Director: Renny Harlin
Writer: Steven E de Souza, Doug Richardson (Screenplay) Walter Wager (Novel)
Starring: Bruce Willis, Bonnie Bedelia, William Atherton, Reginald VelJohnson, Franco Nero, William Sadler, John Amos, Dennis Franz
Plot: John McClane attempts to avert disaster as rogue military operatives seize control of Dulles International Airport in Washington, D.C.
Tagline – They say lightning never strikes twice… They were wrong
Runtime: 2 Hour2 4 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Verdict: Explosive Sequel
Story: Die Hard 2 starts when John McClane (Willis) is picking up his wife Holly (Bedelia) from the airport for Christmas in Washington D.C. what is a busy holiday arrive sees Colonel Stuart (Sadler) bring together a team just as notorious drug lord Esperanza (Nero) is arriving in the same airport for extradition.
Stuart takes over the airport controlling the runways, demanding a release of Esperanza, with John being the only one preparing to stop him in a race against time to save not only the passengers on all the planes, but his own wife’s flight.
Thoughts on Die Hard 2
Characters – John McClane is just looking to pick up his wife for Christmas, only his cop senses pick up on the idea that something is going on, which sees him needing to use his skills to track down the terrorists holding the airport hostage, his wife is on one of the planes, which sees him needing to race against time to save everyone. Holly is on one of the planes heading to the airport, she finds herself on the plane with Thronberg, the reporter she hit at the end of the first movie. Thornberg is still the arrogant journalist who is always looks for a story, stuck on the plane he is complaining and looks to find his own story again. Colonel Stuart is running the operation to release Esperanza from the ground, he has taken the airport hostage and if his orders are not followed, he will kill people, with one of his actions being one of the most horrific in any action film.
Performances – Bruce Willis is brilliant in the reluctant hero role once again, still having a couple of wise cracking lines, while showing the never giving up fighting attitude. William Sadler does bring us one of the most underrated villains of the 90s, his cold performances shows how deadly he truly is. Most of the supporting cast area flawless too letting to lead to shine through the film.
Story – The story here follows John McClane deal with another group of terrorists, this time taking an airport hostage, willing to crash planes is demands aren’t met. We do once again see John needing to take on a large group of hostages, while the area is bigger, the threat it bigger too. By having the idea that his wife is in danger again, not her fault for either though, shows that he is fighting for a more personal reasons than just doing the right thing, meaning he will fight for more. The terrorist plan is well executed with the team being organised and will do anything to get the job done. This is just as intense as the first one with a story that will be able to hold up with the best action films of all time.
Action – The action in this film is bigger and more explosive than the first film, it does help make this a lot more entertaining and deadlier than what we would expect.
Settings – The film is set on an airport, which shows us just how deadly a hostage taking over an airport could be, leaving the planes flying blind and them in complete control of thousands of lives.
Special Effects – The effects are used for the explosions in the film, we have bigger ones than before, but ones that could be considered more realistic than the first film.
Scene of the Movie – The early landing, because it is horrific and disturbing, a scene you would expect to see stopped just in time.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – The cops are painted to be dumb.
Final Thoughts – This is an excellent sequel that lives up to the original, it is bigger, more explosive and pure entertainment.
Overall: Brilliant Sequel.
