DIE HARD 2 (1990)
Starring Bruce Willis, Bonnie Bedelia, William Atherton and William Sadler Directed By Renny Harlin
Review By David Wilcock (C)1998 David Wilcock
After the incredible sucess of Die Hard (1988) it would seem obvious that a sequel would be on the way. However, this film breaks the golden rule of sequels, which is that the sequel must be worse than the oringinal, by actually being better. It's bigger, it's more fun, and generally this is a much better film.
The films starts with John McClane (Willis) in Dulles Airport waiting for his wifes (Bedelia) flight. However, the airport is soon under the grip of the deranged Colonel Stewart, played evilly by Sadler, who are waiting to pick up a drugs baron who is being flown into the country (the drugs lord is played by Franco Nero) Of course, it's up to Willis, and not the police (the cheif of police is played by Dennis Franz, star of NYPD Blue) to save the day.
The film then follows the Die Hard genre closely, by delivering big explosions, a few deaths, and the usual Willis one liners. The director, Renny Harlin, who's only previous film was Nightmare On Elm Street 4, directs very well, and Willis gives a good performance. The best performance has to go to Dennis Franz, who's police is very good. Sadly, William Atherton, who played the news reporter in Die Hard, is wasted here, and serves no purpose in the film at all. William Sadler, though, is terrific as the Colonel. Although nowhere near as outlandish as Alan Rickman in Die Hard, he plays Colonel Stewart with superb menace.
But, of course, no-one watches an action film for the performances, they watch it for thrills, spills and destruction. And here, Die Hard 2 really delivers. The airport setting gives chances of luggage hold shoot outs, an ambush on a skywalk, and of course planes blowing up, and Die Hard 2 gives us two planes exploding, both with massive explosions. Die Hard 2 also features one of the most incredible scenes in action movie history, by showing Willis eject out of a plane, while the plane explodes below him. It really is an incredible sight, one of the best explosions put on film.
Fun though Die Hard 2 is, the plot is incredibly stupid (much like any action film) The audience are supposed to believe that the terrorists can build practically a airport tower in a church, which could never really happen. There some other things that happen in the film that are ridiculous aswell, such as the police taking so long to act on this terrorist threat. The script is just about average (in action film standards), with some in jokes for Die Hard fans, but it's not the cleverest script in the world.
But despite the plot flaws and weak script, Die Hard 2 proves to be a great popcorn film, and even better than Die Hard, partly due to the fact that it's got a far more sensible running time (just under 2 hours, unlike Die Hards 2 hours 30 minutes) An excellent action movie
OVERALL= ***1/2 out of *****
REVIEW BY DAVID WILCOCK (C)1998 DAVID WILCOCK david.wilcock@btinternet.com Visit the Wilcock Movie Page! http://wilcockmovie.home.ml.org -OR- http://www.geocities.com/hollywood/9061
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