In 1988, the world was introduced to a new action hero named John McClane (Bruce Willis), a New York cop who single-handedly took down a group of terrorists who hijacked a plane. Now, two years later, McClane is back in the action with Die Hard 2: Die Harder. Quite possibly one of the few times that a sequel lives up to the original.
This time, the action takes place at Dulles International Airport, where McClane is waiting for his wife to arrive. However, a group of terrorists led by General Esperanza (Franco Nero) have taken over the airport, and it’s up to McClane to save the day.
Review by Ben Dover:
Listen up, and Yippee-ki-yay action movie fans. “Die Hard 2” is what happens when you take the first movie’s magic, pump it full of steroids, and throw logic out the window faster than a terrorist falling from a skyscraper.
Bruce Willis returns as John McClane, the world’s most indestructible airport security consultant/problem solver. This time, he’s at Dulles Airport on Christmas Eve (because apparently, McClane can’t have a normal holiday), fighting off a group of mercenaries who’ve taken over the airport’s communication systems. It’s like “Home Alone” for adults, if Kevin McCallister had access to automatic weapons and zero parental supervision.
Renny Harlin directs this sequel like he’s trying to prove that subtlety is for wimps. Every scene is cranked up to eleven, with explosions that would make Michael Bay look restrained. McClane survives situations that would turn normal humans into human confetti. He walks through fire, gets dragged behind a plane, and takes more punishment than my first marriage’s divorce proceedings.
Bonnie Bedelia returns as Holly McClane, proving that she’s the only person in cinema history who’s more annoyed by her husband’s heroics than impressed. The fact that she keeps answering her airplane phone while her husband is literally fighting terrorists is peak 1990s cinema logic.
The airport setting is basically a giant playground for McClane’s particular brand of destruction. He turns an entire international airport into his personal war zone, and somehow doesn’t get arrested. The security in this movie is so incompetent that it makes my local mall’s rent-a-cops look like Navy SEALs.
Dennis Franz plays the airport police chief who starts as a complete skeptic and ends up being marginally helpful – which is basically the character arc of every cop in every action movie ever made. He’s got more attitude than actual police work, but hey, this is the 1990s. Subtlety was not in the job description.
What makes “Die Hard 2” work is that it knows exactly what it is – a ridiculous, over-the-top action movie that makes zero sense but is pure entertainment. The scene where McClane lights a trail of jet fuel and creates a massive explosion? Scientifically impossible. Entertaining as hell? Absolutely.
The villain, Colonel Stuart (played by William Sadler), is so cartoonishly evil that he makes Bond villains look nuanced. He’s got a military haircut that could cut glass and the moral flexibility of a used car salesman. His plan is so complicated that it feels like he’s trying to prove something to his high school math teacher.
Bottom Line: Die Hard 2 is a classic action movie sequel that is sure to please fans of the first film. It’s got all the same ingredients that made the first movie so popular: a charismatic action hero, a thrilling plot, and plenty of explosions. However, Die Hard 2 is also different from the first film in a number of ways. For one thing, it’s much more action-packed. There are more stunts, more explosions, and more gunfights. The film also has a more global feel to it, as the terrorists are from South America.
It also proves that more explosions can sometimes equal more fun, even if your brain has to check out to enjoy the ride..
Overall, Die Hard 2 is a fun and entertaining action movie. It’s not as good as the first film, but it’s still a worthy sequel. I would recommend it to anyone who enjoyed the first Die Hard.
Rating: 4/5 Martinis (One deducted for physics violations that would make Einstein roll in his grave) I would rate Die Hard 2 as a 4 out of 5 stars. It’s a fun and entertaining action movie that is sure to please fans of the first film.
Fun Fact: The film was made on a budget of $70 million and grossed over $240 million worldwide. Proof that audiences will happily pay to watch Bruce Willis destroy everything in his path.
Memorable Quote: “Yippee-ki-yay, motherf****r!” – The line that launched a thousand action movie one-liners.
Famous Quotes:
- “Yippee-ki-yay, motherfucker!”
- “I’m not a cop, I’m a hero!”
- “Welcome to the party, pal.”
- “I’m gonna be sick.”
- “I’m gonna be rich!”
Stars:
- Bruce Willis as John McClane
- Bonnie Bedelia as Holly McClane
- William Sadler as General Esperanza
- Franco Nero as Ramon Esperanza
- Reginald VelJohnson as Sergeant Al Powell
- Dennis Franz as Captain Dwayne Robinson
- Art Evans as Theo
Music:
The music by Michael Kamen is also good. It’s fast-paced and exciting, and it helps to build the suspense.
Best Scene: McClane using a ejector seat to escape an explosion, because physics is for nerds.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to go tell my grandkids that real heroes don’t need special effects to be awesome.
Ben Dover has been banned from several airport security conferences for excessive appreciation of cinematic property destruction. His wife says this is a compliment.
Synopsis:
John McClane (Bruce Willis) is waiting for his wife Holly (Bonnie Bedelia) to arrive at Dulles International Airport when a group of terrorists led by General Esperanza (Franco Nero) take over the airport. Esperanza demands that the United States release Ramon Esperanza (Franco Nero), his brother, who is in U.S. custody. McClane refuses to give in to the terrorists’ demands, and he sets out to stop them.
Plot Breakdown:
- John McClane is waiting for his wife Holly to arrive at Dulles International Airport when a group of terrorists led by General Esperanza take over the airport.
- Esperanza demands that the United States release Ramon Esperanza, his brother, who is in U.S. custody.
- McClane refuses to give in to the terrorists’ demands, and he sets out to stop them.
- McClane fights his way through the airport, taking out the terrorists one by one.
- He eventually reaches the control tower, where he confronts Esperanza.
- McClane kills Esperanza and saves the day.
Notes:
Budget: $70,000,000 (estimated)
Gross worldwide: $240,031,274
- Die Hard 2 was directed by Renny Harlin and written by Steven E. de Souza.
- It was released on July 2, 1990.
- It grossed $240 million at the box office.
- It has a 67% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
- Die Hard 2 exceeded all expectations by outdoing the box-office success of Die Hard.
- Airport runways do not have manholes. Additionally, any manhole cover which could be lifted by one person would easily be crushed by a plane.
- The baseball style hand grenades used to blow up the military transport with McClane on board have a fuse burn of about 5-7 seconds before detonation. From the moment the first one is thrown (releasing the spoon and igniting the fuse) to the explosion, 37 seconds elapse.
- The Fairchild C-123 Provider is not equipped with ejection seats, so that was some bull…
- Speaking of Esperanza’s aircraft that Fairchild-Hiller C-123 Provider is actually a twin-piston-engine aircraft with NO jet engines. The aircraft depicted in the film does not exist in reality.
- A passenger would never be allowed to bring a Taser onto a commercial airliner
- Pacific Bell in Washington Dulles airport????
- The whole plot of this movie is ludicrous as radios everywhere could contact those planes, towers go down all the time and switchover to other towers etc.
Photos:
Trailer:
Reviewer Notebook:
Naked Karate is a choice
Watching this bank of phones seems so strange today.
The lady testing the taser on her dog tickled me
Strange seeing smoking in the airport
Hey, thats Sipowit
Another basement, another elevator, lol
Longest grenade fuses ever
Thats a shit effect when he ejects
icicly in the eye, gross
Im just your kind of asshole LOL
Call me McClain motherfucker
Why is this rated R?