With Jim Sabatini

Live Free or Die Hard

Rated: PG-13  for intense sequences of violence and action, language and a brief sexual situation
Reviewed by: Chris
Release date: June 27, 2007	Released by: Twentieth Century Fox

Bruce Willis' character, Detective John McClane may be 52 years-old and he might look a little worn around the edges, but he's still fit and energetic and ready for action.

And, action there is, from the moment John's asked to pick up Matt Farrell (Justin Long) a young computer hacker that's suspected of messing with the Government's computers, to the very last frame, the pace never slows down.

The setting is Washington, D.C. over the Fourth of July weekend. A cyber terrorist (Timothy Olyphant) has targeted the country's financial district, electricity grid and transportation systems by using unwitting young computer geeks.

However, once the villain has availed himself of the nerds' knowledge, they are gunned down by henchmen. McClane's job is to protect Farrell while saving America.

This action/comedy works mostly because of the skills of Willis. As in the original Die Hard almost 20 years ago, he never takes himself seriously. The wisecracks are non-stop, even when he's thrown off of a building or smashed through a broken floor, he just picks up his battered body and moves on.

One of the highlights is a brutal hand-to-hand fight with a petite Asian woman. They continue smacking each other even while hanging onto a vehicle that's precariously perched in an elevator shaft.

Director Len Wiseman ramps up the action to preposterous proportions at times, but if we suspend belief, sit back and enjoy, this is one unbelievably exciting ride.