Finally, a sequel that delivers!

I admit, I was behind the times when it came to the Die Hard franchise. It wasn't until a month or so ago when I finally got around to watching all 3 films back to back, and I found myself wishing I would have caught them in the theater when they were released. Bruce Willis introduced audiences to a new hero in the form of wise cracking smart ass NYPD detective John McClane. Unlike the extremely chiseled characters played by the likes of Stallone and Schwartzenegger, McClane looked like your everyday ordinary cop, and in the process of doing his job, he definitely took a beating, giving him a level of vulnerability not really seen before. Director John McTiernan set the bar in the first film with McClane battling a group of international baddies in the Nakatomi building in Los Angeles, talking smack to them the whole time and uttering what would become the character's signature catchphrase. Renny Harlin took the reins in the second film which moved to the nation's capital. While the film was good, there was a drop-off in terms of quality. The third film finally put McClane and McTiernan back home in New York, and he had a sidekick in the form of Samuel L. Jackson which helped add another dimension to the film. Die Hard With a Vengence was argubly the best of the three outings.

It's been 12 years since John McClane was last spotted on the big screen, and now he's back in the fourth installment: Live Free or Die Hard. This time around, McClane is a bit of a loner. He's now divorced, and his daughter Lucy(Mary Elizabeth Winstead) isn't too fond of him either. McClane gets a call telling him that the feds want him to go pick up local computer hacker Matt Farrell(Justin Long) and escort him to DC. McClane gets way more than he bargained for when assassins try to take Matt out. After a daring rescue, McClane and Farrell arive in DC just in time for things to take a trip straight to hell, courtesy of Thomas Gabriel(Timothy Olyphant). Gabriel and his techie team of bad guys go about the task of bringing the country to it's knees via cyberterrorism. They disrupt traffic systems, send the stock market into a plunge, and end up taking out the power to a good portion of the east coast. Gabriel has an axe to grind against the government, and he's going to do it at the expense of the country's sanity. Once again, it's up to McClane to find him and save the day.

The use of technology as a weapon in this film is a perfect foil for McClane, who is described by Gabriel as "an analog cop in a digital world." Throughout the whole franchise, McClane has always been adverse to technology, preferring to use old school methods to do his job. Farrell, on the other hand, was brought up in the digital age, so his smarts help balance out McClane's brawn. Willis and Long have excellent chemistry throughout the film, and they play off of each other very very well. Olyphant brings a sense of smugness to his character and you find yourself wanting to reach through and smack him whenever he's on screen. Winstead was perfect as John's daughter Lucy, who is definitely a chip off the old block. Even when danger is all around her, she still finds a way to crack on Gabriel and his crew.

Fans of the Die Hard films, myself included, were a bit worried when we found out that, unlike the 3 previous offerings, this one was slapped with a PG-13 rating. Cries of "WTF" could be heard in blogs and message boards across the country. People were worried that this rating would ruin the essence of the film. Profanitiy has always been McClane's staple, and you can't have a Die Hard film without a high body count and lots of property damage. After watching this movie, all my fears were put to rest. Granted, there's not much in the way of foul language, but when it comes to action, all kinds of shit getting blown up and people meeting their untimely demise, director Len Wiseman delivers the goods. And yes, McClane's signature line does get uttered. I give the film 4 stars. Yippee ki yay motherfucker indeed.