fox
130 minutes

It has been a long time since DIE HARD had a sequel. Over 10 years since DIE HARD WITH A VENGEANCE, Bruce Willis still cracks wise and kicks ass as John McClane. Director Len Wiseman is a wise fit for this film. Bruce wanted him for director of the latest DIE HARD after watching the UNDERWORLD films. Highlights of the film are many and include every action sequence and lot of the humor after mcClane survives yet another attempt to kill him. Maggie Q kicking Bruce around is fun to see (what can I say when it comes to woman who can kick butt). Plenty of cars, trucks, and a semi (McClane even uses a police car to take out a helicopter in one scene).

LIVE FREE OR DIE HARD follows MCClane having a simple night (about to go home aafter spying on his estranged grown up daughter because he wants to talk to her) and getting a simple job (take a computer hacker to the FBI CyberCrime unit in Washinton D.C.) that turns complicated (cyber terrorists trying to kill the hacker and McClane). The terrorists are led by a computer hacker who wants to bring down the whole USA by disabling government services, cause Wall Street and banks to panic, disable traffic lights and phone service, and cause power to go out everywhere. It is up to McClane and the young hacker to stop and the madman and his goons (including Maggie Q as the madman's girlfriend). They get help from Warlock (a geek part that fits Kevin Smith quite well).

LIVE FREE OR DIE HARD may be PG-13, but it rocks the house as a good entry in the DIE HARD series. It is also a timely sequel that looks at the big problem of cyberterrorism and how it would affect the USA (it would have been bad effects). The film is partly based on an article about that subject. If they make another DIE HARD, let's hope it doesn't take another 10 to 15 years because LIVE FREE OR DIE HARD has energized this franchise.

this review is (c)6-28-2007 David Blackwell and cannot be reprinted without permission.