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STORE |
GALLERY |
OFFICIAL SITE
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Year:
2007 |
Rated:
N/A |
Runtime:
N/A |
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Starring:
Bruce Willis as John McClane, Timothy Olyphant,
Maggie Q, Justin Long, Jeffrey Wright, Mary Elizabeth Winstead,
Kevin Smith as The Warlock, Yancey Arias, Yorgo Constantine, Jack
van Landingham, Allen Maldonado, Chris O'Brocki, Chris Palermo |
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Directed
by: Len Wiseman |
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Screenplay
by: Mark Bomback |
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Story
by: Mark Bomback and
David Marconi |
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Characters
by: Roderick Thorp |
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Music
by: Marco Beltrami |
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Movie
Studio: 20th Century Fox |
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Die Hard |
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Store |
Unbox download
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HD DVD
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DVD Blu-ray
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DVD UNRATED
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DVD:
Live Free or Die Hard - UNRATED Two-Disc Special Edition
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dvd NOT THE FILM but interesting
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Soundtrack
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DVD Blu-rayDie Hard Collection
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DVD FULL SCREEN
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DVD Full Die Hard Collection
NOT YET AVAILABLE WITH ALL 4 FILMS. |
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Die Hard 4.1 LIMITED EDITION DVD featuring "Live After Film
School" (Director of Live Free Or Die Hard Len Wiseman speaks to
film students) and "Casting Session" (Learn about casting and
storyline development) |
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Review |
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Live Free or Die Hard
By Edwin Hopkins
Email Mr.
Hopkins
Super
“Yippie kay yay.” These illustrious words were touted
nearly 20 years ago by Bruce Willis’ detective Lieutenant John
McClane as he went head to head with common thief Alan Rickman (Hans
Guber) in the Nakatomi Tower and became another iconic action hero
for the era, stopping the bad guys with smarts as well as with
weapons and fists. It’s a classic line that helped usher in the
popular “Die Hard” franchise. |
| It’s been twelve years since Willis hooked up with street smart
Samuel L. Jackson to take on Hans’s brother Simon (Jeremy Irons) in
Die Hard with a Vengeance. But have no fear. McClane hasn’t changed
one iota in this new viscerally charged installment updated for the
21st century where he proves that even high tech, state-of-the art
computer gadgetry and the nerds behind them,are still no match for
good old fashion kick- butt police work. Initial synopses for Live
Free or Die Hard ( thank god Fox cut sequel numbers) had McClane
retired. I guess helmer Len Wiseman, scripter Mark Bomback and Bruce
Willis decided to modify the storyline. Instead of retired, McClane
is a senior officer on the NYPD taking on diverse assignments. That
is ,when he’s not keeping a watchful eye on his estranged daughter,
Lucy played by Final Destination 3’s Mary E. Winstead who’s
attending Rutgers. Tonight, his spy gig is interrupted by a call from
HQ to pick up a fastidious computer hacker named Matt Farrell
(Justin Long) who may have information concerning a recent breach in
the FBI’s computer system. McClane is reluctant at first, but
finally heads out for this “simple” pick up. Naturally it’s not as
easy as that. A few minutes after entering Farell’s apartment,
several men toting semiautomatic weapons make it clear that
they want this boy dead in a barrage of gun fire that tears up
everything. McClane manages to take them out and get his suspect to
safety.
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DVD:
Live Free or Die Hard - Unrated Two-Disc Special Edition
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Upon arriving at the FBI in Washington, both learn that other
hackers that Farell knows were targeted and killed by C-4
explosives. They were all working separately on a single project for
one person. And it cost them their lives.
This “project” is now causing massive shutdowns of
transportation, communications and utilities throughout the capitol.
As McClane and Farell watch this unfold, Farell spills what he
thinks he unintentionally got involved in. A firesale.
You wouldn’t be able to fall asleep on this thriller even if you
wanted to. Len Wisemen’s acumen for action sequences done so well in
Underworld and it’s sequel, reaches new heights and stays with the
hard hitting spirit of the previous Die Hards. The various shoot
outs, car and helicopter chases stir you to the point where you can
excuse some impossibilities. But then this movie wouldn’t be fun eh?
