John McClane is back

Unlike Arnold Schwarzenegger's title character, the Terminator, who made famous the line, “I’ll be back.” Bruce Willis never said it, but after 12 years, it’s true.

Opening today (Wednesday, June 27) is Willis’ new film, “Live Free or Die Hard,” the fourth installment in the lucrative “Die Hard” series. Once again, he takes on the physically challenging role of New York City Detective John McClane.

This time around, it’s the Fourth of July weekend when McClane is charged with the task of bringing hacker Matt Farrell (Justin Long) in for questioning by the FBI. McLane thinks its a routine assignment until professionals starts shooting at them and then Farrell’s apartment is blown up. From then on, it’s a crazy roller coaster of special effects, high drama and over-the-top action.

While McClane and Farrell are dodging bullets, the infrastructure of the United States starts to shut down. Imagine no traffic lights, no air traffic control systems, no power grid and no communications network.

That’s the situation facing McClane as he starts to realize the magnitude of what he’s dealing with. The hacker McClane is bringing in, was part of a network of computer super geeks who helped design software for the “fire sale” — the code name for shutting down everything from power and gas to the financial systems. Farrell is a loose end that needs to be eliminated. While trying to protect Farrell, McClane has to eliminate the bad guys and save the day.

“Live Free or Die Hard” is typical “Die Hard” fare. If you’re a fan of the first one, you’ll enjoy this one. It’s predictable in its story arc and comes complete with a red, white and blue bone-crunching ending that guarantees the good guys win.