Insane in the McLane

Live Free or Die Hard is the fourth installment of the Die Hard series and is quite possibly the most entertaining of any of the sequels. Watching this movie reminded of last years Rocky Balboa. It was like visiting with an old friend or putting on your most comfortable shirt. John McLane is not our typical hero. He doesn't complain about being old or bitch about his circumstance, he just takes care of the business at hand. The most entertaining part of Bruce Willis's Mclane is that he laughs along with audience at the complete absurdity of surviving the outlandish action. I for one love John McLane. He represents "throwback" action movies. The type of movies where you knew what were getting into. A movie that was laced with blistering action, great one-liners, and dare I say it, heart. These movies exist less and less these days due to CGI characters and "CGI" plots to a certain extent.
(LFODH) is a solid action movie with a solid script. Computer geniuses are plotting to create a three-pronged attack against the American infrastructure. I liked this part of the plot because these weren't just terrorists trying to steal a bomb or another weapon to hold the government hostage. They already have the weapon, technology. Timothy Olyphant plays Thomas Gabriel, a former FBI computer wiz. He warned the government that their system could be easily hacked and the utilities, transportation, and financial records of the country could be greatly compromised. Government officials, in their infinite wisdom, fired him and tarnished his career. He subsequently went into hiding and started plotting his revenge. I liked this character because he isn't some foreign terrorists. He isn't Muslim or some religious yahoo trying to bring down "evil." No, he is some scorned guy trying to prove point that wasn't well received. But with all great action movies, the villain never accounts for the hero. In this case, John Mclane.
Willis is teamed up Justin Long (Accepted) who plays Matt Farrell, a fringe computer genius who is manipulated into creating an algorithm to break National Security. Farrell is taken into custody by Mclane and what is supposed to be a simple transfer of a criminal turns into a fight for their lives. There are some nice moments between Willis and Long and it is clearly evident that Willis is still cool after all these years.
This movie is surrounded by great and implausible action sequences. But this is entertainment. There is a great sequence in the Lincoln Tunnel only to be outdone by an F-25 fighter on a highway. Again, it was pleasure to have John Mclane laugh with me at the ridiculousness of it all. In the end, Mclane is beaten, battered, and bruised.
Live Free or Die Hard just feels right. It is forgettable, but for two hours you will enjoy yourself. If you are from my generation, you will smile at every one-liner and laugh at the elaborate set pieces as they explode. This movie is a relic and if there is to be a fifth installment all I can say is "Yippie-Kay-Yay Mother...."