I loved the original Die Hard and I could see immediately that it
took hardly any effort for Willis to step back into the role after
over a decade. Despite some personal tragedies, he’s still a good
cop dedicated to stopping the bad guys to maintain some fragile
semblance of law and order.
Timothy Olyphant (TV’s Deadwood) enters as McClane’s latest
antagonist Thomas Gabriel, a disgruntled civil servant who has
decided that the only way to convince the U.S. government to
overhaul their security system, is by conducting a little
demonstration. He’s definitely the man you love to hate, following
in the footsteps of Guber, Colonel Stuart and Simon. And with the
ultimate “geek” team, including the exquisite Maggie Q, Gabriel
creates more mayhem than those 3 put together.
McClane becomes such a proverbial “monkey in the wrench” that
Gabriel must kidnap someone dear to him. McClane’s ex-wife Holly is
too far. So the closest thing available is Lucy played with dry
bittersweetness by Mary Elizabeth Winstead. You find out quickly
that she’s her father’s daughter which probably explains why they
don’t get along.
I was quite impressed with Justin Long as Matt, perfectly cast as
the hacker who must school McClane in computer lingo. His constant
anxiety beside McClane’s bravado is the sole comic relief amongst
the total chaos that ensues. This is enhanced even further by Matt’s
friend , aka the Warlock.
Shored up by Marco Beltrami’s vibrant, conducive score, this
fourth chapter of the franchise is an adrenalin rush for
actionholics like yours truly. Fox has proven that sticking to the
original formula can revive a film series despite being gone for a
long time. And that it does not necessarily “Die Hard.”
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By Joe De Matteo
HUGE
I was ready to be disappointed because it was not going to be
rated R. How can John McClane not say...the things he says.
Or should be saying. What else were they going to leave out
besides language. |
| I'm here to tell you that this is a GREAT Die Hard.
Exciting, non-stop action, well, almost non-stop Christian and I
stopped long enough to give a big laugh of gladness at seeing
Kevin Smith, who, was great - and also a wizard. But we
Silent Bob fans have always known that. |
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| More to come... |
| An additional comment by Joe De Matteo
Okay, I'm watching the Live Free or Die Hard DVD with some old
guy, so the subtitles on, cause I, I mean he, is
getting deafer than a half digested mouse in the belly of an
eagle.
The last scene of the movie - an
aerial shot of a truck pulling out - is rolling and music starts
playing >> it's Creedence Clearwater Revival performing
"Fortunate Son." Hey, by the way, the best description of
Creedence music I ever heard was, "distinctive blues-infected
swamp rock." It's a good description, no?
Back to the film, or rather, the
DVD viewing: "Fortunate Son" starts to play and the subtitle
pops up, it says, (intro to classic rock song is playing).
That great, unpretentious guitar climbing the scale, the drums
setting the beat; the intro moves to its end with a rapid BOOM,
BOOM, BOOM, BOOM, BOOM, BOOM, BOOM; John Fogerty starts singing
and up pops the subtitle (man singing)... and that was it.
No lyrics. No mention of the group, which, I might add,
had been talked about in scene 8 of the film, when they also
played "Fortunate Son." It was the perfect song to end the
film with. Hey, no one would ever call John McClain a
fortunate son, right? I was screaming, "What an
understatement. Who the F*** wrote these subtitles, an, an 8th
grader?"
Alright, to me it's not classic
rock, its just a great song that I first heard in 1970.
And as Matt Farrell (Justin Long) points out in the film, it's
real old stuff to his generation. I grudgingly understand
that, however, what does Matt Farrell know about it, he's a
computer geek.
I'll bet I'm not the only guy up
set about this, this is a slap in the face of the generation
responsible for Nancy Palosi (who, to us New York boys, gives a
new meaning to the word "tight" when describing a woman); George
W. and Bill Clinton are two more of us. Hell, Bruce Willis
was 15 when Fortunate Son was new.
So, because you crashed a car into
a flying helicopter (really cool) you don't have enough money
left in the budge to subtitle the lyrics, what could it possibly
cost to put a couple of musical notes there?
