"Another basement, another elevator...how can the same thing happen to the same guy twice?" asks John McClane (Bruce Willis), in what is doubtless the key question of this film. A year after foiling the terrorist takeover of a high-rise office building in the first movie, McClane is waiting to pick up his wife, Holly (Bonnie Bedelia), at Dulles International Airport just outside Washington, D.C., on Christmas Eve. Scheduled to arrive the same evening is Ramon Esperanza (Franco Nero), a South
American political figure who is being brought to the United States to stand trial for his role in a drug-smuggling ring. However, a group of terrorists, led by renegade American military officer Col. Stuart (William Sadler), take control of the airport, scuttling radio transmissions and placing their own men in the control tower. Stuart and his men ensure that Esperanza's plane lands safely, and then demand that Stuart and his men be given a fully-fueled 747 and free passage wherever they choose to go. Otherwise, they will guide the many circling jets waiting for landing instructions into definite crash landings, killing the many passengers on board. Not willing to stand aside as terrorists once again threaten his wife's life, the wise-cracking McClane once again leaps into action to foil Stuart's plans and bring the passenger jets safely to the ground. William Atherton, John Amos, Dennis Franz, and John Leguizamo highlight the supporting cast. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
Exquisite widescreen theatrics and explosive entertainment. It's an awesome machine of mayhem....a skilled sequel, a brass-knuckled bruiser of an action picture, and a sublime cinematic distraction.
"How can the same thing happen to the same guy twice?" asks a bewildered and ultra-ironic John McClane. Well, make a film as successful as Die Hard and you'll soon find out.
Merely a serviceable action flick, sorely missing both a sense of stylistic clarity as well as the glorious excess this kind of modern western-meets-Indiana Jones affair deserves.
No one carries a one-liner better than Willis. He's also unusual among Hollywood's Action Men in seeming vulnerable at the same time as being invincible.
The original DIE HARD is one of the best movies I have ever seen. With both explosive thrills and a sturdy plot (not to mention the strongly accessible character created by Bruce Willis), it instantly became a cinematic breakthrough. In no way is DIE HARD 2 a breakthrough of any kind. Here, we have almost the same
thing as the first entry in the series: explosions, terrorists taking over a building (this time an airport rather than an office building), a Christmas placement, and a "yippee-ki-yay" or two.Someone who hasn't seen the original DIE HARD may love this sequel, just as someone who has seen it will likely be disappointed with the sequel. Move the setting from an office building to an airport, and change Alan Rickman to Bill Sadler. Broadly, those are the only two changes to be made for DIE HARD to become DIE HARD 2.
June 15, 2011
Alexander Diminiano
Super Reviewer
Not such a good follow up, but that's expected with this sort of movie. Lacked rounded characters and was just not as developed as it could have been.
Marvin: [about the radio he lifted from one of Stuart's henchmen] I found it on the floor next to the luggage belt. What the hell are you so excited about?
John McClane: The code's still punched into this one.
Marvin: You like it, huh? How 'bout you give me twenty bucks for it.
Submit a Quote from 'Die Hard 2 (Die Hard 2: Die Harder)'
A quote can be a single line from one character or a memorable dialog between several characters. Please make your quotes accurate. Quotes will be submitted for approval by the RT staff.
Example:
Luke: Alright. I'll give it a try. Yoda: No. Try not. Do or do not. There is no try.
64%
——
97%
Top Critic
