All I need to know about parenting I learned from Bruce Willis

We saw "Live Free or Die Hard" last night, although here it's called "Die Hard 4.0" since the Revolutionary War "Live Free or Die" flag isn't something every schoolchild knows about outside the US.

I had high expectations for this movie. I drove 30 miles to a sneak preview of the first "Die Hard" film in the summer of 1988 and it was absolutely worth it. It blew my socks off. I came out of the theater shaking with adrenaline. It was unlike any other movie I -- or anyone else, for that matter -- had ever seen. With all the subsequent attempts to copy the magic formula set down in that movie -- the wisecracking, defiant hero fighting against impossible odds and refusing to die -- it's easy to forget how novel and gripping it was. "Psycho" doesn't seem very scary today because moviegoers have seen people trying to copy the Hitchcock formula now for half a century; the original "King Kong" had people running out of the theaters in sheer terror with special effects that are laughable by today's CGI standards.

The first "Die Hard" is still a great movie to watch after 20 years of pale imitations. Before it came out there was a lot of talk about the movie and that it might be an epic flop. After all, 20th Century Fox was paying the lead an unheard-of five million dollars, and the lead, of all people, was going to be Bruce Willis. Bruce Willis, the wisecracking star of a romantic comedy series on TV? THAT Bruce Willis? With a gun? Seriously, what could Fox be thinking?

Obviously they were on to something, and Bruce Willis became in a cinematic instant the archetype of the larger-than-life indestructible action hero. Two subsequent "Die Hard" movies (and a number of others outside the series) cemented that identification in our minds: Bruce Willis, action hero.

So, as I said, I was very much looking forward to the fourth film. It did not disappoint, and I recommend it highly. I won't talk about the movie itself because I hate knowing about movies beforehand since most trailers now blow every carefully planned plot twist before you ever see the movie. But I will say one thing about the movie; if you haven't seen it and want to, finish reading this post after you have. MILD SPOILER ALERT!

You have been warned.

I'm not giving away too much to say Bruce's daughter is in danger in the movie, along with everyone else in the country. She is tough and independent, and let's just say she isn't just waiting around to be saved like many a celluloid damsel-in-distress. She can take care of herself.

But if you have a group of highly organized international terrorists after you, no matter how steely you are, you may need some help from Bruce Willis. A strong personality (like her father), she has argued with her dad and isn't really pleased with him when the terrorists strike. After being taken hostage -- and she's a handful for them to manage -- the situation looks bleak but she KNOWS her daddy is coming for her. Not for an instant does that faith in her father waver.

Watching this movie, between the explosions and (okay, I'll say it) improbable stunts, I was surprised to find myself thinking mostly of that father-daughter relationship with my own little girl on the way. I want my girl to be a strong and independent person who can take care of herself. I also want her to know and have absolute faith in the knowledge that I will always be there if she needs me. If she finds herself in an airplane hanger full of heavily armed terrorists, I want her to know I'm coming to get her. And if I've got to kill a truckload of Eurotrash assassins to do that, well then, someone should put in an order for lots of body bags.