Baby Boomers unite. Oh, we
did... it's called AARP.
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By YOUR NAME HERE
Solid Super
HUGE
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Before and After: updates and
previews |
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May
2007 - David Marconi (Enemy of the State -
Live Free or Die Hard)
Dear Joseph,
The Writers' Guild arbitration decision on the
screenplay credit for the upcoming film LIVE FREE
OR DIE HARD is now in. The correct writing
credit is:
Screenplay by Mark Bomback
Story by Mark Bomback and David Marconi (ENEMY OF
THE STATE)
The film's final script was based on my original
draft of WW3.COM which I developed for 20th CENTURY
FOX in 1998. WW3.com was about a cyber-terrorist
attack on the U.S. computer infrastructure. Fox
furnished me with a WIRED MAGAZINE article entitled;
"A Farewell to Arms", written by John Carlin in 1997
which I used as a starting-off point for my script.
After the 9-11 attacks, the project was stalled.
Eventually it was acquired and redeveloped into
"Live Free or Die Hard."
Thank you for your prompt attention and any
corrections to your site regarding to this matter.
All the best,
David Marconi
*****
I received this in an email today, and I wanted
to make the correction/update ASAP. David
Marconi wrote the screenplay for Enemy of the
State, and it is one of my favorite films.
It is a great movie because of the writing, though
the acting is great too. We all have had
experiences where a film has had a great story, an
excellent cast, but it was missing...something.
Often, the problem is the writing. Well,
Enemy of the State is a film with excellent
writing, and David Marconi wrote it.
The stars of Enemy of the State, Gene
Hackman and Will Smith, are both names that bring me
to the movies. They are two men on different
sides of the career spectrum: Hackman is a master,
and Will Smith has the potential to become one.
The film has a couple of other actors that I love,
as well. Like Jon Voight, Tom Sizemore, Jason
Lee. Oh, and Jack Black. The kitchen
shoot out scene I've watched a hundred times in
regular and slo-mo speeds. I cannot get
enough.
But, as usual, I digress. The Enemy of the
State screenplay is great, the hi-tech is explained
and quite acceptably so, in non-Clancy terms. The
action is non-stop; miracle for such a technical
film.
As you know, I've been looking forward to this
film for a long, long time, and now that I know that
David Marconi wrote the screenplay, I'm hopping with
excitement.
Thank you to David Marconi for the update and the
great news.
Joe De Matteo |
| March
2007 - Joe De Matteo The
present optimistic(?) release date is June 27, 2007.
I'm hoping this will not be pushed back, but I'd
rather a worthy sequel in one of my favorite series.
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| January
2007 - Joe De Matteo Our favorite actor die-hard,
Bruce Willis was hurt on the set of Live Free or
Die Hard, on Wednesday, January 24th in Los
Angeles. A fight scene kick to the head
actually landed, giving Mr. Willis a gash above his
right eye, it is reported. He was briefly
hospitalized and returned to the set the next day.
We've got a pool going as to weather or not he'll
brandish the scare in the film and beyond.
What do you think?
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| Late
September 2006 Maggie Q joins the line up as a
super-hacker who is at odds with John McClane.
McClane is trying to stop a terrorist network that
is shutting down the US computer infrastructure.
My big question is, did he get drunk again after he
killed Jeffrey Irons? I hope not. He
could still be a hard hitting, hard drinking wreck
that he has always been, but another film that has
them sobering him up to throw out to the wolves,
is too many, in my mind.
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| August
2006, Joe De Matteo Die
Hard fans have talking up rumors about a Die Hard 4
moving for quite some time. Who better than
John McClane to fight terrorists?
NO-BODY!
And I agree with that
one, completely. McClane has been kicking
terrorist butt since 1988. DH4 has been named
and is looking at a 2007 release; that would be
almost 20-years since the first film debuted.
The plot that we're hearing is that
McClane is brought out of retirement (a drunken
retirement, if I know John McClane) to "take down"
Internet terrorists.
Justin Long of Jeepers
Creepers, Dodgeball, Break Up and MAC TV
commercials, is the only other actor signed on at
this time.
We'll keep you posted. |
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