The only real disappointment is the second film, and even that's entertaining enough.
This time around, the filmmakers cranked it up a notch with the special effects, especially "fun with cars." They use a car to plow through a garage wall and into office space, then DOWN an elevator shaft, and they use a car to fly through the air to take out a helicopter. As is the case with other films in the series, the stunts and special effects are superb.
Look for Kevin Smith to liven things up at midpoint, playing a hacker who lives (where else?) in his mother's basement. "Live Free or Die Hard" is a solid enough action film, but it does have that single-trajectory plot and gets dangerously close to embracing clichés at times. Willis said in an interview with Smith that he's happier with this film than the previous two. Critics seem to agree. At rottentomatoes.com, 96 percent liked the first "Die Hard," while only 67 percent liked the second, 47 percent (go figure!) liked the third, and 80 percent liked the finale. Obviously, I disagree. "Live Free or Die Hard" does have a grittier feel to it, and an aging Willis seems more at ease with the role close to 20 years later. It's just not as complex, as I said. Maybe people respond to it because tonally it IS the closest to the first film, and that's what people are really looking for. But considering it apart from anything else, I'd have to give it a 7 out of 10. If I could give half numbers, I would. I'd give this a 7.5. And that's a more-than-respectable way to end a series like this.
Video:
"Die Hard," "Die Hard 2: Die Harder," and "Die Hard with a Vengeance" are presented in 2.35:1 aspect ratio, while "Live Free or Die Hard" is presented in 2.40:1. The reason is that the first three were shot in anamorphic Panavision, while the final installment was shot with 3-Perf Super 35.
All films are 1080p, but of course all 1080p films do not look alike. The first "Die Hard" is noticeably rougher than the other three, with the second one looking better, the third best, and the fourth probably faithful to the theatrical presentation but sporting a few blue lines and a bluish cast on many scenes. The level of detail is collectively strong, with colors again more vivid in the second through fourth films.
Like the films themselves, the video quality is solid.
Audio:
Same with the audio, which offers DTS 5.1 Master Lossless Audio as the main option, and English, Spanish, and French Dolby Digital 5.1 as secondary ones. Subtitles are in English (CC), Spanish, Cantonese, and Korean.
To be honest, I've watched so many of these movies and special effects that it's all beginning to blur. But I did not notice anything in the audio playback that was worth complaining about. The spread across the front speakers is nice and wide, and the technicians make good use of the rear speakers to simulate sounds moving across the room. There are a lot of small sounds, too, that really feel crisply rendered. In a film like this, that tells me more than all those booming explosions. Speaking of which, the sound is nicely modulated so that you don't have to turn it down every time there's a raucous sequence and then crank it up with the dialogue. Part of that is in the editing, I suspect, and I applaud the job that they did here.
Extras:
Yikes. I'll get carpal tunnel syndrome just typing all the bonus features that are included here, much less commenting on them. So I'll keep it relatively brief. The films are presented on four single-sided, 50-gig dual-layer discs and housed in a nifty keep-case with a center "page" that holds a disc on each side. The page snaps neatly in place, so there's none of the awkwardness closing or opening it that we get from other cases like this. Nice job, Fox.
The "Die Hard" disc features a commentary by director McTiernan and production designer Jackson DeGovia, with a scene-specific commentary by special effects supervisor Richard Edlund and a subtitle commentary by cast and crew. The commentaries cover the usual bases. Other extras are minimal. There's a still gallery, an article archive, trailers and TV spots, a "News Casts" featurette, and (probably the best of the smaller features) the full-length screenplay.
"Die Hard 2: Die Harder" offers a commentary by director Renny Harlin, several deleted scenes, an interview with Harlin, and a number of short features on the making-of, the bad guys, visual effects breakdowns and side-by-side comparisons, storyboard sequence, and behind-the-scenes vignettes. An original promo is also included. I have to say that I enjoyed the visual effects/comparisons the most.
"Die Hard with a Vengeance" features a commentary by McTiernan, who's joined by Jonathan Hensleigh. McTiernan also turns up in an optional commentary on an alternate ending. There's a decent interview with Bruce Willis on this disc, more visual effects breakdowns and side-by-side comparisons, another storyboard sequence, trailers and TV spots, another original promo, two TV behind-the-scenes looks, and (the most interesting, for me, in addition to the visual effects material) "Villains with a Vengeance" featurette.
"Live Free or Die Hard" has the most substantial making-of feature, one which runs roughly 90 minutes. It covers ALL the bases and also deals with the first film. Willis finally does a commentary track, teaming with director Len Wiseman and editor Nicolas de Toth that's pretty good. So is the interview that Kevin Smith does with Willis. Gamers will enjoy a four-level "Black Hat Intercept!" that has you trying to thwart terrorists, and music lovers might like "Die Hard," performed by Guyz Nite (and a short short feature on the Guyz behind the scenes). Rounding out the extras is a trailer in Hi Def and a Fox Legacy brief TV promo.
All of the discs are enhanced for D-Box Motion Control Systems.
