ROTTEN TOMATOES: Critical Consensus: Yippee-Ki-Yay! "Live Free Or Die Hard" Is Certified Fresh

Critical Consensus: Yippee-Ki-Yay! "Live Free Or Die Hard" Is Certified Fresh

by Tim Ryan | June 27, 2007

Although the 1988 original is one of the touchstones of modern action cinema, and although Bruce Willis is still as big a star as he's ever been, there were concerns among "Die Hard" diehards that the latest installment, "Live Free Or Die Hard," would be a letdown. There was the PG-13 rating, and the fact that it's been 12 years since Willis' iconic Det. John McClane was on the case. Fear not, critics say.

The pundits are calling "Live Free Or Die Hard" one of the series' best installments, a popcorn-ready throwback to the pre-CG days of crazy stuntwork. Despite the title, the setting for the latest "Die Hard" isn't New Hampshire; it's Washington, D.C., where a group of super-hackers (led by Timothy Olyphant) are plotting to attack America's computer infrastructure and bring the nation to its knees. McClane teams with a cyber geek to stop them; rousing pyrotechnics ensue. Critics say that while the plot is beyond preposterous, it's of little matter with stunts and action this exhilarating and intense. And they also note that Bruno settles nicely into his iconic role. At 76 percent on the Tomatometer, "Live Free" is not only Certified Fresh, it's the second-best-reviewed "Die Hard" after the original. (Check out RT's interview with Bruce Willis here.)

All these years later, and still no CGI.

Die Hards:
------------
96% -- Die Hard (1988)
66% -- Die Hard 2: Die Harder (1990)
47% -- Die Hard With a Vengeance (1995)

Related Items

Celeb:	Bruce Willis
	Timothy Olyphant
Movie:	Die Hard
	Die Hard 2: Die Harder
	Die Hard 3: Die Hard With a Vengeance

(1-20 of 24 posts) | Reply

wilkiedriver writes:
on Jun 27 2007 06:15 PM

I know there is supposed to be a minimum amount reviews to make it "Certified Fresh". but what about the newspapers that wait to print reviews (and put up on the web) on Friday? If I'm right, does the certified part go away if later reviews are negative and pull it to 74%?

I should know this, I've been visiting this site everyday for at least 2 years....

(Reply to this)

~*Admiral Snowstorm*~ writes:
on Jun 27 2007 06:42 PM

Yeah it's a bit too early to be judging the movie, I believe. Remember when 300 had 5 reviews and all were positive and someone wrote about how it was a guaranteed success? Well now look at it, it's dancing on the edge of Rotten. I've nothing against Die Hard, the series or the new movie, but still, it's a bit too early to be wetting yourself over the consensus. Granted, we've got a lot more than 5 reviews currently, but there's still a chance the score could significantly decrease.

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1kempo writes:
on Jun 27 2007 07:09 PM

[b]willis at his best![/b]
this is by far the best die hard a must see film never a dull moment. The plot for the film is really good. I think this is best film of the year so far. Hopefully they will make another. maybe reunite him with samuel l jackson.

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RT-News writes:
on Jun 27 2007 07:15 PM

1. Once a movie goes Certified Fresh, the award can't be taken away.

2. Newspapers that typically post on Friday have already posted reviews their reviews for Die Hard. Don't worry about that.

(Reply to this)

BjornFree writes:
on Jun 27 2007 07:30 PM

In reply to this comment (#871622)
[b]Quoted from the site[/b]
Rotten Tomatoes awards the Certified Fresh accolade to theater releases reviewed by 40 or more Approved Tomatometer Critics (including 5 critics from the Cream of the Crop) that score at least 75% or higher on the Tomatometer. A film remains Certified Fresh unless its Tomatometer falls below 60%. Reserved for the best-reviewed films, the Certified Fresh accolade constitutes a seal of approval, synonymous with quality.

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DanielLee8793 writes:
on Jun 27 2007 08:01 PM

Who cares how they rate it, rate it for yourself when you see it...

Me myself, I just got back, and I have to say is...WOW. Bruce has still got it. This has to be one of the best ones. You dont even notice the fact that it is PG13, its like you dont care. The only thing that makes it pg13 is the lack of swearing which your not even thinking about when your watching things blow up every which way....

