Live Free or Die Hard

“Live Free or Die Hard” is an action movie starring main cast members Bruce Willis, Justin Long, Timothy Olyphant, Maggie Q and Mary Elizabeth Winstead.  The movie appeared in 2007 and was a success at the box office.  The movie has the elements of  a good action movie, but lacks realism in a few areas.

One of the benefits of “Live Free or Die Hard” is the acting.  The quality of acting is consistent by its main star Bruce Willis, who continues with his John McClain character that appeared in the three previous Die Hard movies.  Willis has proven himself as an actor who can provide a consistently good performance.  However, Justin Long, not known as a leading man in the movies, plays a top hacker by the name of Matthew Farrell who steals the show with an outstanding performance that sets the stage for his future feature work.  Good performances are also provided by the computer hackers and terrorists played by Timothy Olyphant and Maqqie Q.  An equally good performance can also be seen by Mary Elizabeth Winstead, who plays John McClain’s rebellious daughter. Another benefit of ‘Live Free or Die Hard” are the special effects and action scenes.   There are plenty of car crashes and blow ups to keep viewers on their seats.  Still another benefit of the movie is the humor.  As seen in previous Die Hard movies, John McClain delivers more one liners and sarcastic comments along the way.

Where the movie fails is with the story line.  Timothy Olyphant plays a hacker that attempts to shut everything down in the United States – known as a “fire sale.”   The attempts at a “fire sale” are far too easily achieved.  In addition, John McClain has become invincible in this movie.  Every possible attempt to kill him fails, making him more superhero than human.