Is ‘Live Free or Die Hard’ 24 for the Big Screen?

Posted by Maggie Van Ostrand (maggie@filmschoolrejects.com) on April 18, 2007

Even though this could be considered Cliff Notes because it’s a review of a trailer instead of a whole movie, I’m going to chance it anyway because, well, that’s the kind of person I am.

Live Free or Die Hard, starring Bruce Willis as protagonist John McClane with Timothy Olyphant as Greg, is loaded with car crashes, special FX, great sound FX (Blue Ray), more action than we’ve seen in an A-film in a long time, and it’s packed with FBI agents, swat teams, and some terrific dialog:

Foster to McClane: “You’ve just killed a helicopter with a car!!”

McClane: “I ran outta bullets”

How can we not flock to see this movie? As outlined on IMDb, when a criminal plot is in place to take down the entire computer and technological structure that supports the economy of the United States (and the world), it’s up to a decidedly “old school” hero, police detective John McClane (Willis), to take down the conspiracy, aided by a young hacker Matt Foster (Justin Long).

Trivia: Jessica Simpson auditioned for the role of McClane’s daughter. She didn’t make it. Neither did Justin Timberlake who auditioned for the role of McClane’s son.

Larry Rippenkroeger, Willis’s stunt double, was seriously injured when he fell 25 feet to the pavement, breaking his face and both wrists.

Thing is, we can see this same plot on the greatest of all television suspense thrillers, Fox’s 24. Kiefer Sutherland as Jack Bauer has taken down more ‘copters than an air traffic controller, and Bauer is frequently aided by a young hacker, CTU agent Chloe O’Brien (Mary Lynn Rajskub). Live Free or Die Hard’s McClane rescues his daughter, and Bauer has done the same for his daughter numerous times in the past.

Both 24 and Live Free Die Hard are out of Fox. Get it? Well, at least the music will be different; original music by Marco Beltrami. Cinematography by Simon Duggan and Editing by Nicolas De Toth.

Because it appears to be so much like 24 (the plot’s afoot), the thing that will bring people into the theaters will be the star power of Willis. It remains to be seen if he has Bauer Power.

Watch the Trailer: Live Free or Die Hard

Read more articles by Maggie Van Ostrand