Live Free or Die Hard
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation | Release Date: June 27, 2007 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
69
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 34 Critic Reviews
Positive:
28
Mixed:
6
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalle
Either Live Free or Die Hard will go down as the summer's best action blockbuster, or it's going to be one exceptional summer. Read full review
91
Christian Science MonitorPeter Rainer
Easily the best in the series since the first one. Read full review
90
The Hollywood ReporterKirk Honeycutt
It's simply old-school stunts and movie magic. Read full review
90
SlateDana Stevens
Though the movie's at least 20 minutes too long, it's deeply satisfying, full of old-school buddy banter and the kind of action sequences that make you burst out laughing at their sheer audacity. Read full review
80
VarietyTodd McCarthy
The sheer quantity of often outrageous stunts should help overcome franchise mustiness to entertain. Read full review
80
Los Angeles TimesKenneth Turan
A slick and efficient piece of action entertainment, fast moving with energetic stunt work and nice thriller moves. Read full review
80
Film ThreatPete Vonder Haar
Does it herald a renaissance in the action genre? Not really, but it's a welcome throwback to good old-fashioned, '80s-style lunkhead violence, and no one takes a punch, kick, elbow, or bullet quite like John McClane. Read full review
80
L.A. WeeklyScott Foundas
Provided you don't think too long or hard about it (and why ever would you?), Live Free or Die Hard is infectious good fun, and a tremendous encouragement to the middle aged. Read full review
80
Wall Street JournalJoe Morgenstern
This fourth iteration of a series that first burst upon the world in 1988 turns out to be terrific entertainment, and startlingly shrewd in the bargain, a combination of minimalist performances -- interestingly minimalist -- and maximalist stunts that make you laugh, as you gape, at their thunderous extravagance. Read full review
75
Chicago TribuneJessica Reaves
Early in LFODH, a villain taunts our hero, calling him "a Timex in a digital world"; McClane, characteristically, takes the dig as a compliment. Two hours, countless butt-kickings and hairbreadth escapes later, we know why. Read full review
75
Baltimore SunChris Kaltenbach
The film's action doesn't disappoint; if anything, it ups the adrenaline ante considerably. Read full review
75
New York PostLou Lumenick
Willis, who at 52 looks great in an intensely physical role and can still spit out wisecracks and insults with the best of them. Read full review
75
Seattle Post-IntelligencerSean Axmaker
Director Len Wiseman, confidently stepping up from the smallish budget "Underworld" films to mega-budget Hollywood mainstream. Read full review
75
New York Daily NewsJack Mathews
The action in this fast-paced, hysterically overproduced and surprisingly entertaining film is as realistic as a Road Runner cartoon. Read full review
75
Miami HeraldRene Rodriguez
Surprisingly effective, rousing entertainment, which boasts plenty of old-school, at times jaw-dropping stunt work done the manly way. Read full review
75
Entertainment WeeklyOwen Gleiberman
An enjoyable pop projection of post-9/11 anxiety. Read full review
70
Washington PostAnn Hornaday
At a time when the action genre has come to be dominated by sleek, matte surfaces and set-'em-and-forget-'em computerized effects, Live Free or Die Hard seeks to remind viewers of the simple, nostalgic pleasures of watching stuff get blown up and bad guys get smoked. Read full review
70
The New York TimesManohla Dargis
Bruce Willis is ready to earn our love again by performing the same lovably violent, meathead tricks as before. Read full review
70
SalonStephanie Zacharek
Willis' John McClane, with that sly, sideways smile, is like an old acquaintance you don't mind running into. He may be older and balder, but he's none the worse for the wear. And he can still take a punch. Read full review
67
Austin ChronicleMarc Savlov
Superior in every way to 1995's "Die Hard With a Vengeance," Live Free or Die Hard's goofy generation-gap gambit pays off decently and proves, again, that nattily dressed terrorists are no match for Willis, the once and future Patron Saint of Bang. Read full review
63
Rolling StonePeter Travers
Gets the action job done and you better believe that Bruce is still the man. Read full review
63
TV Guide MagazineMaitland McDonagh
The key to enjoying the fourth installment in this testosterone-fueled franchise is accepting that it's a live-action cartoon that makes no effort to conform to the laws of gravity, plausibility or common sense. Read full review
63
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Rick Groen
In the moments at his disposal, Smith almost steals the flick. He's so wittily government-phobic that I found myself hoping for a climax that would blow Bruce Willis away and promote Kevin Smith to saviour-of-the-free-world. Now that might be a sequel worth rooting for. Read full review
63
Boston GlobeTy Burr
Sorry, boys. After two decades, the first film still does more with one skyscraper than Live Free or Die Hard does with an entire country. Read full review
63
Philadelphia InquirerSteven Rea
Directed in workmanlike style by Underworld: Evolution's Len Wiseman, has its share of wild stunts and spectacular carnage, but it feels pokey and predictable, too. Read full review
63
PremiereAaron Hillis
An unexpectedly retro throwback to '80s actioners and '90s hacker movies, totally preposterous in both its heroic near-death escapes and abstract tech-jargon explanations for how anyone with geeky inclinations can remotely override any computer system with a few easy keystrokes. Read full review
63
Charlotte ObserverLawrence Toppman
I can safely say I've never seen anything as ridiculous as Live Free or Die Hard. I'm not saying my 10-year-old self didn't enjoy a lot of it. Read full review
63
ReelViewsJames Berardinelli
Take away Bruce Willis and this is straight-to-video material. Read full review
60
EmpireAngie Errigo
Yippee-ki-yay! Willis still has the goods. Read full review
58
Portland OregonianShawn Levy
A middling contender in this summer of gigantoid sequels. Read full review
58
The A.V. ClubScott Tobias
Willis does everything short of donning a cape and reversing time by orbiting the Earth at light speed, and the air of cheerful ridiculousness recalls Luc Besson-produced action films like "Transporter 2" or "District B13." Read full review
50
USA TodayClaudia Puig
Diverting enough if you want to see plenty of fast-paced action sequences, some heart-stopping chase scenes and plenty of things blow up. Read full review
50
Village VoiceRob Nelson
Maybe McClane, in '80s action parlance, is too old for this s---. Read full review
50
Chicago ReaderAndrea Gronvall
The physical stunts by Maggie Q as a lethal martial arts expert and Cyril Raffaelli as a Eurotrash sniper who rappels buildings are more thrilling than the over-the-top chase sequences, so contrived as to verge on self-parody. Read full review
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