the movieGOOMBA

3.5 GOOMBAS

Die Hard was one of the first films to pioneer a specific school of action. You know what kind of action I'm talking about; the kind of action where our hero didn't need to have super powers or a crazy sci-fi storyline. All he needs is a gun and his bare hands, but don't worry, he'll manage to get some machine guns and some makeshift explosives by the end of the movie. There's usually some hostage type situation, and a special girl he has to save. There is a bad guy and the good guy. No surprises. The school of action that rose in the 1980's but died during the Internet revolution. Action movies like these were more about the ride than anything else. But they don't make them like they use to. The audience has changed, and people expect more from an action thriller than just ridiculous explosions and crazy shootouts. Action movies now a days need much more. We're so technologically advanced now that movies of this caliber no longer have a place among the war films, Matrix movies, or comic book hero flicks. So when I heard they were making a new Die Hard, I was hoping that I would get to see some of that old school muscle action.

Live Free or Die Hard follows up on our old friend John McClane. He's now a senior detective for the NYPD, divorced, bald, and estranged from his children. Like the premises of the previous films, McClane always just happens to be at the wrong place at the wrong time. As a favor for the FBI, he's asked to pick up a computer hacker who is somehow partially associated with some hi tech terrorists. As his adventure unfolds, these terrorists begin taking over the United States via "firestorm" attack. Things blow up, his daughter is kidnapped, all hell breaks loose, and there's only one man for the job; John McClane.

This entire movie is a symbol for how action movies have evolved. How ironic is it to put an old school action hero under present day circumstances? He's confused. He needs a nerdy computer geek to translate. And the "much more" that I was talking about earlier . . . it entails technological warfare against the most powerful nation in the world. Saving 50 hostages from 15 terrorits just isn't enough. Even McClane acknowledges how things have changed, and maybe all brawn can't stand up to modern day villains. Oh, but that doesn't stop him from battling a fighter plan with a semi and, my personal favorite, taking down a helicopter with a Crown Victoria.

Live Free Or Die Hard is a good piece of entertainment. It was packed full of ridiculous goodies and kept me rooting for the good guy, but in the end, it just wasn't the same as old school Die Hard. Even though our action hero from the past wins his battle and saves the country; sadly, his style, like the aging movies, just doesn't hack it against new cinema. But that doesn't stop me from liking it!

Update: I up-ed the rating by 0.5 GOOMBAS because after a little more thought, despite the impossiblities of some of the situations, it was pretty fun. Plus, my dad thinks that should be 4 GOOMBAS, and he is the aficionado on all things action.