The biggest issue was the PG-13 rating.  How can you have a Die Hard film that is PG-13, when you are expecting tons of violence and of course Willis’s famous line, “Yippi-Ki-Yay Mother Fu****.”  Before I actually sat down to watch the film, I was speaking to a fellow critic, and he informed me that you can actually use the F-word 2 times in a PG-13 film, as long as it is not used sexually.  You cannot say motherf***** though, which obviously leaves the film with a problem, considering the word is contained in the famous line.  You will have to see for yourself how they pulled it off.  I must say it was very clever. 

Live Free or Die Hard stars Bruce Willis (Pulp Fiction, Sin City), Justin Long (“Mac” guy from the T.V. commercials, Waiting, Accepted), Timothy Olyphant (The Girl Next Door, Rockstar), Kevin Smith (writer/director of Clerks, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back) and Cliff Curtis (Blow, Training Day—good actor by the way).

The Plot: The Live Free or Die Hard plot is your typical plot where terrorists try to take over the United States and, of course, one man has to stop it all.  The plot is a little more complicated than that though, considering it deals with American terrorists who are hacking in to the United States “infrastructure” and basically causing the United States to go into a huge panic.  The terrorists, who are headed by Thomas Gabriel (played by Olyphant), unleash something called a “Firesale,” which is basically a three-phase hack that can take down the traffic system, the communication lines and the power in the United States. 

Matt Farrell (played by Justin Long) happens to be a “good” computer hacker who thought he was writing a code for his job.  It turns out, he was writing code to help the terrorists and after his job was done, they were going to kill him.  Luckily, the F.B.I. caught wind of this attack on the United States and called all hackers to be brought in to be questioned.  Shocker, John McClane is sent to pick up Matt Farrell and bring him in.  What McClane did not know was that these terrorists need Farrell killed; therefore it becomes McClane’s job to protect him and try to save the United States.  I know it sounds a little confusing, but all that really matters is the action and cheesy/funny dialogue. 

The Review: Overall, this is the model that all action films should be using.  Is the movie Oscar worthy? Hell no!  Is it fun, entertaining and something that is so bad-ass that it needs to be seen in theatres?  Hell yes!  People will probably give me crap for giving this movie such a high rating.  Just remember that I am telling the best way to see a film, whether it be on DVD, cable or in the theatres.  Live Free or Die Hard is the perfect type of movie that needs to be seen in the theatres.  The action scenes are freaking amazing.  Wait until you see the seen that takes place in the tunnel in Baltimore, or the scene with the F-65 fighter jet.  These scenes will seriously blow you away. 

When it comes to negatives, I was honestly worried about Justin Long being in the film.  When I saw the trailers for the film, I really thought all the one liners came off as cheesy and this was going to be another one of those movies where a kid comes along to interact with a big action star.  I must say that Justin Long actually blended very well.  I really liked seeing him and Bruce Willis on screen together.  You could tell they were having a lot of fun. 

One thing I was looking for when I was watching the movie was how fake the special effects would look.  Besides one scene where they were driving in a car and you could tell they shot it on a blue screen in a studio, the special effects were flawless.  McClane gets his butt kicked, just like he always does. 

The Verdict: Regarding the violence, it was still very brutal and PG-13 really did not take too much away.  Obviously, the stuff that happens in these films is totally unbelievable and would probably never happen in real life, but it is fun to see it.  Seeing it in theatres will definitely enhance it and make it a better experience than at home on your DVD player.  I give the film 4.5 BDK’s because I feel it should definitely be seen in theatres, but seeing during a matinee or full price ticket will make no difference