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34
10,000 B.C. Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.
83
Alexandra Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.
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Live Free or Die Hard
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MPAA RATING: PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action, language, and a brief sexual situation
Starring Bruce Willis, Timothy Olyphant, Justin Long, Maggie Q, Cliff Curtis, Jonathan Sadowski, Kevin Smith, and Mary Elizabeth Winstead
In a season overflowing with CGI Fantasy, Live Free or Die Hard gets real - with real action, real humor and a relatable everyman hero: John McClane. On the July 4th holiday, and attack on the vulnerable United States infrastructure begins to shut down the entire nation. The mysterious figure behind the scheme has figured out every modern angle - but he never figures on an old-school "analog" fly in the "digital" ointment. Bruce Willis is John McClane. No mask. No cape. No problem. (20th Century Fox)
| GENRE(S): | Action | Adventure | Suspense/Thriller |
| WRITTEN BY: |
Mark Bomback (also story)
David Marconi (story) John Carlin (article A Farewell to Arms) Roderick Thorp (certain original characters) |
| DIRECTED BY: | Len Wiseman |
| RELEASE DATE: |
DVD: November 20, 2007 Theatrical: June 27, 2007 |
| RUNNING TIME: | 129 minutes, Color |
| ORIGIN: | USA |
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
The average user rating for this movie is 8.1 (out of 10) based on 160 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
Bruce W. gave it a2:
The film is a joke! "Comments will be reviewed and may be edited prior to posting". Right :)) that's why we call this democracy and that's why the lower than 7 rating is so rarely displayed... the movie is a joke. should be a cartoon. ppl write here all kinds of crap to justify their stupidity and lack of interest in the real world, like fire sale and f-18 and hack this and that... The hacker guy in the basement was dumb as hell, he is hitting, punching the keyboard like a maniac :)), and can see the 10px letters from 10 feet :)), the wole hacking part/people was pathetic, and not one who ever used a computer for more than to look at emails or porn would believe in these actors. The jet - I believe an F-35B - was the other funny part.. right, because that machine would fly right under the falling/hanging overpass wait to be destroyed instead of sending a few more missiles... then the explosion...common ppl, Nothing in this movie is believable by the actors - while the main idea was not bad they failed to deliver and can entertain the 12yrs old or less only because of the big-kabooms- and-flames-and-stuff It is sad that ppl do not require anything but big booms and out of this world actions to be entertained so they don't even accidentally have to use their head... watch Idiocracy.. it is happening.. soon we'll have the same #1 movie like there.
Adam S. gave it a6:
If you have nothing better to do or watch give it a try. I am a fan of the prev. DH movies and Willis is a fine actor but this movie was not what I expected. That would be something better than the 3rd and this is not even close except the special effects, but if I want to see that I watch Superman or Terminator. This is not an "ordinary" cop in a middle of a s&*&*t storm. The cast could have been ok, if the "bad guy" could act as a bad guy. Even if I understand that he was a good guy who was betrayed by his own people and only wants to get some attention and money of course since he invested so much in the operation, still they kill without mercy so why is the slowdown, hesitating.. They should have looked longer for an actor for the part. BTW this plot was so pathetic that it could have been easily true (Long's remark about FEMA, the known chaos in the system if anything goes down for a half day.. power, stocks.. etc.) Well, of course only if anyone is thinking a bit and not only amused by the big fire, and explosions.. and whatever the media tells you…or distract you with.. Back to the actors... the father-daughter thing is old we saw this already with Willis in the Last boy scout, and she is not as good as pretty. Long is OK. but in parts he's falling apart, mainly because the weak writing.. The geek in the basement.. that was funny ... he can get in the most secure systems and cannot put on a cheap wireless camera to watch the door.. Most of the computer “magic is” more funny than real.. ask a hacker.. Maggie Q, is beautiful and does what she should... pretty well.. of course she is a bit much here.. this fight scene would be better in an MI3-4-5 movie. There is one thing what I know now after watching this: McClane is T101! He can take a fighter jet, fall from stories high, bullets, explosions, fire are nothing to him.. He - might – could take Chuck Norris himself too!
