In the middle of Die Hard 2: Die Harder, Bruce Willis’ character John McClane angrily questions to himself, “How can the same s**t happen to the same guy twice?” He’s referring to a terrorist takeover of an airport where his wife’s (Bonnie Bedelia) life is at risk. Didn’t that exact same thing happen in Die Hard? Also, wasn’t that movie also set on Christmas?
Like many sequels, Die Hard 2 is practically a carbon copy of the original. Die Hard was such a fresh take on the action genre, taking an ordinary man and placing him in serious measures , that it’s been replicated so often (take Speed or the recent White House Down). Because of the movie’s success, 20th Century Fox could have just let John McClane enjoy his holiday season off, but the urge of millions of dollars was as offer the studio couldn’t refuse.
And yet somehow, as derivative as Die Hard 2 is, I still found myself enjoying the film. Maybe it’s because of the lively action pieces or the big sets, but I feel it has more to do with the fact director Renny Harlin puts energy into his movie. The sequel finds McClane out in a Washington airport picking up his wife Holly for the holidays when a group of terrorists headed by a CIA operative takes over the controls and turns off all the runway lights, threatening the safety of all the planes set to land. When McClane discovers the villain’s plan, he sets out to kill some bad guys while simultaneously butting heads with the chief of airport security (Dennis Franz).
Die Hard 2 is riddled with plot holes, the most obvious one is that couldn’t the planes land at another airport, and completely predictable but Harlin manages to keep the movie wildly enjoyable. There’s enough devotion to the special effects that it actually keeps the picture from collapsing completely on itself, plus it stars Bruce “I’m shooting terrorists” Willis, not Bruce “I’m just here for the paycheck” Willis.
While it’s a severe drop of quality from its predecessor and disobeys all laws of original storytelling, Die Hard 2 manages to be good entertainment, plus it’s Citizen Kane in comparison to the most recent installment.
Nicely written. I rewatched this recently and found myself getting swept along. This was before Willis turned into a humourless, paycheque-chasing shell of a human being (Die Hard 5 being one example).
By: Three Rows Back on September 12, 2013
at 6:17 am
Thanks! It’s very fun and like you said doesn’t feature a bored, money-hungry Bruce Willis.
By: ckckred on September 12, 2013
at 6:58 am
Nice review mate. This is my least favourite of the original Die Hard trilogy but it was still pretty good fun.
By: Terry Malloy's Pigeon Coop on September 12, 2013
at 8:57 am
Thanks! I think this would be my second favorite after the original. Even though it doesn’t match its predecessor, it’s still pretty fun.
By: ckckred on September 12, 2013
at 6:11 pm
For the longest, this was my least favorite in the Die Hard series. Then, A Good Day to Die Hard arrived and I had to revise my appraisal. You nailed it with that last paragraph, my friend.
By: le0pard13 on September 12, 2013
at 10:05 am
Thanks! Yeah, not a great movie by any stretch but still far better than A Good Day To Die Hard.
By: ckckred on September 12, 2013
at 6:12 pm
I love it, watch the first 2 every Christmas. As you say, when Bruce gave a shit he was on top of the game 🙂
By: Tyson Carter on September 12, 2013
at 6:00 pm
Thanks for the comment. Yeah, I agree. I kind of wish Willis would not do a project just for the money these days.
By: ckckred on September 12, 2013
at 6:13 pm
Talking about plotholes, how can an airplane without fuel explode (at least that’s something I seem to remember about it). Have not watched this movie again since it came out, but remember not being a fan. Guess I will have to rewatch it again after all those years….it can’t be worse than the last one 😉
By: Nostra on September 13, 2013
at 9:48 am
Yeah, that ending made no sense at all and there’s hardly any logic throughout the film. Still, it’s good fun and it’s as good as the original in comparison to A Good Day To Die Hard.
By: ckckred on September 13, 2013
at 7:35 pm
Not a bad film as far as sequels go. Would not make my Christmas top ten like the original however.
By: sanclementejedi on September 13, 2013
at 12:44 pm
Thanks for the comment. Yeah, it’s a good sequel but nowhere near the original.
By: ckckred on September 13, 2013
at 7:36 pm
I almost watched it on HBO Go last night lol
By: sanclementejedi on September 14, 2013
at 10:14 am