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

[Kevin Grey]

SOAP's $14 million opening weekend probably won't even cover Bruce's salary and the total gross of $35 million is probably on the low end of where the studio hopes LFoDH opens with.

 

[Inspector Hammer!]

Okay, i'm just going to stop posting as I clearly have no idea what i'm talking about half the time.

I just saw the recent tv spot for LFoDH and it looks almost as if Bruce is doing a parody of McClane, too much smarmy laughing and wisecracks.

I'll conclude with this, LFoDH's PG-13 rating sucks, it will always suck and I don't give two shits about the reason behind how or why it got it, it's going to be a lesser DH film because of this bullshit move on FOX's part, I don't care that it'll make more money this way, my first concern as a DH fan is if it'll be a worthy entry in the DH series.

 

[Ken Chui]

I hope this isn't a repost.....

The first 8 minutes of the film are now available for viewing at Yahoo! Movies (link)

 

[WillG]

NY Post gave a 3 star reveiw

http://www.nypost.com/seven/06242007...u_lumenick.htm

Maybe the film will turn out to be ok. I do like how they seem to be heavilly favoring practical stunts and effects over CGI. Although, I still can't imagine that this can hold much of a candle to the previous Hard R rated entries/

 

[Zack Gibbs]

Saw the last trailer over the weekend. It looks like they listened to some criticism and toned down the blue in the picture. It was also a good trailer, only one that actually got me excited to see the flick.

 

[Brent M]

WOW, this flick currently has 35 positive out of 41 reviews for a score of 85% over at Rotten Tomatoes. Maybe it really is better than we thought after all.

 

[Shawn.F]

I saw this tonight in Boston and, shock of shocks, it's actually a lot of fun. Sure, I would have preferred an 'R' rated edition of the film, but I forgot about the rating about ten minutes into the film. Willis still has it as McClane, the action scenes are well done (although I think they were pushing it with the jet vs. 18-wheeler scene) and the story isn't all that bad. This is one to sit back, turn your brain off and enjoy the ride. I'd give it three stars out of four.

 

[TravisR]

I'm going tomorrow morning and I'm still hoping for the best.

EDIT: I rewatched all three Die Hards again this weekend and I probably haven't seen Die Hard 2 in nearly 10 years (although I've seen the first and third a number of times in the last few years). Unfortunately, DH2 is not as good as I remember. It certainly has some awesome stuff in it but it really doesn't hold much of a candle to the first or even the third one. I certainly don't think it's bad, it's just not as good as I thought.

 

[Inspector Hammer!]

Hmmm, okay, consider one brow officially raised, i'll let you guys know if the other one goes up when I see it Thursday.

Have to say that I saw the trailer in HD and like that they took the blue-ish hue out of it, it looked more polished as well.

 

[Brent M]

Yeah, I was always kinda lukewarm about DH2 as well. The first one is, well, it's Die Hard and the third one was cool because it was Bruce and Sam Jackson running around New York busting each other's balls. The second one just didn't have a whole lot to like about it IMHO. The ambush scene in the terminal was cool, but the rest of the action scenes didn't really blow me away and villain was kinda lame(especially coming on the heels of Alan Rickman's classic performance). I have a feeling that even though this new flick is PG-13 it will blow DH2 out of the water and may very well be better than DH3. I'm starting to feel a little more optimistic about "Live Free" and I'm looking forward to what fellow members have to say about it.

 

[Patrick Sun]

Caught the midnight showing, and didn't have any problems staying awake for the film. It's a tad long, with a few lulls here and there, but overall, a pretty good time at the movies. The stunt work is nuts at times (very glad to see a lot of old fashion stunt work, too), and the camerawork was also pretty nifty. It's loud and explosive, with plenty of attitude to spare. The character moments work between McClane and Farrell (Justin Long's character), and the unlikely buddy-buddy bond gets stronger as the story progresses. Now, does it all make sense, well, it makes Die Hard sense, so from that perspective, it's what it is, and you just go along for the ride because the film, like McClane, wears its heart on its sleeve.

As far as the PG-13 rating over a R rating, the action and violence more than make up for any amount of "cussing" that would have moved the film into the R territory. I didn't even care about the toned down language because the cat-and-mouse interplay between McClane and the bad guy (Timothy Olyphant) is still fun to watch, and McClane is seemingly a force of nature that just won't quit in the face of massive odds.

I give it 3 stars, or a grade of B.

 

[Tim Glover]

Nice Patrick....I'm really ready for a film like Live Free or Die Hard.

