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McClane is back in a truly fun summer sequel. Wow! I feel like such a man. After "Live Free or Die Hard", the 4th installment in the "Die Hard" franchise, my testosterone is at an all time high after watching John McClane (Bruce Willis) do battle with another group of bad guys. He kicks some butt and I feel all the more manly because of it. John McClane is asked by his supervisor to pick up a known hacker, Matt Farrell (Justin Long, the Apple commercials, "Accepted"), and transport him to Washington to be questioned by the NSA. The NSA has just had a major security breech in their system and they want to question all hackers who could have participated in such an event. As McClane arrives at Farrell's apartment to take him in, a group of hired thugs working for Gabriel Chase (Timothy Olyphant) arrive to kill Farrell; he is the last hacker who helped them with various pieces of the puzzle for their plan. Now he is expendable, so he must die. The bullets fly and McClane does everything he can to protect Farrell. As soon as they are in the car, the truth sinks in for Farrell and he can't come up with any reason why someone would want to kill him. They arrive in Washington, DC, just as the 4th of July Festivities are set to begin and things start to go wrong; the traffic lights go out, computers crash and a cryptic message plays on every television station. McClane knows they are in for trouble. Chase's men are still after Farrell, so McClane has to protect him and find out what connection he is. Then Farrell realizes what is happening; it's a "Fire Sale". Someone is attempting to shut down every computer system in the United States. In other words, they are trying to shut down everything. Will McClane be able to save Farrell, the United States and his daughter while uttering memorable catch phrases? Testosterone. This is the real reason I enjoy going to these films. As I have mentioned a few times, I love these Joel Silver-type action films, in which a hero has to fight against insurmountable odds to win the day (the girl, his family, his freedom, etc.). And there isn't a better example of this genre than the original "Die Hard" directed by John McTiernan and starring Bruce Willis. "Die Hard" is the story of an everyday guy, a cop from New York in Los Angeles to reconcile with his wife on Christmas Eve. Unfortunately, a group of terrorists, led by Alan Rickman, take the company hostage and McClane finds himself in the middle of a deadly situation. Great action, crisp dialogue, a fantastic villain and a likeable hero all help to make "Die Hard" one of the best action films ever made, and the template for many copies, some of which weren't bad either. With the inevitable sequel, director Renny Harlin placed McClane in the middle of an airport during a hostage crisis. Building, airport, both are enclosed environments, sort of. In "Die Hard with a Vengeance", Willis' McClane has to travel all over New York to outrun villain Jeremy Irons, while trying to keep his sidekick, Samuel L. Jackson safe. The sequels were fun, but they seemed to be pale retreads. With "Live Free and Die Hard", director Len Wiseman ("Underworld") places McClane in the middle of a cyber terrorist attack led by villain Thomas Gabriel (Timothy Olyphant, "Catch and Release", HBO's "Deadwood") and his crew of cyber hackers. Ooooooh, cyber – hackers. Scary. Olyphant is an interesting choice to play an uber-villain like Gabriel. He glowers and shows his thin smile on more than one occasion and these two elements help him look menacing, to a certain degree. Soft spoken, much like his character Seth Bullock on "Deadwood", he isn't a man you want to cross. And the fact Gabriel surrounds himself with so many guns and European goons make him even scarier. This is also a villain with a good, interesting plan to extract terror. As the film progresses, we learn he may have a closer connection to the rest of the plot than we initially thought, tying in his motive more concretely. I don't think anyone could ever top Alan Rickman in the first "Die Hard", but Olyphant does a nice job of creating his own persona. The addition of Maggie Q as Gabriel's girlfriend helps to amp up the danger quotient for McClane and Farrell. Maggie Q's character is completely devoted to Gabriel and his cause, and he is completely devoted to her, so she will do anything to help him. When she comes into contact with McClane and Farrell, she isn't going to give up easily and starts kicking and hitting, using every karate and martial arts move in her repertoire. It won't fit. Please read the full review at thornhillatthemovies.com email this review to a friend
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