Die Hard (film series) memorable." James Berardinelli wrote that the film "represents the class of modern action pictures and the standard by which they must be judged." Critic Desson Howe wrote that "Willis has found the perfect vehicle to careen wildly onto the crowded L.A. freeway of "Lethal Weapons" and "Beverly Hills Cops"." Willis was also called "perfect as the wisecracking John McClane" and "an excellent casting choice as a sardonic action hero." Alan Rickman's portrayal of villain Hans Gruber was described as "marvelous" and "a career-making performance." Gruber also ranked 46 on the villain side of AFI's 100 Years...100 Heroes and Villains. In
Live Free or Die Hard film was based on the 1997 article "A Farewell to Arms" written for "Wired" magazine by John Carlin. "Live Free or Die Hard" was released in the United States on June 27, 2007. The film earned total international box office gross receipts of $383.4 million, making it the highest-grossing film in the "Die Hard" series. Unlike the prior three films in the series, the U.S. rating was PG-13 rather than R. The FBI responds to a brief computer outage at its Cyber-Security Division by tracking down top computer hackers who had been on a watch list. The FBI asks New