MIT Lecture Series Committee

Rated PG-13
130 minutes

Live Free or Die Hard (2007)

After a twelve-year hiatus, Bruce Willis is back as New York City detective John McClane, who still plays by his own set of rules. Following Die Hard (1988), Die Harder (1990), and Die Hard With A Vengeance (1995), the fourth installment in the popular action series stars Deadwood's Timothy Olyphant as Thomas Gabriel, an evil mastermind who is determined to bring down the entire infrastructure of the United States on Independence Day, sending the country into anarchy and chaos. Joining him on his mission of destruction is the elegant Mai, played by Maggie Q from Mission: Impossible III. McClane becomes involved when he gets caught in the crossfire while transporting prisoner Matt Farrell (Justin Long, most well known as the mac in a series of computer commercials), a hacker extraordinaire who is the perfect complement to the old-school McClane, who eschews cell phones, computers, and doing anything the easy way. But when Gabriel kidnaps McClane's daughter, Lucy (Mary Elizabeth Winstead, from the Death Proof section of Grindhouse), it gets personal. Full of the sarcastic humor, exciting action sequences -- including flying cars -- and fun characters that have defined the series, Live Free or Die Hard is an excellent addition, directed by Len Wiseman (Underworld and Underworld: Evolution). The plot was based on a magazine article, "A Farewell to Arms," written by John Carlin, that appeared in a 1997 issue of WIRED magazine. The movie also features Kevin Smith as a computer geek -- er, expert -- known as Warlock, who still lives in his mother's basement. Yippee-ki-yay indeed. [www.rottentomatoes.com]

With a concept that matches its budget in terms of size and scale, the threat of virtual terrorism is the focus of Die Hard 4.0, a kick-ass action thriller with electrifying stunts that are as inventive as they are huge
      -- Urban Cinefile Critics, Urban Cinefile. Read this review.