Geek vs Life

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Jon says:

There’s a certain thing about watching certain movies that were made in the late 80’s early 90’s that demands you shut off the part of your brain which tells you “wait, that’s impossible.” Lethal Weapon, Speed, Commando are good examples of the genre. These were movies in which the hero was supposed to be one of us, a mere mortal with no super-powers, cyber gizmo’s or cool gadgets.

Jon says:

It was the age of the action hero, a man (or a woman in the case of Sigourney Weaver in Aliens) which prevail and beat the odds through pure guts and toughness. With the fourth installment of Die Hard, Live Free or Die Hard, the true action hero has returned.

Grand Poobah (Joe) says:

It only took 12 years for it’s come back, but it did. And unlike in the Aliens, it remained good, but the Aliens were of course a sci-fi series.

Jon says:

It also helped make Weaver into an action movie icon.

Grand Poobah (Joe) says:

But didn’t typecast her as much as Die Hard did Bruce Willis. But typecasting, like stereotypes, happen for a reason. Bruce Willis plays the part well.

Jon says:

Surprising after his breakout role on TV’s Moonlighting I might add.

Grand Poobah (Joe) says:

Don’t remind me.

Grand Poobah (Joe) says:

Live Free or Die Hard, like it’s predecessors, pits the gritty John McClane against a group of terrorists out to bring ruin to our nations shores.

Jon says:

This time it’s not foreigners with strong accents like Alan Rickman as Hans Grubber in the first installment, but Timothy Olyphant taking the role of hyper-cyber bad guy, Thomas Gabriel.

Grand Poobah (Joe) says:

It just proved what Hackers was missing: Bruce Willis.

Jon says:

True, in my opinion, Justin Long as Matt Farrell added credibility to the hacker part. I mean after all, he is the voice of Apple Computers.

Grand Poobah (Joe) says:

Yet, amazingly enough, all the branded computers shown in the movie were Alienware, used by the cyber-terrorists to perform a “fire sale.”

Jon says:

Which pretty much means that they turn off all transportation grids, they crash the economy and then cut off all the utilities. Sounds like my first apartment.

Grand Poobah (Joe) says:

For the layman, or even novice computer user, the plot is plausible.

Jon says:

<-- layman. I dug the plot.

Jon says:

The movie is ripe with cheesy line like the good old days. Lines that people will repeat to their friends all summer long.

Jon says:

Jon says:

Pure dialog gold.

Grand Poobah (Joe) says:

Nuggets of chuckles within a sea of action, explosions, and more than sufficient “kung fu crap.”

Jon says:

I’ve been burned more often than not this summer with sub-par sequels and ridiculous ideas. I didn’t let myself expect much with this one, and I have to say I am glad I was wrong. This movie was terrific.

Grand Poobah (Joe) says:

Two hours of hacking and exploding? How can you go wrong?

Jon says:

Also casting Kevin Smith as a basement dwelling hacker with walls covered in Star Wars paraphanilia. The role fit him so well.

Grand Poobah (Joe) says:

He almost reprises a Brodie type role, from within the confines of his mother’s basement.

Jon says:

Ha! I hadn’t thought of that.

Jon says:

Additionally, I was afraid that by making it PG-13, they would tame the movie down with the violence and explosions. They didn’t.

Grand Poobah (Joe) says:

It isn’t exactly a family movie, but it will keep fans of the original trilogy happy.

Jon says:

Does this movie answer the question can a movie make it past the trilogy stage without becoming a joke of itself?

Grand Poobah (Joe) says:

Think episodic content. There isn’t one continuous story, but rather completely contained stories. That’s how you break the curse of the trilogy.

Jon says:

Aren’t comic books movies episodic too? Explain Batman and Robin. I dare you.

Jon says:

I claim no movie has made it past the point of trilogy without making a fool out of itself.

Grand Poobah (Joe) says:

Harry Potter.

Jon says:

Damn you. But you’re right. We’ll call it an exception.

Grand Poobah (Joe) says:

When they work, they work. And they should be praised, and the rest, mocked horribly and tossed into the bargain bin after having been in theaters for a week.

Jon says:

Hopefully this is a break in the curse, they are making a fourth Indiana Jones after all.

Grand Poobah (Joe) says:

We’ll see what happens to Dr. Jones, but until then, I might actually go to this one again.

Jon says:

Agreed.

Grand Poobah (Joe) says:

Now, let’s go steal a car and take down a chopper!

Jon says:

NO! I wanna ride a car down an elevator shaft!

Joe’s Girlfriend:

Ok you two, End Transmission

Jon & Grand Poobah(Joe) say:

*sigh* OK.

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