LIVE FREE OR DIE HARD ***½

Bruce Willis started the Die Hard pics in 1988, followed by a sequel in 1990 and a threequel in 1995. So, it's been 12 years since we've seen Detective John McClane single handedly defeat the various villains who've regretted crossing his path. Now, he's back with a new supporting cast including: Justin Long, Maggie Q, Timothy Olyphant, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Cliff Curtis, Kevin Smith, and Jonathan Sadowski.

This time around the United States is faced with a computer genius villain, Olyphant, who decides to get rich (and even) by stealing a vast amount of money from the U.S. Government. He sets out to accomplish this by tricking a group of computer hackers into providing him with the codes necessary to shut down the country's internet and utilities and then doing so, providing him with the cover needed to hide his actions. Willis gets involved when he's asked to bring in one of the hackers, Long, and thwarts an assassination attempt on him. The action escalates from that point to an all out battle between Willis and Olyphant, who's kidnapped Willis' daughter, Winstead, to use as leverage.

Action fans, here you go. This is what you've been waiting for! This film is solid action from start to finish. My only complaints are it's 30 minutes too long, and the action keeps building to the extent it becomes quite unbelievable. Neither of those will make a bit of difference to Willis/Die Hard fans. Even though I thought it a bit much by the end I still recommend it to anyone looking for non-stop action. This is basically an all Willis feature with some humorous moments added by Long and Smith and solid villainy by Olyphant and Maggie Q. As you might suspect, this pic will have much more impact in a theatre with a large screen and very good sound.