The Official Live Free or Review Hard Thread! (SPOILERS)

[The Todd]

Well I went into the bank with my Canadian coinage to get it converted to US, the teller gave me a dirty look then had security escort me out of the building. Go figure!

You forgot to mention that security escorts you from every building you go into.....

[Cpt Kirks 2pay]

Senior McLane has yet to travel abroad. I wouldn't mind complete and utter destruction in closed quarters...say...in the streets of Venice or something.

Great idea. I thought that DH3 was supposed to be like that you know? Destruction and explosions to New York City and using the way that the city operates to beat the bad guys and win the day.

It WAS turning out to be that way until half way through where.....

1. The destruction wasn't going on.

2. They weren't even using the city anymore.

Maui has a point about DH4 doing it's own thing. It is admirable that they did that, though at the same time, it's not so much the DH formula we're accustomed to.

Again, 4 coincidences in a row is a bit hard to swallow, but so is not being in the same tradition as the others. At least it did try to create claustrophobic situations though. A 4x4 in a lift shaft is one of the greatest cleverest things DH has done, which puts it in a different league from other action films.

[Maui]

Well I went into the bank with my Canadian coinage to get it converted to US, the teller gave me a dirty look then had security escort me out of the building. Go figure!

You forgot to mention that security escorts you from every building you go into.....

Dang, you're still not over that purple polyester comment are ya? Keep going, you need about 10 posts to equal one of mine to call it even.

[Maui]

A 4x4 in a lift shaft is one of the greatest cleverest things DH has done, which puts it in a different league from other action films.

Yeah, that was great! What were McClane's words exactly? A SUV shoved up her ass.

[Cpt Kirks 2pay]

I dunno about you guys man, but ever since I came out of Die Hard 4 3 times watching it, I just keep running around people screaming 'AAAAAHHHHH!!!!' in that classic McClane style, pulling McClane impressions, and generally falling ass over tit and kicking people accidentally, whenever I try to jump over/off of things trying to be true McClane Die Hard stylee in everyhing I do and nearly getting the sheet kicked out of me for my efforts.

Anyone else have this problem?

[Maui]

I dunno about you guys man, but ever since I came out of Die Hard 4 3 times watching it, I just keep running around people screaming 'AAAAAHHHHH!!!!' in that classic McClane style, pulling McClane impressions, and generally falling ass over tit and kicking people accidentally, whenever I try to jump over/off of things trying to be true McClane Die Hard stylee in everyhing I do and nearly getting the sheet kicked out of me for my efforts.

Anyone else have this problem?

No, I'm just trying to get a better coolant system for our server farm here at work.

[Cpt Kirks 2pay]

I dunno about you guys man, but ever since I came out of Die Hard 4 3 times watching it, I just keep running around people screaming 'AAAAAHHHHH!!!!' in that classic McClane style, pulling McClane impressions, and generally falling ass over tit and kicking people accidentally, whenever I try to jump over/off of things trying to be true McClane Die Hard stylee in everyhing I do and nearly getting the sheet kicked out of me for my efforts.

Anyone else have this problem?

No, I'm just trying to get a better coolant system for our server farm here at work.

I love the way that McClane's bold head just looks so hard that he could crash his head through those cooling system pipes and crack them wide open but his head will still be the same and undamaged. I wanna do that now after watching this film.

Anyone else have this problem? What about jumping off of Jet Fighters from a huge height? What about wanting to be run over by a car and still getting up and making it look cool?



Anyone else have this problem?

[Maui]

Here's a nifty little piece on how they put together some of their action scenes, some CG intensive others not:

http://www.studiodaily.com/filmandvideo/currentissue/8289.html

[Fried Gold]

The big problem I had with Die Hard 4.less was dramatic disengagement.

McClane was slightly too good to imagine and things got a bit ludicrous for the character. I stopped believing that McClane could actually get hurt. This meant that the hero of the piece had nothing to come back from, and I stopped caring. The scale and scope of the story was detrimental to the protagonist.

[Maui]

I stopped believing that McClane could actually get hurt.

Yeah, it was dearly needing a "picking glass out of feet" scene. We needed to see him down.

[Cpt Kirks 2pay]

Well, it certainly was a pleasure seeing McClane got more and more beaten up as the film went by and seeing him get more scars. By the time of 'see you at the hospital' line came up at the end, you really knew he needed it.

But I do see your point, FG. He was a bit more Schwarziefied in this movie.

[godzillasushi]

I like that they have these "coincidences" anyway. In the second, he mentions a couple times "How does this keep happening to me?" It's funny because it knows McClane is still being tossed into this crap. It's aware of it. I like my Mission Impossibles and James Bond's in the same way. They are stand alone stories and it's cool to get a different situation or circumstance that mimics previous installments. Especially with this series. Call me easily pleased (no really, please do), but I don't mind them beating a dead horse. It's when they roll off 23 sequels to Rush Hour that I start to lose my freaking mind. Bourne, Ethan Hunt, Bond, McClane, Terminator, they can all make a million movies for me.

