We’ve known film franchises to run for generations, decades and decades’ worth of content keeps pouring out and people swarm these pictures in flocks. There are a huge amount of franchises that have seen this treatment, from Star Wars, to Terminator, Jurassic Park, The Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Lord of the Rings and so many more. However, there comes a particular part in every franchise that breaks the camel’s back, letting the creators know that enough is enough. For the Die Hard franchise, the opposite reaction occurred. A film so good managed to come out, that it revitalized the franchise into something great for newer audiences while keeping older fans coming back! This came in the form of Live Free or Die Hard, more commonly known as Die Hard 4.0.
How to Download Live Free or Die Hard
You can download the film from a digital store. You can also stream it. Click on the Download button at the end of this review and make your choice.
The Movie Review
The last time fans saw New York street cop John McClane was more than ten years ago from Live Free or Die Hard. However, when the need arises, he’s always willing to come back. The need comes in the form of the world’s most notorious criminal, who attempts to paralyze the entire United States with a cutting-edge act of technological terrorism. There is only one cop who can guarantee the system’s integrity, now trusted by a young hacker who will aid him in taking back from the powers that be.
Underworld filmmaker Len Wiseman takes up the directing mantle left by John McTiernan and Renny Harlin. He oversees a story written by Mark Bomback in this fourth installment of the enduring action series. It is a sequel that I adore to death and one of my personal favorite action films, one that I admire even more than the original. I adored that the Die Hard aspects were still present, especially in the unrated version. However, McClane still cracked jokes, made me grin with his classic one-liners, and defeated the bad guy at the end so the PG-13 cut didn’t bother me either. If I had to choose one particular scene, it would be the car chase sequence with the chopper. It was a nice pop projection of the fear following 9/11.
Having said that, Live Free or Die Hard also makes you yearn for the time when reckless action pictures were exempt from the fear of being penalized for sequences that didn’t make much sense. Of course, simple stereotypes shouldn’t be applied to Bruce Willis, as he infuses a sense of firepower with more heart and fun than any other performer I can immediately think of for this franchise.
The cast of Live Free or Die Hard was generally rather strong. Naturally, action hero Bruce Willis reprised his role as John McClane. However, the cast roster for the film also includes actors of high quality such as Justin Long, Maggie Q, Cliff Curtis, and Timothy Olyphant. Olyphant, though, simply wasn’t given as much to work with as the villains in the previous three films were. It was unfortunate because Olyphant is an excellent actor, it’s just that his character came across as being less fascinating and detailed than Irons’ or Rickman’s.
Many people complained that John McLane is transformed into a superhero in this film by the action. I admit that there are instances when the level of realism borders on fiction, but it’s never anything but pure enjoyment. Every Die Hard film defied convention in order to create a fun scenario; they somewhat warped reality in order to intensify the action. Even if this one has more of it, it doesn’t feel overdone—at least not with the superhero genre still being so overly saturated. Live Free or Die Hard is expertly filmed and edited.
Thanks to its relentlessness, the film is really entertaining to watch, especially due to the excellent work of the camera crew and cinematographers, and the stunt work was also incredible!
The one thing that I do find a bit odd was the soundtrack. Again, it follows the same formula of copying the music from the original film and then reinventing it in ways that fit the scenario of this particular feature. I didn’t find it too appealing of course, but that doesn’t mean others wouldn’t. In my opinion, it came off as too overbearing, taking over the scenes too aggressively even when they didn’t require it.
Verdict
The plot involves a lot of computer hacking-related jargon, and there is a lot of downtime for unwanted exposition, which slows down the movie a little. However, Live Free or Die Hard is a welcome addition to the world where Michael Bay-style non-stop action has taken over. Live Free or Die Hard is a pleasant surprise considering how pointless this sequel seemed its conception. It’s plenty silly, plenty thrilling, and plenty of fun!
