Die Hard 2 was released in summer of 1990, just two years after the release of the original. And my dad I have continued are Die Hard franchise watch, and this is my review for Die Hard 2
The Good:
One of the things I think this movie does better, is getting to the action much sooner in the movie. The first action is the first 10 minutes, and with that I think it moves a bit quicker because of it. And also like the first film, the action here is just great and you can see everything that is going on, and the action here is also different, it’s not John McClane vs. 15 terrorists, here the Airport police is here, so the action here is different, and I like that because it doesn’t feel like a rehash of the first film.
I think this movie also has a better supporting cast in the movie. The actors they got were all funny in the roles. Dennis Franz as this captain who doesn’t trust or like John McClane. And William Sadler as the main antagonist in the movie, isn’t as good as Hans Gruber but Sadler plays him so well that you want to see John McClane take him out and defeat him, and so when he does you feel this sense of victory in the movie. But of course the stand-out here is Bruce Willis as John McClane the great action hero of all time, that still has these funny one liners, that can be the action hero but can also be the guy who says this funner one liners and just makes him so likeable. One of the standouts was when this guy lands a plane, and says “freedom”, and McClane is there and says “Not yet”. Just funny stuff. And of course when he says “Yippee Kai Yay…”, at the end.
This movie builds this new sense of tension, John McClane has his shoes on, but the tension builds because you know that people are up in this plane and stuff could go wrong, the tension is different, but I think is better for the simple reason of that more people’s lives are at stake, and tension in the first two movies are some of the best aspects about the movies.
Lastly, I really enjoyed the twist that happens around the 60% mark with the army. I didn’t see it coming and it paid off pretty well.
The Bad:
This film copies a plot line from the first movie, involving his wife being in danger. And it does seem a bit of a coincidence that the day that John McClane’s wife is on a plane is when the terrorists decide to attack, and McClane just happens to be there and the right time. That just feels so coincidental that it pulled me out of the movie a little bit.
The final showdown is McClane and Stuart is on the shorter side McClane wins so easily (within 5 minutes), that I wish the final duel was bigger, and better.
Lastly, the scene where McClane ejects himself from the plane and there is a big explosion behind him. The fire in the background looks really fake. I know it came out 30 years back but you tell that is fake, and tied to that scene where McClane lights the gasoline and follows the plane and goes up to explode the plane, and I’m not sure if that is something that will happen.
Die Hard 2: Die Harder is a very good follow-up to the original film. With new action and tension, and villains you want to see taken out. It does have story issues, but still a very solid sequel.
The Score: 8.3/10 (B)
Comments
Sounds good! Will have to watch it soon. Good review Z!