Bottom Line:
Though mathematically the four films may average out to a 7, the two exceptional ones (whether you side with me, or with Willis) will make this Blu-ray set well worth adding to your collection. Besides, as I said, the only real disappointment is the second film, and even that's entertaining enough.
Look for Kevin Smith to liven things up at midpoint, playing a hacker who lives (where else?) in his mother's basement. "Live Free or Die Hard" is a solid enough action film, but it does have that single-trajectory plot and gets dangerously close to embracing clichés at times. Willis said in an interview with Smith that he's happier with this film than the previous two. Critics seem to agree. At rottentomatoes.com, 96 percent liked the first "Die Hard," while only 67 percent liked the second, 47 percent (go figure!) liked the third, and 80 percent liked the finale. Obviously, I disagree. "Live Free or Die Hard" does have a grittier feel to it, and an aging Willis seems more at ease with the role close to 20 years later. It's just not as complex, as I said. Maybe people respond to it because tonally it IS the closest to the first film, and that's what people are really looking for. But considering it apart from anything else, I'd have to give it a 7 out of 10. If I could give half numbers, I would. I'd give this a 7.5. And that's a more-than-respectable way to end a series like this.
Video:
"Die Hard," "Die Hard 2: Die Harder," and "Die Hard with a Vengeance" are presented in 2.35:1 aspect ratio, while "Live Free or Die Hard" is presented in 2.40:1. The reason is that the first three were shot in anamorphic Panavision, while the final installment was shot with 3-Perf Super 35.
All films are 1080p, but of course all 1080p films do not look alike. The first "Die Hard" is noticeably rougher than the other three, with the second one looking better, the third best, and the fourth probably faithful to the theatrical presentation but sporting a few blue lines and a bluish cast on many scenes. The level of detail is collectively strong, with colors again more vivid in the second through fourth films.
Like the films themselves, the video quality is solid.
Audio:
Same with the audio, which offers DTS 5.1 Master Lossless Audio as the main option, and English, Spanish, and French Dolby Digital 5.1 as secondary ones. Subtitles are in English (CC), Spanish, Cantonese, and Korean.
To be honest, I've watched so many of these movies and special effects that it's all beginning to blur. But I did not notice anything in the audio playback that was worth complaining about. The spread across the front speakers is nice and wide, and the technicians make good use of the rear speakers to simulate sounds moving across the room. There are a lot of small sounds, too, that really feel crisply rendered. In a film like this, that tells me more than all those booming explosions. Speaking of which, the sound is nicely modulated so that you don't have to turn it down every time there's a raucous sequence and then crank it up with the dialogue. Part of that is in the editing, I suspect, and I applaud the job that they did here.
Extras:
Yikes. I'll get carpal tunnel syndrome just typing all the bonus features that are included here, much less commenting on them. So I'll keep it relatively brief. The films are presented on four single-sided, 50-gig dual-layer discs and housed in a nifty keep-case with a center "page" that holds a disc on each side. The page snaps neatly in place, so there's none of the awkwardness closing or opening it that we get from other cases like this. Nice job, Fox.
The "Die Hard" disc features a commentary by director McTiernan and production designer Jackson DeGovia, with a scene-specific commentary by special effects supervisor Richard Edlund and a subtitle commentary by cast and crew. The commentaries cover the usual bases. Other extras are minimal. There's a still gallery, an article archive, trailers and TV spots, a "News Casts" featurette, and (probably the best of the smaller features) the full-length screenplay.
"Die Hard 2: Die Harder" offers a commentary by director Renny Harlin, several deleted scenes, an interview with Harlin, and a number of short features on the making-of, the bad guys, visual effects breakdowns and side-by-side comparisons, storyboard sequence, and behind-the-scenes vignettes. An original promo is also included. I have to say that I enjoyed the visual effects/comparisons the most.
"Die Hard with a Vengeance" features a commentary by McTiernan, who's joined by Jonathan Hensleigh. McTiernan also turns up in an optional commentary on an alternate ending. There's a decent interview with Bruce Willis on this disc, more visual effects breakdowns and side-by-side comparisons, another storyboard sequence, trailers and TV spots, another original promo, two TV behind-the-scenes looks, and (the most interesting, for me, in addition to the visual effects material) "Villains with a Vengeance" featurette.
"Live Free or Die Hard" has the most substantial making-of feature, one which runs roughly 90 minutes. It covers ALL the bases and also deals with the first film. Willis finally does a commentary track, teaming with director Len Wiseman and editor Nicolas de Toth that's pretty good. So is the interview that Kevin Smith does with Willis. Gamers will enjoy a four-level "Black Hat Intercept!" that has you trying to thwart terrorists, and music lovers might like "Die Hard," performed by Guyz Nite (and a short short feature on the Guyz behind the scenes). Rounding out the extras is a trailer in Hi Def and a Fox Legacy brief TV promo.
All of the discs are enhanced for D-Box Motion Control Systems.
Bottom Line:
Though mathematically the four films may average out to a 7, the two exceptional ones (whether you side with me, or with Willis) will make this Blu-ray set well worth adding to your collection. Besides, as I said, the only real disappointment is the second film, and even that's entertaining enough.
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Average user rating (1-5):
[release]22662[/release]