JGM gave it a6:
If this wasn't called "Die Hard", it would be easier to see it for what it is: a cartoony, computer-aided PG13 actioner with no pretenses beyond giving a few thrills and chuckles. There's no comparison to the first two in the series, or to the cream of the recent action crop (Bourne and Bond, each of which somehow lived more comfortably within the confines of the PG13 rating). Worth a rental.
G-Rad A. gave it a10:
Sweet intense action, hilarious side effects, and best of the Die Hard series.
Nick B. gave it a10:
Amazing action filled adrenaline rush movie!
Gatsby J. gave it a9:
-It's strange how the reviews for this movie are either very high or very low: there doesn't seem to be much of a middle to it. Now let's be serious, those who gave this movie a high score didn't rate it so because it was a deep and thoughtful movie: they just liked the action and the pacing, etc. Those who gave it a low score had their own reasons. -I went into the theatre thinking it was going to be stupid to the max, but my friend wanted to go so I agreed. I even made fun of the when I saw the commercials, like the absurd title. But both my friend and I thought the movie was awesome. The action sequences (which everyone went to see this movie for, I'm sure, and not for any semblance of plot) were as amazing as they were relentless. I wasn't bored for a single second, and this is coming from someone who expects every movie he sees to have a plot. Yeah, MOST of the plot was totally nonsensical, from the super-hackers to the saving the world in less than 24 hours, and the action scenes were ridiculous, but for some reason I was entertained. I've seen a lot of movies this summer and this was definitely one of the best experiences I had: it was so loud that the music and explosions drowned out the voices of those annoying audience members who like to shout when they see anything interesting on screen.
Mark B. gave it a3:
I don't know about anyone else, but I really, really, really, REALLY miss Bonnie Bedelia. For some reason, fans of the Die Hard franchise don't mention this too often, but her Holly McClane was an essential--even vital--reason why the first two Die Hard flicks worked as well as they did. Not only was New York's finest everyman-turned-supercop's wife a perfect match for him, a tough, feisty, resourceful woman who gave as good as she got (remember how she handled William Atherton's obnoxious, intrusive TV reporter? Ouch!) but she helped make Die Hards 1 and 2 (NOT the Star Wars movie series) the perfect, definitive action-movie illustration of Joseph Campbell's hero's journey: essentially, the first two movies were as much about John's efforts to reunite with his wife as they were about his attempts to save the world. In the series' third installment, Die Hard With a Vengeance, Holly is reduced to an offscreen presence that John spends the whole movie arguing with over pay phones; in the current Live Free or Die Hard, the divorce papers were filed years ago. Of course, if you choose not to accept The Bonnie Situation, there are lots of other reasons why Live Free or Die Hard is not only a crushing disappointment but a true insult to all those who believe (as Entertainment Weekly clearly does) that the 1988 original is the greatest action movie of all time. Die Hard movies decrease in effectiveness in direct proportion to how large a terrain gets covered: the original took place in a large office building; the second entry, which was only slightly less good, was set mostly in an airport; the markedly inferior third installment covered all of New York City, and this one, the absolute weakest, uses the entire Eastern Seaboard as its McClane-vs.-terrorists playing field. Artificial, all-too-obviously computer-generated action sequences (including a couple that look suspiciously like the dreaded rear-projection shots that went out of style right after the seventeenth time Frankie Avalon faked hanging ten in front of footage of a wave, circa 1965) completely sink this one, all but defeating Justin Long's likable screen presence as a computer geek unwillingly recruited by McClane. But the final blow is dealt by Live Free's selling of the franchise's soul in order to get the almighty PG-13 rating. Not EVERYTHING has to be for the kids, and watching the ridiculously sanitized action in this one reminds us of how gutsy (in both senses) the first two were; c'mon, watching a bad guy take an occasional icicle in the eye or get turned into red coleslaw by a fast-moving jet never seriously hurt anyone. The biggest fraud of all--and one that Ralph Nader might consider investigating, if he's finished bollixing up elections--is Live Free's bowdlerization of McClane's legendary "Roy Rogers quote". In the questionable interest of not burning so-called virgin ears, who hear worse on the playground, or on cable TV, it gets muffled in a despicable act of aural hocus-pocus. In the interest of telling it like it is, let me just describe this trick (and this movie) the way the REAL John McClane would've wanted: "Yippie-ki-yay; mother, we've been f.cked!"
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