Saw "Live Free or Die Hard"

Question

Saw it this afternoon and enjoyed it quite a bit. Even though he seems like a bit of a jerk in real life (and certainly was when I met him) Bruce Willis is often very watchable, and as John McClane, particularly so.
SPOILERS
To answer Neal's question in another thread: The cars are empty and the drivers were told by the aiuthorities to abandon them.

Distractions:
1)

Bill Martell has decreed that what drives an action movie is The Villain's Plan a valid maxim. But wtf *is* the villain's plan in this film?
It seems to be an elaborate Going Postal thing "I-told-you-so-but-would-you-listen?-No!-Well-I'm-Gonna-Show-You!"

Not enough, obviously, to drive all those bad guys to follow the leader.

Sidebar: I've always wondered what motivates Henchmen in films like these. Sure, they'll get a payday, but the moment they realize they could get seriously killed, they stick around and get seriously killed.

Then it turns out Mr. Bad Guy is in it for the money. We-e-e-ell what does he do? He destroys the monetary system, wipes out pension funds, kills the stock exchange, cripples the energy grid and empties every bank account in the nation.
So, okay, now he has every dollar available. But what exactly is it worth now? My guess: NOTHING. If no one else has money and he has all the money, um... I think the US Treasury simply announces that the greenback is no longer recognized as the country's currency, and issues New Dollars.
2)

Our New York cop who is totally an analog guy in a digital world a good characterization can fly a *** helicopter? There are a couple of lines of dialogue that seek to explain this. But puh-leeze.

Don't you have to have some kind of pilot's licence before you can even attempt flying choppers? And even if you don't, it's an incredibly difficult thing to learn and he does it get over his fearl of flying? I don't think so...
3)

How easy is it to drive a semi-trailer? He has no difficulty at all. Did he learn how to do that to cure his fear of 18-wheelers?
4)

I know lots of people whiten their teeth, but Willis has what my dentist calls "toilet bowl teeth" far too white to be anything approaching natural... nothing not-credible about it, but still... when your mind wanders to his dental choices, it's a sign the film isn't holding said attention.
HOWEVAIRE...
It was for the most part highly entertaining hokum...

"Anybody can direct. There are only 11 good writers." ? Mel Brooks

Usenet · Accepted Answer

[nq:1]Saw it this afternoon and enjoyed it quite a bit. Even though he seems like a bit of a ... for the most part highly entertaining hokum... "Anybody can direct. There are only 11 good writers." â?¹ Mel Brooks[/nq]
I've always wondered about that whole "henchman" thing myself.

I mean, they've got three tiers of these computer geek guys. The outside world computer geeks, the insider computer geeks, and the chief computer geek.
Now, right at the beginning, the outside world computer geeks are all murdered and the insider computer geeks know about this.

Personally, if I was one of them, I would see a paradigm starting to shape up that being, "As soon as computer geek has served his purpose kill him." This would certainly get me thinking about what would happen to me, Insider Computer Geek, once I had served my purpose."
But no. These guys simply merrily go on about their business until they too had served their purpose at which point they are all given their share of the money and sent on their way.
No, actually. They're all killed too. Leaving behind only the chief computer geek.
Who, if I'd been him would definitely see the aforementioned paradigm really crystallizing here "When computer geek serves his purpose kill him" and yet there seems to be no concern at all on his part that this is going to happen to him.
Of course, at the end, he gets killed by somebody else, but personally, if I'd worked for the "Henchman Assurity, Ltd" I personally would not have issued an insurance policy to this guy.

This whole idea of the Chief Bad Guy turning to one set of henchman and saying to them, in respect to another set of otherwise perfectly loyal henchman, "We don't need them anymore get rid of them," and the short-sighted henchman promptly obeying has always struck me as requiring a scene that has yet to be written.
It goes something like this.
BAD GUY
I'm afraid we won't be needing you any more.
(to Henchmen)
Kill them.
Loyal Henchman raise machine guns.
FRIGHTENENED ABOUT TO BE KILLED HENCHMAN
But we've been loyal.
LOYAL HENCHMAN
Hey, that's right. Hold on guys.
He turns to Chief Bad Guy.
LOYAL HENCHMAN
Tell us again. Why exactly are we shooting these guys?

BAD GUY
You heard me. We don't need them any more.
LOYAL HENCHMAN
We don't need them any more? Man, that's pretty *** cold.

SECOND LOYAL HENCHMAN
Yeah. I mean, what about your mother? You don't need her any more. You want us to shoot her down?
BAD GUY
First of all, don't talk about my mother because that's really getting out
of line. Second of all, we're a little bit busy here. We have this plan to take
over the world
LOYAL HENCHMAN
I have to tell you, I think you're kind of avoiding the issue

FRIGHTENENED ABOUT TO BE KILLED HENCHMAN
Could I just put in a word here, if I might?
BAD GUY
Are you still here? Would somebody please shoot all of these guys who are
no longer needed in my plan?
LOYAL HENCHMAN
Ah, that's the point. Here we have a group of perfectly loyal men who have
all worked very hard for you as have we all. Am I right, guys?

General words of assent.
LOYAL HENCHMAN
And I can't help but think, personally, that if this is how you're treating this
group of loyal employees on that side of the room today having them be
shot down as soon as their immediate usefulness is over what exactly do
you have in store for us guys on this side of the room tomorrow when our
immediate usefulness is over? Hmm?
BAD GUY
Oh, come on. You guys are different.
LOYAL HENCHMAN
How?
BAD GUY
I mean, I'd never have you guys shot.
LOYAL HENCHMAN
Why?
BAD GUY
Because I I, I just like you too much, personally.

LOYAL HENCHMAN
What's my name?
BAD GUY
Your name? It's um, Rrr-jjj-nnn joo jjaa Jack?
FRIGHTENENED ABOUT TO BE KILLED HENCHMAN
It's Gustav.
NMS

Usenet · Answer

I have a script where the henchmen take a five minute break in the middle of an action scene because they are union henchmen. Not a comedy, but everything I write has a certain amount of humor.

The henchman thing really needs to be explored - and if I was that last computer geek, I'd have just started running. I mean, you know what's going to happen.
But my larger question is why kill those computer guys. It's not like this whole thing is hush hush and they will be witnesses - we already know who the villain is. The idea of the villain killing his own henchmen is just stupid. Darth Vader might get away with it, but in real life a general who kills his army is soon defenseless.

The main reason for a Henchman to work for a Villain is that he gets a share of all of that money.
Now, once they have the money and are safely away, those henchmen should start to worry.
- Bill
PS: Sloppy writing: I think they were trying to do the thing from DIE HARD CLASSIC where we think the bad guys are terrorists, then it is revealed that they are ordinary thieves ("Extra-ordinary thieves," Hans replies). But they were messy and that didn't come through.

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]I have a script where the henchmen take a five minute break in the middle of an action scene because ... if I was that last computer geek, I'd have just started running. I mean, you know what's going to happen.[/nq]
I'm sure I've seen stuff that's done that already.

Couldn't tell you exactly what, offhand, but I'm
sure I've seen it.
Maybe some Get Smart episodes.
Blair

Saw "Live Free or Die Hard"

Top answer

Get the Weekly English Kit 📬

Related Questions