If I had any complaints it would be when Willis went to say his signature "Yippy Kah Ya Mother Fucker..." He said most of it but when he said Fucker all you heard was an explosion drowning ouit the word.

Great movie though.

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deltascot writes:
on Jun 27 2007 08:38 PM

In reply to this comment (#871627)
[b]I agree with you.[/b]
I agree with you. Live Free Or Die Hard was great. But the orignial Die Hard was the best. And also, they did have a lot of swearing in the movie. They kept on saying shit, damn/damnit, and a few other curses. But yeah, did drown out the"Yippy Kah Ya Mother ****er part. I thought the main baddie was the best of the Die Hard movies. If you haven't seen it, see it. Who cares about a PG-13 movie? This movie is still going to have cursing to make you happy, the action that will satisfy your every manly neeeds lol. Basically, nothing really has changed since the first movie. The only thing that has change is the hard cursing.

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twitaman writes:
on Jun 27 2007 08:54 PM

[b]Still No CGI?[/b]
I love the photo caption of the car hitting the helicopter on this page, it looks like the most obvious CGI stunt a person could imagine. Was that supposed to be a sarcastic joke? Anyway, I hope this is decent as we just re-watched the original a couple nights ago - what an awesome movie.

(Reply to this)

DanielLee8793 writes:
on Jun 27 2007 09:00 PM

this movie will delevier and not upset...as for the CGI Im sure there are some but you cant really tell unless your gonna sit there and try hard to look for it. I think the only thing I really noticed being "cgi-y" was the jet going in and out of the tunnel bypass.

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wilkiedriver writes:
on Jun 27 2007 09:01 PM

In reply to this comment (#871625)
Thank You. Learn something everyday...

(Reply to this)

caryrocks2000 writes:
on Jun 27 2007 09:09 PM

In reply to this comment (#871629)
um its not CGI, there was a special on Fox Movie Channel

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Bardego writes:
on Jun 28 2007 12:40 AM

I gotta say, I wasn't impressed with this film. Not terrible, mind you, but not really good, either.

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bigbrother writes:
on Jun 28 2007 02:30 AM

In reply to this comment (#871628)
Really!?! Better than Rickman? Wow.

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Callpacas writes:
on Jun 28 2007 03:56 AM

i still can't believe they blew up a helicopter mid-air...in a good way. And what's the hype around transformer's action sequences? No eye-catchers for me.

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blank blank writes:
on Jun 28 2007 06:26 AM

i went in there expecting very little but it was great. not perfect, and definately not better than the original die hard (or die hard with a vengence, at least in my book) but still great nonetheless. yeah, the mac guy swore more than mcclane did, and the villain didnt hold up to the gruber brothers, and the plane sequence was RIDICULOUS, but it was all good. the audience i saw it with had a good time.

i havent seen ratataouille yet, but live free or die hard was the best time i had at the movies all summer (except for knocked up maybe, but you really cant compare the two)

(Reply to this)

BUCK69 writes:
on Jun 28 2007 06:28 AM

In reply to this comment (#871629)
The shot was not done with CGI [overall...It was used in a limited capacity]. The movie is good. Damn good. Probably the best yet that I've seen this summer. McClane beats the hell out of Spiderman, Shrek and the Pirates! I'm not going to waste my money on the Silver Surfer and from what I've heard it doesn't even bear mentioning. By the way, I agree with the comment about "Knocked-up" but I too don't consider that to be a "summer movie."

(Reply to this)

Bane Of Anubis writes:
on Jun 28 2007 10:05 AM

In reply to this comment (#871634)
Yeah, Rickman rocks (ultimate villain -- Die Hard and Robin Hood cement his legacy) -- I thought Olyphant was fairly tame, actually.

(Reply to this)

deltascot writes:
on Jun 28 2007 01:19 PM

In reply to this comment (#871634)
In my opinion, I think the baddie in Live Free Or Die Hard is better than Rickman. But other people might have a different opinion. But either way, they are both badasses! But of cours3, John McClane is a total badass, huh?

(Reply to this)

unbreakable_samurai writes:
on Jun 28 2007 01:54 PM

I really planed on going last night but it didn't work out, so I guess I'm going this weekend, I can hardly wait.

(Reply to this)

Product_of_You writes:
on Jun 28 2007 02:11 PM

The movie was good. I can't believe that the third one has a lower consensus than the second. The second is by far the worst.

(Reply to this)

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