[Maui]

It's when they roll off 23 sequels to Rush Hour that I start to lose my freaking mind.

No Rush Hour 3 for you, eh? Saw the trailer of this

[Cpt Kirks 2pay]

I like that they have these "coincidences" anyway. In the second, he mentions a couple times "How does this keep happening to me?" It's funny because it knows McClane is still being tossed into this crap. It's aware of it. I like my Mission Impossibles and James Bond's in the same way. They are stand alone stories and it's cool to get a different situation or circumstance that mimics previous installments. Especially with this series. Call me easily pleased (no really, please do), but I don't mind them beating a dead horse. It's when they roll off 23 sequels to Rush Hour that I start to lose my freaking mind. Bourne, Ethan Hunt, Bond, McClane, Terminator, they can all make a million movies for me.

I dunno mate. It's like we're all going back in time with these repeats eh?























As...


















in....




















a........





















Back to the Future PART THREEEE!!!!!! kinda way eh!?!?!?






Winky winky winky winky!!!! Don't shoot!! Winky winky winky winkeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Maui]

I don't know about the rest of you, but I certainly hope there is a CatWoman 2.

[godzillasushi]

Hey wait! You were referencing the instant classic Back to the Future 3



Don't worry Michael J Fox, we will win them over some day.





Well, I tell you what, I guess Rush Hour is okay Maui. Like the second one, I liked it up until the point when Chris Tucker gets on the table in the casino and starts calling the white guy racist. Why do we need this? Seriously annoying. Cliche that wore itself out the day Eddie Murphy opened that giant mouth of his in the 80's. Those movies still aren't bad. I even like Shanghai Noon and Knights. Jackie Chan is fun.

[Cpt Kirks 2pay]

I don't know about the rest of you, but I certainly hope there is a CatWoman 2.

Drinks a glass of milk. Reads post. Gulps, throws up, spits out milk all over screen and chokes on it at the same time.


Then a cat comes up and starts slurping up the milk?! WTF!?

[Chilli]

The thing I enjoyed about DH3 is the energy. Yes, as a structured film its riduculous and makes no sense. But they consistently throw crazy shit at McClane that he has to deal with, which is a hybrid of DH1/DH2. In those films he had time to react, in DH3 he's got zero time to really get his bearings, and a sidekick who keeps yelling 'DAT'S RACIST' style sentiments, not to mention a hangover. The dude is fucked, and he knows it, and he has to deal on top of that with the asshole brother of an asshole who fell out a window caused he fucked with McClane. Its so batshit crazy that it works, for me, as a ludicrous, but grimy fun, action flick.

In stark contrast, DH4 just felt clean in every sense of the word. McClane never felt like he was being outmatched, ya know. He gets his ass kicked, but he gets right up and goes to kick some ass. I preferred the McClane who'd get his ass kicked, and have to figure out a strategic way to kick the bad guys ass. The bit with Maggie was close to that, but the fight with that crazy revenge seeking baddiefrom DH1 was so much more with the hardcore, because you actually felt he could've been maimed at any second, along with both having a really personal stake there. If McClane died in that fight, Holly would have died, even if they never knew who she was, and revenge seeking bro has his brothers death as motivation. Maggie Q just felt like a stereotypical baddie. I'm not saying she had to have a character reason to kick McClane's ass, but a little something extra to resonate the fight would've worked, for me at least.

[Maui]

Maggie Q just felt like a stereotypical baddie. I'm not saying she had to have a character reason to kick McClane's ass, but a little something extra to resonate the fight would've worked, for me at least.

Agreed.

On another note, what FBI agent wears 3" high heels and has her blouse unbuttoned down to her waist? UGHH!

[The Todd]

what FBI agent wears 3" high heels and has her blouse unbuttoned down to her waist?

All of them in The Todd's dream world.....

[Maui]

what FBI agent wears 3" high heels and has her blouse unbuttoned down to her waist?

All of them in The Todd's dream world.....

You must have some kind of radar for these threads, eh?

Ok, given the chance of seeing a kick ass female like Ripley vs. a high heeled buxom blonde, what would your choice be?

No, forget it, don't answer that....

[The Todd]

You must have some kind of radar for these threads, eh?

Hehehe. You have no idea.....

Ok, given the chance of seeing a kick ass female like Ripley vs. a high heeled buxom blonde, what would your choice be?

That's easy. Both. Any other questions?

[Maui]

You must have some kind of radar for these threads, eh?

Hehehe. You have no idea.....

Ok, given the chance of seeing a kick ass female like Ripley vs. a high heeled buxom blonde, what would your choice be?

That's easy. Both. Any other questions?

You made me LOL!!!

[The Todd]

You must have some kind of radar for these threads, eh?

Hehehe. You have no idea.....

