All of the bonus features from the DVD are here, plus a game that's exclusive to Blu-ray.
Computer whiz Thomas Gabriel (Timothy Olyphant) and his asian girlfriend-henchwoman Mai Lihn (Maggie Q) aren't nearly as villainous as we see in most action films, but that's also a refreshing change. These are normal people with twisted ideas. Beware of lectures against hacking, though, which the filmmakers couldn't resist.
Once again, police are kept on the periphery as this is The John McLane Show, but Cliff Curtis manages to stay clear of clichés as he plays the guy in charge, while it's fun to see Kevin Smith in another small role--this time as "Warlock," a hacker who lives (where else?) in his mother's basement. The special effects are also fun. But as I said, the trajectory of this one is pretty straightforward, and that's a big negative. So is the fact that by the fourth go-round, so much of what McLane does is starting to feel predictable. And that's the last thing a loose cannon wants to hear.
The last thing fans of the unrated version want to hear is that only the PG-13-rated version is available on Blu-ray, either singly or in the "Diehard Collection."
Video:
"Live Free or Die Hard" looks great in 1080p, but be warned that there's a bluish cast to many of the scenes, and occasional slants of horizontal blue lines of light. I'm guessing this was in the original film (never saw it in theaters, sorry), because there's a pleasing amount of detail and sharp edges with no artifacts. The film was transferred to a 50GB dual-layered disc using AVC tecnhology (28mbps) and presented in an aspect ratio of 2.35:1.
Audio:
The featured soundtrack is English 5.1 DTS Master Lossless Audio, and it brings to life every zinging bullet and crunching metal crash. There's excellent movement across the speakers to give a realistic sense of the FX, and a nice wide spread across the front speakers that helps fill the room with sound. Additional options are in English, French, and Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1, with subtitles in English (CC), Spanish, Cantonese, and Korean.
Extras:
All of the bonus features from the DVD are here, plus a game that's exclusive to Blu-ray.
The commentary track featuring Wiseman, Willis, and editor Nicholas de Toth covers a lot of ground, ranging from locations and stunt work to the script and improv opportunities. It's a solid track. "Yippee Ki Yay, Motherf****" offers Willis and Smith chatting, while we see more of Willis in "Analog Hero in a Digital World," a making-of feature that's almost as long as the movie. It's pretty informative, and moves along at a brisk pace. I enjoy behind-the-scenes footage, and there's plenty of that here, along with discussions of all aspects of the filmmaking, including the production design, stunt work, FX, and cast. Then there's "Fox Legacy," which is basically a very short promo teaser that was aired on Fox Movie Channel, a music video by Guyz Nite (and a short look at them behind-the-scenes), and the theatrical trailer (in Hi-Def).
Exclusive to Blu-ray is a game, "Black Hat Intercept!, a four-level game that asks you to click on your enter button to thwart terrorists (alas, my Samsung player kept freezing, but it's the player, I'm certain).
Bottom Line:
"Live Free or Die Hard" is a solid action film that probably provides a blueprint for future cyber-terrorists. I think we'd better start recruiting all of these hackers to work for the government . . . NOW! Though this is the first "Die Hard" in the series not to pull down an "R" rating, there's still plenty of violence and, of course, that catch-phrase.
"Die Hard" fans wanting to go Blu should consider getting the "Die Hard Collection," which offers all four films on HD--with the fourth one the same R-rated version as on this single release.
Once again, police are kept on the periphery as this is The John McLane Show, but Cliff Curtis manages to stay clear of clichés as he plays the guy in charge, while it's fun to see Kevin Smith in another small role--this time as "Warlock," a hacker who lives (where else?) in his mother's basement. The special effects are also fun. But as I said, the trajectory of this one is pretty straightforward, and that's a big negative. So is the fact that by the fourth go-round, so much of what McLane does is starting to feel predictable. And that's the last thing a loose cannon wants to hear.
The last thing fans of the unrated version want to hear is that only the PG-13-rated version is available on Blu-ray, either singly or in the "Diehard Collection."
Video:
"Live Free or Die Hard" looks great in 1080p, but be warned that there's a bluish cast to many of the scenes, and occasional slants of horizontal blue lines of light. I'm guessing this was in the original film (never saw it in theaters, sorry), because there's a pleasing amount of detail and sharp edges with no artifacts. The film was transferred to a 50GB dual-layered disc using AVC tecnhology (28mbps) and presented in an aspect ratio of 2.35:1.
Audio:
The featured soundtrack is English 5.1 DTS Master Lossless Audio, and it brings to life every zinging bullet and crunching metal crash. There's excellent movement across the speakers to give a realistic sense of the FX, and a nice wide spread across the front speakers that helps fill the room with sound. Additional options are in English, French, and Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1, with subtitles in English (CC), Spanish, Cantonese, and Korean.
Extras:
All of the bonus features from the DVD are here, plus a game that's exclusive to Blu-ray.
The commentary track featuring Wiseman, Willis, and editor Nicholas de Toth covers a lot of ground, ranging from locations and stunt work to the script and improv opportunities. It's a solid track. "Yippee Ki Yay, Motherf****" offers Willis and Smith chatting, while we see more of Willis in "Analog Hero in a Digital World," a making-of feature that's almost as long as the movie. It's pretty informative, and moves along at a brisk pace. I enjoy behind-the-scenes footage, and there's plenty of that here, along with discussions of all aspects of the filmmaking, including the production design, stunt work, FX, and cast. Then there's "Fox Legacy," which is basically a very short promo teaser that was aired on Fox Movie Channel, a music video by Guyz Nite (and a short look at them behind-the-scenes), and the theatrical trailer (in Hi-Def).
Exclusive to Blu-ray is a game, "Black Hat Intercept!, a four-level game that asks you to click on your enter button to thwart terrorists (alas, my Samsung player kept freezing, but it's the player, I'm certain).
Bottom Line:
"Live Free or Die Hard" is a solid action film that probably provides a blueprint for future cyber-terrorists. I think we'd better start recruiting all of these hackers to work for the government . . . NOW! Though this is the first "Die Hard" in the series not to pull down an "R" rating, there's still plenty of violence and, of course, that catch-phrase.
"Die Hard" fans wanting to go Blu should consider getting the "Die Hard Collection," which offers all four films on HD--with the fourth one the same R-rated version as on this single release.
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[release]22065[/release]