Fast forward to today, and you will see that things have changed a little compared to when the first Die Hard came out, and the latest entry into the franchise, Live Free or Die Hard, acknowledges that - With exception to the movies rating.  The Original is Rated R, the latest entry is PG-13.

John McClane is the analog hero in a digital world.  Most action movies that come out now rely heavily on computer-generated effects/images, such as Spider-Man 3, Transformers, 300, etc. which have all come out this year.  Live Free or Die Hard(I'll refer to it as LFDH because that title is too annoying to type out), is a throwback to the epic action set-pieces movies of the 80s and 90s, relying very little on CGI and more on explosions, and how many cars crash, etc..  Now the question, is it any good?

    The answer to that question is well, yes. Heck yes.  Sure it is not nearly as refreshing as the first Die Hard was, but it's almost on the same level, and a great way to reintroduce an aging John McClane.  The movie begins with a washed-out John McClane picking up a young hacker, Matt Farrell, to take to D.C. for questioning(Justin Long from Dodgeball and the Mac commercials). The action starts almost right away, with Matt's computer blowing up from a bomb and then several thugs begin to attack John McClane and Matt, and well that's where it all begins.

    The basic plot is that tons of hackers had sold several algorithms and code unsuspectingly to "virtual terrorists".  They are then being killed off one by one, as they would be the only ones to stop the plans that the virtual terrorists have.  Thomas Gabriel(Played by Timothy Olyphant), is the leader of these virtual terrorists, a man who had developed a new and better security system for the US after 9/11, but was then fired. 

    Thomas Gabriel seeks revenge, by using his own knowledge of the system to exploit it and take down the United States' economy, traffic light system, stock market, etc..  The nickname for it is a "firesale", alluding to the fact that everything must go.  Matt Farrell is one of these hackers, and is why he's being hunt down by Gabriel & crew due to the fact he could be the only one to stop it, and most of the movie is John McClane and Matt trying to gain control back of the US while fighting off Gabriel. 

    One thing I have to do is give credit to the director for the way he designed many of the action scenes.  There is very little CGI(except for a battle towards the end involving a jet), but for the most part all are stunts being performed, or cars being actually blown up.  The director Len Wiseman, actually lingers his camera on action scenes, unlike most action directors which have a field day with rapid cuts.  It makes the action much more visceral, especially early on in an action sequence in a tunnel.

    My only complaint was that the action in the movie isn't as thrilling as in the first, because there was a real claustrophobicness in the air with John's character in that movie.  In this movie the action is all over the place.  And there's a scene involving John vs. a jet fighter, which is completely preposterous compared to the other movies(except for truck surfing in Die Hard with a Vengeance), and I thought could have been replaced with something more realistic.  The best action scene in the entire movie is John going against Mai Linh, Thomas' girlfriend and sidekick, in an elevator shaft.

    There's also a great amount of humor in the script, with great chemistry between Bruce Willis(John McClane) and co-star Justin Long(Matt Farrell), which was surprising because I always found Justin Long to be annoying, but he makes a great sidekick because he's just funny enough, but not enough to be annoying. 

    One particular scene that made me laugh was shortly after McClane blows up a helicopter with a car, John is bloodied up laying near a car, laughing at the situation.  Matt then asks "Are you okay?" and John simply replies "Yeah I'm fine kid", despite the fact he's limping, and has cuts all over him.  "You?" John asks, and Matt replies with "I think I skinned my knee really bad.".  And John McClane's daughter Lucy, played by Mary Elizabeth Winstead does a great way playing a chip off the old block of John.  She is a tough-as-nails chick. 

    Overall, I was really entertained by LFDH, despite its flaws.  The techno-babble really annoyed me from time to time, and the very last action scene was kind of nuts compared to everything else.  The main villain was a little lackluster, but Timothy Olyphant does a good job of making the villain what he is, which is a cold-hearted virtual terrorist that spits out orders to everyone.  Maggie Q who plays his butt-kicking girlfriend Mai Linh was perfect, and has some major sex appeal in the movie. 

    There's also a funny extended cameo with Kevin Smith playing a computer hacker named "Warlock" that lives in his mother's basement.  Bruce Willis though, is the heart and soul of the movie.  His one-liners, and quick wit and charm is what makes these movies so enjoyable.  He is a one man army, and I can't wait to see what he has in store for us in Die Hard 5, and hopefully his sidekick Justin Long will be back too.  If you're looking for some action with a mix of humor and heart, Live Free or Die Hard is a great choice.  Oh and yes, he says "it", with the latter part being slightly muffled out by a blast.

Three out of Four stars.