Yippee--Ky--Yehh! Live Free or Die Hard

Bruce Willis returns as detective John McClain in this briskly-paced and action-packed fourth installment in the popular Die Hard series. In Live Free or Die Hard McClain must protect the life of a young computer hacker Matthew Farrell, enthusiastically portrayed by Justin Long. (The clever bit of casting is undoubtedly related to Long's appearances on current computer commercials.) Farrell is the last member of a group of hackers on the hit list of a former homeland security systems expert, who was jilted by the U.S. administration and now wants to show the U.S. government and the world how possible it is to hack into government computer systems and dismantle the country's financial, utility, and transportation systems.

Some twenty years since the previous film in the series, McClain is physically older, worn, and bald--traits that Willis wears well. One could make the case that these are not exactly inappropriate characteristics given the toughness McClain must demonstrate while risking life and limb to save Farrell from hit men hired by the former homeland security guru.

The disgruntled guru turns out to be one of the series' most menancing villains, and he is portrayed by a surprisingly effective Timothy Olyphant. Dressed in black shirts and using piercing stares to look ice-cold, Olyphant's performance is second only to Alan Rickman's memorable villainous turn in the first film. Cast against type, Olyphant exudes the smooth calculation and intellect that one imagines would be needed to outhack the greatest hackers in the world in a not-altogether-impossible plot to derail financial, utility, and transportation systems in the U.S. (Remember the U.S. only received D and Cs, respectively, in homeland security grades, and we have got to believe these disappointing marks were in the minds of the filmmakers.)

Several of the film's action sequences are jaw-droppingly spectacular. In one impressive bit, a hard hitting and kicking yet sexy Maggie G and Willis fight one another in and out of an automobile that literally hangs by damaged wires in a long elevator shaft. In another well-directed scene, Olyphant arranges for one of his own computer hackers to tap into a system to misdirect traffic in a D.C. tunnel in an effort to kill McClain and Farrell, who are driving in the opposite direction of all other traffic. The result sends several cars flying, twisting, and crashing toward McClain and Farrell, who are at the same time fleeing from hit men flying in a helicopter just above the tunnel. The choreography and timing of this and other action sequences are simply splendid.

The film comes just in the nick of time. Knee-deep into the summer's movie schedule, much of the fare has been disappointing and drab. But here Les Wisemnan, the film's director, has served up a nicely conceived action yarn with unexpected intelligence and relevance in the post 9-11 world in which we find ourselves. Live Free or Die Hard is more than a movie for die-hard Republicans and hawks undeterred in their commitment to homeland security and an unpopular war; it is first-rate pop entertainment that Americans of all stripes could simply die for. Yippe--ky--yehh!!

Grade: B+