Ok, given the chance of seeing a kick ass female like Ripley vs. a high heeled buxom blonde, what would your choice be?

That's easy. Both. Any other questions?

You made me LOL!!!

Awesome! Then my work is done in this thread. Another gold star for me!

[Pacino86845]

Heheh, now when it comes to this series, I guess you'd call me a Die Hooplehead... I vaguely remember parts of the first one, watched about 10 minutes of the second one, and about 30 minutes of the third one.

Live Free Or Die 4.0 was fairly entertaining, but I felt that the second half of the film was weak, and the energy and momentum set up by the terrific first half were totally defused.

In the second half it became painfully obvious that they were trying to blend the Bourne/Casino Royale formula in with McClane's world, which is really sad 'cause the best parts of LFOD4.0 were the times they were actually trying to be original: interactions between McClane and Farrell, attacking a helicopter first with a fire hydrant and then with a police vehicle!!! AWESOME!!!

The big fighter jet set-piece was beyond "somewhat plausible," laughably so, and veered into Michael Bay territory (at least without all the schizophrenic cuts... Michael Bayt must blink at least four times per second).

I give it a 6/10 overall, but it's a strong 6/10 'cause of an extremely entertaining first half.

[havocSchultz]

But what did you think of McClane himself...?

[Cpt Kirks 2pay]

Or his dwhoreter?

[havocSchultz]

Or Kirk...?

[Pacino86845]

But what did you think of McClane himself...?

Yeah sorry, I forgot to mention that... I meant to include McClane himself when I was talking about the film being "original." The character is great... where Bond the sort of "English gentleman" isn't credible with his quips, "everyman" McClane is perfect. One of the movie's faults IMO is that there wasn't ENOUGH McClane.

[RogueScribner]

LFODH wasn't a Die Hard movie. It was a Michael Bay/Tony Scott wankfest, that just happened to have John McClane at its center. It was a weird hybrid, but it wasn't an awful viewing experience. It did seem a bit sanitized, though.

[tapehead]

Vern reviews the 'unrated' two-disc DVD release version - blood, French stuntmen and 'Motherfucker!'

Vern's Beowulf review is definitely worth a read too.

[Fried Gold]

I doubt a bit more blood and swearing will make, what was a fairly ordinary action film, a brilliant film.

[The Vicar]

I doubt a bit more blood and swearing will make, what was a fairly ordinary action film, a brilliant film.

Cynic.

Doesn't make you wrong, but still.....





"No matter how cynical you get, it's impossible to keep up....."

[TheButcher]

From MTV Thursday, October 2, 2008: ‘Die Hard’ Screenwriter Looks To John McClane’s Past & Future, Muses On ‘Live Free’

His films have earned over two billion dollars at the box-office, but the best of Steven E. de Souza’s screenplays will likely always remain “Die Hard,” the 1987 Bruce Willis flick that invented the modern action film. And although the writer jumped off the franchise following “Die Hard 2” as if he were John McClane going over the side of the Nakatomi Plaza building, he insists there’s still life in the series.

“The franchise can go on and on, because it no longer has to be a ‘Die Hard’ movie,” explained the screenwriter. “Only the first two movies were actually ‘Die Hard’ movies, which I would define as the solitary hero with little or no help, largely alone for long stretches of time, trapped in an enclosed area he cannot escape. The first two pictures held to that model.”

Along with fan-favorites Bonnie Bedelia (as Holly) and Reginald VelJohnson (as Twinkie-loving cop Al Powell), de Souza was removed from the series for 1995’s “Die Hard With a Vengeance” and last year’s “Live Free or Die Hard.” “[Now] they go out and they travel,” he said of those films. “They go to Canada and come back, and they go to New Jersey, and they drive around in cars and go all over the Eastern Seaboard in the fourth picture. Those are excellent pictures. They’re well-made movies, but I think it’s interesting that neither one of those - three or four - was originally written as a ‘Die Hard’ movie.”

“They were each scripts that were done and ready to go, and someone at the last minute said, ‘Hey, we want to make a ‘Die Hard’ movie. Bruce is available, so let’s change this character’s name to John McClane,” de Souza pointed out. “So, a script called ‘Simon Says’ was turned into ‘Die Hard 3’ and the bad guy was turned into the brother of [Alan Rickman] from the first movie. Then the last picture was originally called ‘World War 3’ about an older cop who arrests a hacker. And again, they said: ‘Let’s make the older cop McClane.’”

“The first two pictures were written to be ‘Die Hard’ movies - whatever that briefly was,” de Souza explained. “The third picture could just as easily have been ‘Lethal Weapon 8’.”

And for all you fellow “Die Hard” nuts out there, get a load of this gem that de Souza let slip: “The firehose stunt,” he grinned, referring to Bruce Willis’ now-iconic leap from the exploding rooftop, “I stole from Harold Lloyd in [the 1923 film] ‘Safety Last’!”

Check out this clip for the scene that inspired John McClane’s greatest moment.