Review of Die Hard 2 (1990) by Harry W — 02 Mar 2015

With Die Hard being such an unforgettable action movie masterpiece, Die Hard 2 demanded my viewing.

Die Hard 2 has a more complex plot than Die Hard. The characters aren't as interesting or complicated but the premise itself is due to the high concept nature of its setting. As a result, the plot ends up being a lot more working as a legitimate thriller than as an action based one and as a result is less exhilarating than its predecessor. It certainly is not as exciting as the first Die Hard and it is not as groundbreaking due to the fact that John McTiernan blew us away with the first one and director Renny Harlin is not exactly as game, but he does his job well enough to ensure that Die Hard 2 functions as a worthy sequel to the action classic.

Though produced in 1990, Die Hard 2 is actually more relevant today because the post-9/11 society we live in instils paranoia of terrorism in everyone, particularly in the context of an airport situation. This gives the film a really interesting edge which Renny Harlin is able to work with, and though it takes a while for the action in the film to truly kick off it makes an incredible turnaround in the second half which is where it speeds up. Most of the first part in Die Hard 2 is spent building tension, and though it may be rather slow in pacing, it is effective in the way it builds atmosphere predominantly because of how well it is scripted and directed. The screenplay puts an intricate plot into the film with a lot of clever twists and turns without getting obsessed with all the technical mumbo jumbo what would fail to appeal to the less intelligent viewers who are just in it for dumb fun. There is still plenty of that in Die Hard 2, but it is more of an intelligent film than the average action film or sequel which just makes it a worthy continuation of a strong action series.

The enemies in Die Hard 2 are much more threatening because of how they fearlessly dispose of hostages. One scene in particular shows them cleverly manipulating the execution of hundreds at once which is brutal. This is great because no Die Hard film could ever have a villain as iconic as Hans Gruber, and though Die Hard 2 has no individual antagonist who has much memorability to him, the efforts that they make as a team are memorable. Because of this, the protagonist of the story has an all new enemy to take on and he faces off with them in a lone wolf format much of the time without neglecting the importance of working in a team at others. All in all, there is no way of saying that Die Hard 2 is derivative of its predecessor because it takes the story in an all new direction, and Renny Harlin knows what to do with that. He stages the film expertly, using powerfully genuine scenery and production design to establish the setting of the film as legitimate, Die Hard 2 is an easily believable thriller with a large scale. The dark lighting is also effective in establishing atmosphere and it is not hard to see what is going on. All these elements combine to a high point when the film demands action because Renny Harlin stages the action in Die Hard 2 with the same kind of expertise that John McTiernan used in the original Die Hard. The stunts are creative with plenty of gunfire and explosion, and it is all captured with powerful cinematography. The sound effects and editing are also impressive, so the action in Die Hard 2 manages to get it all right.

Bruce Willis once again returns to his iconic role of John McClane and manages to carry Die Hard 2 with expertise as the lead actor. You'd think that he wouldn't have too many surprises on board after everything he delivered in Die Hard, but he manages to find ways to surprise viewers in Die Hard 2. Though the amount of comedic one-liners he gets are dropped down for Die Hard 2, he still manages to maintain some funny moments. But more importantly, his performance in Die Hard 2 is significantly more intense this time around. You can hear in his line delivery that his tension is relentless, and this is great because it adds to the striking nature of the film as an explosive thriller. Due to the relentless nature of the story, Die Hard 2 demands Bruce Willis to be at his most powerful and he has no difficulties stepping up to the challenge. Bruce Willis expresses a powerful chemistry with the surrounding cast in Die Hard 2 and he has no difficulty performing his action stunts and being trigger happy. Bruce Willis' energy in Die Hard 2 is as good as ever, and he just adds to the legacy of John McClane seamlessly.

Although nobody stands out like Bruce Willis, the supporting cast of Die Hard 2 all pull off powerful efforts with Bonnie Bedelia and Franco Nero making genial presences. And though Reginald VelJohnson makes a returning cameo as Sgt. Al Powell, the comedy in Die Hard 2 is significantly lesser. But even then, there are some decent comic moments brought on by the nature of Tom Bower's character. It is also interesting to see John Amos make a cameo in the film because he is interesting to see in an action film as well as contributing a sense of humour to a few moments.

So though it is not as good as Die Hard and takes a bit of waiting around at first, the complex plotting of the story combined with Renny Harlin's expertise for staging powerful action scenes and Bruce Willis' lead performance ensures that Die Hard 2 is a powerful sequel which has the same positive elements from its predecessor but is the furthest thing from derivative.