MichaelM24

It's been a long twelve years, but John McClane is back and better than ever. John McClane (Bruce Willis) is now divorced from his wife and dealing with a broken relationship with his daughter, Lucy (Mary Elizabeth Winstead). The FBI requests that he pick up a known computer hacker, Matt Farrell (Justin Long), and bring him in for questioning regarding a recent security breach of the FBI computer system. McClane arrives just in time to save Farrell's life from a team of assassins. Meanwhile, more computer attacks are being carried out by a terrorist mastermind named Thomas Gabriel (Timothy Olyphant) who is systematically shutting down a variety of utilities, bringing Washington, D.C. to a virtual halt. Farrell recognizes the pattern of events as a "fire sale," a plan to destroy the country's infrastructure. Taking Farrell into protective custody, McClane has to keep him alive as they avoid continued attempts on their lives and race against time to stop the terrorists from plunging the nation into a new stone age.

I've loved the "Die Hard" movies since I was a kid, and I knew this one would not disappoint. While I don't mind CGI in movies, "Live Free or Die Hard" is a terrific throwback to '80s action movies, and while there are a fair share of digital effects, a lot of stuff is done live and even with models, giving it something of an old school feel that elevates it above a lot of stuff that's come out in recent years. A little over 50 years old, Bruce Willis easily slips back into the role of John McClane and shows he can still kick ass. The rest of the cast is good. I particularly like Olyphant as the villain. At first I was worried how the film was going to handle the fractured relationship between McClane and his daughter, but it was thankfully done very well and did not distract from the story in the way many other parent-child relationships like this have done in other movies. Winstead plays Lucy McClane as a feisty girl who can take care of herself, and she gets some nice moments during the later half of the film.

The story is tight, has a great pace and some nice developments along the way, and the action is top notch. Director Len Wisemen brings back some of the closed-in, claustrophobic feelings that were present in the first two films. This is probably best recreated during an excellent sequence that involves McClane fighting Gabriel's second hand, Mai Linh (Maggie Q), in and around an SUV that finds its way into an elevator shaft, dangling precariously several stories about the ground. Their preceding fight ranks right up there with the fight in "Die Hard" between McClane and the terrorist Karl. And the climactic sequence in which McClane, having commandeered the terrorist's high-tech big rig, is pursued by an F-35 Lightning jet is one hell of an action set piece. Many fans complained about the film's PG-13 rating, since the previous three films were all rated R. But it didn't bother me at all. I've now seen it three times. This is a top notch action film, one of the best in the last ten years, in the finest "Die Hard" tradition, and nothing delivers action quite like a "Die Hard" movie.

Superman has always been a bit of an oddity for me, something I've tended to like more in concept than practice. So when "Superman Returns" was announced, I didn't give it much thought. But as I started reading about its progress on the Internet and began seeing ads for it, I found myself curious about it and wound up seeing it in the theater. Much to my surprise, I loved it! Newcomer Brandon Routh is well-cast as Clark Kent/Superman. Although he did remind me of Christopher Reeve in a few scenes, in his look and acting, Routh certainly made the role his own without just imitating a previous performer. I also liked that his Clark Kent is not as annoyingly-nerdy as Reeve's was. Kevin Spacey, for the most part, is surprisingly down-to-Earth as Lex Luthor and wipes clean any memory of Gene Hackman's portrayal. Kate Bosworth is decent as Lois Lane, but delivers nothing exceptional. I suspect any number of young actresses could have easily played the part. The rest of the cast is good: James Marsden plays Lois' boyfriend, thankfully not the smart-ass character he could have been, given his place in the subplot's "love triangle" (though I'd hardly call it that at all, and the situation is handled nicely). Frank Langella and Sam Huntington, as Perry White and Jimmy Olsen, respectively, are good but a bit underused. The young actor who plays Lois' son is good, never annoying or overacting like some child actors.

The special effects are top notch. Seeing Superman in action with today's F/X technology is amazing. The first action scene of the film, Superman saving a plane full of reporters after a malfunctioning shuttle launch, is riveting. Without question, my favorite sequence of the entire movie. I'm still surprised how much of a response this movie got out of me. Not only did I tense up and find myself in suspense during the airplane/shuttle rescue, but in a later scene, Superman is weakened by Kryptonite and finds himself at the mercy of Lex's goons before Lex stabs him in the back with a shard of Kryptonite. Usually, I know the hero of the movie will be okay and all, but in this scene, I don't know what it was. I actually felt anger towards the bad guys as they were beating up Superman. I felt helpless watching it and wanted to jump into the scene and lend a hand.

It could have probably been about twenty minutes shorter or had a bit more action, as the middle act does get a bit slow. It also took too long for Superman and Lex to finally meet, which they don't do until near the end of the film. I was hoping for more interaction between them. But all complaints aside, I thought "Superman Returns" was a rousing success. I had not expected to really enjoy it, having not liked either of Bryan Singer's previous "X-Men" movies, but I really got a kick out of it. It's definitely the best Superman movie, and the only one I have bothered owning. It's certainly one of the better superhero movies in recent years, easily surpassing "The Hulk," "Spider-Man 2," and "Batman Begins." It's a solid film and very entertaining. I only wish it would get a sequel instead of being abandoned for yet another reboot.