1990
Cast: Bruce Willis, Bonnie Bedelia, William Sadler, Dennis Franz, John Amos, Reginald Veljohnson
Genre: Action Thriller
Worldwide Box Office Gross: over $200 million
Plot: John McClane attempts to avert disaster as rogue military operatives seize control of Dulles International Airport in Washington, D.C
'Hits Just As Hard As Prequel'
Die Hard 2: Die Harder is the sequel to the hugely successful, Die Hard that came out in theaters, two years later; directed by Renny Harlin (and noted as his first big-budget movie), the film exceeded expectations and has become one of the better action sequels and follow-ups to the franchise. Die Harder went on to become the seventh highest-grossing film of 1990 in the U.S, only to be surpassed by Total Recall, The Hunt for Red October, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Home Alone, Pretty Woman and Ghost. Compared to the prequel, it made double the amount of 1988's Die Hard's $83 million by grossing $117 million U.S dollars.
When it received its TV premiere in the U.K on ITV, the version of the film that aired was heavily dubbed by voice actors.
Shot back in 1989, the film's setting is Christmas Eve, 1990: John McClaine is awaiting at Dullies International Airport to collect his wife, Holly when (surprise, surprise) a group of terrorists take over and to pick up an imprisoned dictator, General Esperanza who is being extradited to the U.S and altogether they make a break.
It is argued that Die Hard 2 is no different from the first film: it is still Die Hard in an airport, and that it simply rehashes the same plot but with a few added twists; Harlin takes over from John McTiernan of whom went on to make The Hunt For Red October. Clocking at over two hours, Die Hard 2 rarely drags with the story and action moving at a swift pace with fast shootouts, stunts, chases, fights, along with some intriguing one-to-one interaction, banter and a plot twist that occurs towards the end of the movie. Whilst William Sadler is no real match for Alan Rickman's Hans Gruger as the franchise's baddest baddie, thus lacking charisma, his character has that fiendish, sinister presence that is enough to make viewers want to despise him even more.
The excitement and action the film generates is the type of so-called hyper-kinetic excitement that we don't see more today, and longing for when back in the day, action movies were so good which didn't rely on CGI but practical effects. These were the days before the genre became saturated with comic book flicks.
It is more of the same from the same film, but for the ending, which ought to have been far more gratifying, and left me thinking the bad guys never got their just desserts.
Die Hard Two might be regarded as the weakest of the series if one compares it to Vengeance, Live Free, Die Hard; yet it doesn't waste a single minute trying to explain itself, nor for the story to do so.
Despite lacking the originality, tension and grit of the original, Die Hard, Die Harder still manages to scrape through and the film compensates with brilliant entertainment and production values and holds up after 30 years.
And unlike Predator 2 and Robocop 2, it's bigger, louder, more explosive despite a few of its shortcomings, and plus, Die Harder is the better action sequel alongside its counterpart prequel.
Overall:
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