Summer Bloggin': Live Free or Transformers?

Tue., May. 1, 2007 4:59 PM PDT by Caroline Kepnes

Frank Masi/20th Century Fox

Everyone is buzzing about this "study" that came out about summer movie mentions in blogs. Which movie has the most mentions, you ask?

Spider-Man 3? Nope. Assuming mentions of Kirsten Dunst's outfits are not included.

Pirates of the Caribbean? No again. Snore. I'm bored of Pirates, and it isn't even bikini season yet. Shrek the Third? No, even though I hear this is, far and away, the best Shrek yet.

Transformers? No way, Jose. Apparently, there are people like me who can't fully get behind excessively affable and articulate Shia LaBeouf in that summer king sort of way. Don't get me wrong, I love the guy. I'll take him over Zach Braff, sure. But is he a blockbuster hero?

No. That guy would be, if blog hits really matter, Bruce Willis.

Yes, Live Free or Die Hard has more mentions than all the above big-budget extravaganzas. Here's the thing: Many of the mentions are bad. If you look closely, bloggers are mocking Bruno and the franchise.

Doesn't matter.

In terms of box office, I lay my money on Die Hard. Here are three reasons why I think the next Die Hard ain't no Snakes on a Plane.

1. Nostalgia for Girls and Guys: Granted, we 20- to 35-year-olds do love the '80s. There are more than a few million dudes out there who are digging through their mom's basement for their action figures. But I would rather watch Bruno say "yippee-ki-yay" than see Shia play with gigantic robots. Boys will flock to Transformers. But boys who have girlfriends will have an easier sell with Die Hard. Hey, Bruce is still hot, even if he does get wasted at basketball games and swear on camera.

2. Timing Is Everything: It's been a whopping 12 years since Die Hard with a Vengeance was in theaters. That kind of time gap alone makes this an event movie. Also, the timing is great for Justin Long, who honed his comedic chops in Dodgeball and transformed (ha) into hipsterhood in those Mac commercials. I am ready to see Bruce again, and I am dying to see this new, older, tougher Justin.

3. One Super Badass Beats Super-Badass Effects: Not that Die Hard won't offer some amazing action sequences boosted by a li'l CGI, because, of course, it will. But the best effect in Pirates is Johnny Depp's snarling face. I can't help but believe we've been there, done that just a short while ago with Johnny.

It's been a while since we got to see Bruce in great form, with a great cast, doing his wisecracking thing. Audiences crave that kind of human-based action. While Shrek, Spider-Man, Transformers and Pirates are all kind of otherwordly, Die Hard is just plain people and things blowing up.

It stands out in that way, doncha think?