John McClane is not a superhero. He can take a bump, he can get hurt, but managing to avoid an F-16, missiles, collapsing bridge, and exploding debris is going way past the point of what this series has been about. There’s no question this is entertaining for its absurdly wild action scenes, but it feels out of place in this series. The PG-13 rating on this Blu-ray release doesn’t help either.

Read a full review of the theatrical release. For an analysis of the Blu-ray release, read on.

Live Free is loaded with impressive visuals. Close-ups reveal amazing facial detail, and the contrast created by the rich blacks is wonderful. The color saturation is phenomenal, and the print is almost free of grain. The transfer does take a small hit in darker scenes, dropping detail into the black levels and giving off a murky look. These are brief (the tunnel car chase), and barely detract from this sharp looking movie.

The DVD edition suffered from overwhelming bass, the DTS Master mix here gets it right. The room crumbling bass is saved for the heaviest explosions, and gunfire delivers a proper level of kick. The use of the surround channels is nothing short of masterful, with debris flying around, cars passing through each speaker, and bullets lighting up the room as they whiz by.

A commentary from Willis, director Len Wiseman, and editor Nicolas De Toth leads off the superb extras. Their expertise is varied, as is their discussion on how the film came together. Analog Hero, Digital World –The Making of Live Free or Die Hard almost makes the commentary pointless at a whopping 97 minutes. Nothing is left to the imagination here, as every major scene is dissected, as is the franchise in general.

Yippe Ki Yay Motherf***** is a sit-down discussion between Bruce Willis and his character, John McClane. Their conversation is fun, lighthearted, and surprisingly deep at times during this 22-minute piece. A music video by Guyz Nite is a fun tribute to the series, though the feature on the band wears out its welcome after the first minute.

Fox Legacy is a far too brief look at the Die Hard series from the Fox vault. It runs for slightly over six minutes. A rather mundane Black Hat Interceptor Game will excite or intrigue approximately no one. Its only highlight is Kevin Smith in character.

Looking for the unrated version on Blu-ray? Sorry, but Fox chose not to release it even if you buy the box set in which every other movie inside carries the proper R. Even stupider, the extras are filled with loads of profanity that would never see the light of day in a PG-13-rated movie.