 

[Holadem]

Eh me too.

I never watched DH1 from begining to end. I watched DH2 (before 1) over and over in my early teens and never since. I enjoyed 3 precisely once. So with no real loyalties to the franchise, I don't share the negative sentiments expressed earlier at the prospect of a PG13 4th installement. Can't say I remember the previous films being particularly graphic or expletive ladden, but if you say so I believe you... I do empathise with those who feel that a PG-13 rating would significantly diminish pt 4 (someone on imdb said they should rename it Live Free or Die Soft )

All that to say... I get more of a 24 The Movie feel from the trailers (what with the blueish tone) than anything else. I don't mind... Heck I am pumped, will probably check it out tonight. Not seen some some serious ass-kicking on the big screen in ages.

--
H

 

[gushin]

I agree with Patrick. I also caught a midnight show last and it was a fun ride. A couple of really bad CG shots that are in the trailer (McClane and Farrell ducking between two cars and having a third hit the two cars and some of the F-35 [I'll say no more]). But the practical effects and stunts were great, as well as some of the one-liners.

:star: :star: :star: out of :star: :star: :star: :star:

P.S. I almost thought that with PG-13 YIPPEE-KAI-YAY MOTHER******* would turn into the TV version of YIPPEE-KAI-YAY MISTER FALCON. Wait til you see the cheat on this.

 

[Brent M]

Why?

 

[Inspector Hammer!]

I'm also taken a tad aback that you haven't seen the original from beginning to end, Holadem, one of the greatest action films of all time.

Okay, I admit it, my enthusiasm is steadily growing for LFoDH, everyone who has seen it seemed to either like it or love it so my hopes are rising.

 

[TravisR]

I just saw it and quite enjoyed it. While it's not better than the first or the third ones, it's a worthy sequel.

Like Holadem thought, the threat plays like 24 The Movie (which isn't a bad thing) but having John McClane The Every Man in the action as opposed to Jack Bauer The Super Soldier makes it a fun ride. Outside of the Die Hard series and a few other movies, I despise most Bruce Willis movies but even as a non-fan of Willis, he is in full wisecracking McClane mode here.

Besides Alan Rickman, I'd have to say that Tim Olyphant is probably my favorite DH villain. And Kevin Smith has a couple of funny scenes.

Overall, I'd say it's the best 'summer movie' that I've seen all summer.

EDIT: I can't wait to see people complain about how unbelievable the computer stuff is.

 

[Brent M]

Yeah, because we haven't gotten enough of that in the 24 threads.

 

[Chuck Mayer]

6.5/10

It's Len Wiseman's best movie, which isn't saying a lot. I went to see this solely for Bruce Willis and some old school action, but it's barely a DH movie. McClane has become the superman we were tired of in 1988.

It wasn't (necessarily) the wonky computer stuff that pulled me out...it was a SUV hitting the beautiful Maggie Q at 50 mph and doing no damage to her.
That Middleton sequence was too over the top, even for a summer blockbuster. Live Free was at it's best on the low budget material...the practical stuff (and parkour) was quite enjoyable (and well shot, it must be said). But the heart of series only showed up intermittently.

I enjoyed Winstead a lot, and I've always had a soft spot for Justin Long. Both acquit themselves well.

The film has a poor sense of pacing, no sense of geography, and the "threat" is profoundly silly - but the film works in spite of most of that. Olyphant did little for me (I kept thinking of Billy Bob)...I like him a lot as an actor, but compared to Jeremy Irons, he's a bit of a softie (why even compare him to the immortal Rickman). Maggie Q continues to be a supercrush for me. There is something indefinable about her that is very appealing. I love watching her on screen.

The violence (if not the redness and wetness) is still in the film, but the PG-13 does cause some smoothing of McClane's rough edges. Few films are improved by some choice language...but this is one of them.

It's not a hair on the ass of Die Hard, but if you see it as an old school action film with one of the very best stars of that genre in decent form, it can be entertaining.

You really have to check your brain at the door on the story. Oddly enough, with a little tweaking and downsizing of the scope, I think the plot could have been much more DH. But they vastly overreach, and it's often silly. DH was smart.

But...not bad.

 

[Inspector Hammer!]

Chuck, regarding your comment on the rating softening McClane's character, that's precisely what I was afraid of, the rating is having a DIRECT and distinct influence on a crucial element of the film and that bother's me more than the absense of bloody violence, although I would like that too.

Oh well, looking foreward to tomorrow so I can see this for myself.