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Live Free or Die Hard (2007) (1 Viewer)

Chris Will

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I enjoyed the movie, it was fun and entertaining but, it did feel like I was watching a TV broadcast. Clearly the word "jerk-off" was the replacement for the "f" word and it sounded strange every time it was used. Jerk-off is just a stupid sounding phrase to begin with. Plus the lack of blood was weird, a guy gets chopped up in a turbine and nothing, no blood, guts or anything. Guess it was some kind of Star Trek turbine were you are just vaporized. The PG-13 rating just made some things feel out of place n the DH universe. I hope the have alternate versions of some scenes that can be used in the "Even Harder" DVD release (or BD release if Fox ever starts releasing them again).
 

Malcolm R

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He was flash-frozen just before he dropped. I assumed he ground up sort of powdery...like cherry snow cone. :D
 

Pete-D

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Saw it ... liked it a lot. I still rate Die Hard 1 as the best obviously, with 2 second, and 3 + 4 basically a tie.

I think this one has a lot of similarities with DH3 in that its set mostly in an open city. DH3 did definitely change the format a bit by making the villain's plot more of a puzzle and requiring McClaine to have a sidekick. DH4 follows that same basic outline, whereas DH1 and DH2 (well loosely) were more confined to one locale.

For a PG-13 film, the death count is very high and the fight scenes are brutal and really intense (something a lot of directors with all the CGI in the world seem to forget). They do sorta turn McClaine more into a "one man wrecking crew" by the end of the film rather than the underdog per se, but that's OK. At this point, we know the guy is a grizzled bad guy killing machine, there's no point in trying to dress him up as anything less. The blood isn't there, but honestly, the action scenes are so intense, I really didn't miss it that much. I think this film's biggest problem is the villain in this one isn't quite as ruthless, tough, or sadistic as previous McClaine foes. Still the film works.

Maybe I'm overrating it just a tad because today's crop of action movies are so watered down and really lacking that "oomph", that DH4 just rocks the senses. But the action set pieces are really inventive and have to be seen to be believed. But I think I really missed the 80s style action ... though perhaps more accurately DH4 is more like the early-mid 90s action movies. It reminded me a little bit of Indepedence Day without the aliens and McClaine instead of Will Smith if that makes any sense.

Also Maggie Q ... very nice, and underused (kinda in a Darth Maul-ian fashion). Unless the new Harry Potter or Rush Hour top their predacessors, right now I'm saying this is the best sequel of the summer. Also has the DH franchise hit a new interesting plateau here, in that it's maybe the only franchise with 4 consecutive installments without any real stinkers/downers? All 4 movies have been solid to spectacular IMO. Well I guess there's Harry Potter, but I'm not really a big HP buff (though I do enjoy the films/atmosphere).
 

nickGreenwood

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I loved the film, Timothy Olyphant was actually my one small complaint, he was just to boring as a villain. His sidekick hacker guy was more of a bad-ass.
To ease the worries of the language, McClane doesn't watch his mouth, but he doesn't drop any f-bombs (save for the trademark line), but it's not unbelievable that at this point he might have tried to stop smoking and stop swearing so much to keep close to his family.
I agree that this is probably going to be one of the best sequels of the year and like I said I loved it.

The computer stuff wasn't too bad, not 24 bad but not spot on either, but the writers didn't try to stick in too much about "subnets" and stuff, the movie was definitely from John's point of view and so the "computer lingo" gets sort of dumbed down. I didn't find myself cringing at anything computer related anyway. Though there was a chuckle from myself and a friend when Justin Long's character is using a Mac in the movie... :)
 

Arild

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Mar 15, 2003
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I was surprised to see that the "Yippie Ki Yay motherf..." moment was completely different from what they showed us in the trailer. Not just a different line delivery / alternate take, it looked like an entirely different scene altogether. I wonder if that was shot specifically for the trailer (in order not to give away the ending, or whatever) or if they actually shot a different scene/ending at some point?
 

Gary W. Graley

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Feb 9, 2001
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Saw it today, for me, I liked it, a little tough to believe the fighter plane scene
a bit over the top there.

My fav is 1, 3 and now 4, the 2nd one was just not there for me for some reason...
G2
 

Shawn_KE

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Nov 25, 2003
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LOVED it. The best action movie of the year. A few over the top parts, but this is a action movie. And a pretty good for PG13. Though Timmy could have done without the wild deranged stare. Thought McClane looking at the lock of hair in his fist was great!!
 

Scott Calvert

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Saw it, liked it. Entertaining 2 hours at the movies. Won't make you forget the original Die Hard, though.

Saw it in DLP, and it was my first experience w/ digital projection at the movies. Couldn't believe that I was seeing pixels and video artifacts at the theater. I just don't know what the world is coming to...

I don't know why so many people are throwing around the term "old school", because this flick has CGI all over it. The digitally composited backgrounds during the interior driving shots were terrible. And that final sequence...couldn't they have gotten a real F-15 for just a few shots?

Wish the film had better cinematography. Almost seemed like it was shot in the current trendy style of exaggerating the look of the film with very cold blue hues like the Underworld flicks but someone decided to pull back during postproduction and put some color back in Bruce's face. Overall, a very crappy looking image. Why are all the hot young directors so afraid of having their films look anywhere near like reality?
 

Chuck Mayer

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I rewatched the original last night. It's still that good. I basically enjoyed my time at 4, but it's a generic action film with a name it doesn't really earn. Willis has some nice moments in 4. He's on FIRE in 1 :)
 

Robert Crawford

Crawdaddy
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Watched this today and had a good time at the show. Not as good as the original, but it was alright considering the quality of other sequels I've seen this year.
 

Holadem

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No F15 does what the aircraft needed to do inthat sequences, i.e., some form of trust vectoring. Although it can take off and land vertically, I wouldn't be surprised if the hovering agility of the F35 was exagerated in that scene as well. If not, then that is one badass aircraft :D.

--
H
 

Patrick Sun

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I've seen a couple of films (POTC3 and Ratatouille) in DLP at the theaters, and I also see what I call the SSE (silk-screen effect) in the bright spots of the image, and I see it in DLP RPTVs and it just drives me nuts at times. Can't say I'll be seeking out DLP showings at the theaters anymore. But I digress...

Obtopic - Looks like the PG-13 rating helped in the larger box office take for the 3rd sequel in the Die Hard series in its opening weekend, compared to the previous 3 films.
 

Chuck Mayer

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I think it was exaggerated a bit. The F-35 does have the vectoring capability, but not the usability for such precise, fine control. No pilot could ever be that good :)

That sequence was way out of place in a DH film.
 

Brent M

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Just got back from the flick and I enjoyed it quite a bit. All my fears about the PG-13 rating pretty much went out the window after the first shootout at the kid's apartment. Sure it wasn't as good as the original, but it was definitely better than Die Harder and I'd probably put it above Die Hard With a Vengeance as well. On a scale of 1 to 10, I'd give it a very solid 8. :emoji_thumbsup:
 

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