Review of Die Hard 2 (1990) by Ken S — 26 Jan 2015
Despite decent action and a solid villain in William Sadler...Die Hard 2 never feels like anything other than a sequel. The first film is really about a guy in the wrong place at the wrong time, who happens to save the day using his own smarts.
This one is essentially the exact same thing, only in an airport. See McClane was a cop, and after the events of the previous film I could easily buy that he had become some kind of counter terrorist kind of guy.
..but they don't do that here. Instead of being called into the job or something, he once again just happens to be in the wrong place at the wrong time and is the outsider with the cops the whole movie.
Gotta make them exactly the same! You get the sense they just wanted to make the same film. They even rehashed my least favorite aspect of the first film...William Atherton as the annoying reporter. He felt shoehorned into that film, his scenes were usually a little jarring with the rest of the picture, but it kind of worked because he got punched in the end.
..which you want to see. This time he just happens to be on the same plane as McClane's wife...and he does the exact same plot as the last film...fucking everything up for the cops by exposing the business they are trying to keep under wraps.
Die Hard 2 isn't terrible...but it ain't great either. It is a watchable action flick, and if you are an action fan or a Die Hard fan, you may walk away enjoying this film...but it just felt like a dumb sequel to me.
It didn't have the intelligence, charm, or great cinematography of the first film. Also the snow looked REALLY fake.
This review of Die Hard 2 (1990) was written by Ken S on 26 Jan 2015.
Die Hard 2 has generally received positive reviews.
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