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 telecommunications, financial, and utilities infrastructure systems. After the September 11, 2001 attacks, the project was stalled, only to be resurrected several years later and rewritten into "Live Free or Die Hard" by Doug Richardson and eventually by Mark Bomback. Willis said in 2005 that the film would be called "Die Hard 4.0", as it revolves around computers and cyber-terrorism. IGN later reported the film was to be called "Die Hard: Reset" instead. 20th Century Fox later announced the title as "Live Free or Die Hard" and set a release date of June 29, 2007 with filming to begin in September