In theaters, Live Free or Die Hard was handed a PG-13 rating. Fans cried, theater patrons cried, and the Internet cried. Watching the film on DVD for those who paid money to see it on the big screen should feel ripped off. They didn’t get the full movie.

Bruce Willis is in full John McClane mode in this unrated cut. While it may seem ridiculous to say that the character was incomplete without dropping f-bombs, it’s the truth. The first line out of his mouth in this DVD version features the word, and it immediately sets a better tone, one far closer to the rest of the series.

Most importantly, the iconic “Yippiee-ki-yay” line is fully audible, not cheaply covered by gunfire due to MPAA rules. Is it a better movie? Yes. Is it a great movie? Hardly.

The action still goes way over-the-top (see full review), which isn’t in line with the prior three films. There’s a limit to an audience's suspension of disbelief, and Live Free blows it up with a couple of missiles and some gas lines. It’s a fun movie, but not even close to the Die Hard it could have been.

Live Free comes to DVD with a sharp, detailed transfer. Black levels are deep, colors are rich, and only minor shots reveal compression artifacts. Some minor shimmering in long shots doesn’t dampen the impact of this transfer, one of the best from Fox in a while.

Bass is a wonderful thing, and Die Hard provides it. However, there’s a limit to how much of a good thing one can take, and this 5.1 mix might cross the line. Gunfire delivers brutal shaking, and in the end, the explosions don’t seem to carry the same weight. Guns should never sound louder than a bridge collapsing with a jet blowing up behind it.

Article Author: Matt Paprocki

Matt Paprocki is a 12-year movie and game critic. He currently freelances for Blu-ray review site DoBlu.com and video game site MultiPlayerGames.com.

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