Die Hard 2 - Die Harder (1990)

Directed by Renny Harlin, the 1990 sequel, Die Hard 2 (unofficially referred to as Die Harder), doesn't match the level of the original, but it's still an exciting thrill ride with some terrific action sequences. One year after the Nakatomi incident, McClane (Willis) is awaiting his wife's (Bedelia) plane to arrive at Dulles Airport when he stumbles onto a plot to paralyze the entire airport, including all the planes trying to land. It's up to McClane to take on the cadre of bad guys despite all the bureaucrats standing in his way, and before the planes run out of fuel and crash to the ground. The cast includes William Sadler as rogue military man Col. Stuart, Dennis Franz as the latest bureaucratic cop to get in McClane's way, Richard Thornburg as the annoying reporter from the original movie, John Amos as a special-forces commander, early-in-their-career John Leguizamo and Robert Patrick as terrorists, and future politician and Law and Order actor Fred Thompson as the head of air traffic control. --David Horiuchi Amazon.com

The movie is good, blu-ray audio quality is suspect

This is my least favorite in the series. The video quality of the blu-ray is much improved from the sd dvd. The audio however is a big problem. Depending on what type of blu-ray player you have, you may not get any sound or only the core DTS. There was a problem with authoring this disc and FOX has been aware of it since the disc was released. I and other on a particular forum have been waiting more than 1 year now for FOX to release a replacement but the replacement they sent was exactly the same disc. Unless you get a blu-ray version from the U.K. or Australia (this disc is region-free)you may not get what you want from the audio.
A big disappointment from FOX. December 20, 2008

The Best Of The Die Hard Sequels, Deserves The Title "Die Hard 1.5"!

Following such an iconic and genre-defining film like the '88 original seemed like a disaster in itself, but I always felt since seeing this sequel in the theatres in 1990, Willis and director Renny Harlin pulled it off, both successfully and as desired. In fact, to me this is the only classic sequel of the franchise as "....With A Vengeance" and especially "Live Free Or..." came out just too late and Willis just wasn't the same man anymore like he was in the first two. And what a supporting cast, not to mention actors like Robert Patrick and say John Leguizamo are here too but don't blink or you'll miss 'em. This 2004 anamorphic remaster (re-released in 2007) just blows away my 1999 non-ana boxset which was one my first purchases ever for the DVD format. And I gotta give it up to FOX, there was a time when they made some of the coolest menus ever for DVD, and this one is no exception with the CGI-inside of the Air-Tower radaring away and the plane crashing through your screen by pressing play. Great video/audio bitrate that really uses up the entire dual layer for the movie all by itself (with DTS & commentary too), I couldn't see one blemish on the remastered print. So overall, if I would give the original a 9.0, Die Hard 2 gets an 8.5.

P.S.: Even though movie posters and video releases have always given this movie the subtitle "Die Harder" it appears nowhere in the film.
(RedSabbath Rating:8.5/10) December 14, 2008

"That's what I said about my last cholesterol test"

Die Hard is a classic. A movie so well executed, the sequels and imitators will always be just that. A hard act to follow for sure.

Die Hard 2 doesn't mess with the basic framework of the first and is, largely, very well made action fare. Renny Harlin does a good job tying elements of the first film's style into this one. And his commentary track is probably one of the best to find on the entire DVD set.

Cinematographer Oliver Wood does a great job of keeping the film's imagery in line with Jan de Bont's lighting from part 1. Willis is good, if not as believable. The ejection scene is probably my favorite part. The gunplay is furious, but not as focused. Fred Thompson adds a good deal of credibility, as he always seems to do, whether its a jack Ryan film, or Law and Order.

I think the weaknesses are many here. First, the movie is a bit too conscious of itself. De Souza's script is chock full of tounge-in-cheek corny dialog, not to mention a seemingly endless flurry of F-Bombs. But my main gripe is I just don't get the same rush of excitement or sense of danger as the first movie.

John McClaine now seems to be less a regular guy having a bad day, than SUPERCOP! Dennis Franz doing his best Sipowicz before Sipowicz, replaces Paul Gleason from the first movie as the new A-Hole cop at odds with John. Frankly he is a little too annoying - probably one of the most annoying movie characters I have ever seen.

And the vililans? No Hans here folks, but they serve their purpose.

Initially, I felt Die Hard with a Vengeance was an improvement over Die Harder. However, on reflection years later, though that film has much better acting and writing, I think it Vengeance has such a gimmicky plot and too many dead spots, it just doesn't have the pure entertainment value of Die Harder.

Die Hard 2: Die Harder is a by-the-numbers Joel Silver style sequel from the early 1990. Which means lots of gun muzzle flashes and cussing. But this is still an above average action film, made credible mostly by Bruce Willis and Renny Harlin. If anything, this is a great popcorn and hot dog flick you can sit around and enjoy with friends by picking apart the crappy one liners, and still having a good time. December 10, 2008

weakest of the series, but still fun

I watched this DVD over several days while exercising. I would never do this with a movie I hadn't seen before, but with one, like this one, that I've seen several times, just listening while I'm staring at my knees doing crunches or at the floor doing push-ups is enough to refresh my memory... and to keep my mind off the self-torture.

Die Hard 2 is still fun and action-packed, and it still has Bruce Willis, but it follows the Law of Sequels (I just spent some 30 minutes trying to see if anyone's codified this, but all I could find was the quote from Scream 2 about body counts.) --more action and special effects, less believability.

It's Christmas again, and John McClane is again reuniting with his wife, and again terrorists get in the way. This time, it's at an airport, and the terrorists have taken over the communications. They threaten to crash the planes circling overhead, running dangerously low on fuel, unless their demands are met. Then they crash one, to show they're serious.

Their demands concern a Central American general currently arriving to face trial in the U.S. They want him released, and a plane to take him... somewhere--back home, I guess. To this end, they've got a small army of mercenaries who are all willing to kill and/or die, and superior technological skills that they're employing from an abandoned church near the airport.

McClane braves cold and fire and crashing planes, and arrogant airport cops (Dennis Franz) and military personnel, pretty much saving the day on his own, with a little help from a quirky janitor.

There's a little comic relief in Holly's plane, when the obnoxious reporter from the first movie gets wind of the terrorists.

I enjoyed the funny parts, and the action was exciting...and I always enjoy Bruce Willis, but this wasn't nearly as good as its predecessor. I had trouble justifying the means with the motive, and some of it was just downright confusing. I'm still not sure of the point behind the snowmobile chase, other than somebody thought it would be cool. And I kept finding myself asking "but why couldn't they just..." far too often. November 25, 2008

Very entertaining sequel

This has some great action and good lines. It's a good film and the stunts have some great moments to them. Well worth buying. November 4, 2008

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