Die Hard 2 (1990)

Die Hard 1 was better. Much much much better. Die Hard 1 was better. Much much much better. Die Hard 1 was better. Much much much better. Die Hard 1 was better. Much much much better. Die Hard 1 was better. Much much much better. Die Hard 1 was better. Much much much better. Die Hard 1 was better. Much much much better. Die Hard 1 was better. Much much much better. Die Hard 1 was better. Much much much better. Die Hard 1 was better. Much much much better.

Extremely annoying. Yiu have planes that stay in a holding pattern, because apparently NO OTHER AIRPORTS EXIST ON THE ENTIRE EAST COAST. You have airport officials that can't contact anybody about the terrorists, except they do so effortlessly when the script calls for it. Oh, and of COURSE they can ONLY contact people who are part of the conspiracy. What ridiculous twadddle.

The original "Die Hard" is an essential action movie that ranks among the very best in the genre. At this point, we've seen four sequels of somewhat varied quality. For my money, the most successful of these is "Die Hard 2". I like that it stays closest to the spirit of the first movie, although others may be hoping for a bit more variety.This time around, the events of the movie once again take place on Christmas Eve. Defying the odds, detective John McClane (Bruce Willis) once again finds himself having to almost single-handedly take down a team of terrorists who have placed his wife in immediate danger (along with several others). This time, instead of being trapped in an inaccessible skyscraper, the would-be victims of terrorism are now trapped aboard passenger planes that are unable to land and are rapidly running out of fuel. With these kinds of similarities, I'm glad that the movie goes so far as to have John McClane ask himself how this sort of thing can happen to the same guy twice. That kind of self-awareness makes it easy to forgive the movie's disregard of plausibility in the pursuit of entertainment value.Thankfully, they took more than just inspiration for the plot from the first movie. Willis is back, of course, but so are Bonnie Bedelia & William Atherton, plus (in a cameo appearance) Reginald VelJohnson. There's some good interplay between Bedelia & Atherton that livens up the scenes aboard the plane. At ground level, some of the notable supporting actors are Dennis Franz, John Amos & William Sadler. All in all, a nicely assembled cast that does justice to the compelling script by returning screenwriter Stephen E. de Souza.Director Renny Harlin got his chance when John McTiernan declined to return and I'd say that he did a perfectly capable job in his place. The film moves at a brisk pace with no shortage of action. The climactic showdown may be a bit over the top but not quite so much when compared to later entries in the series. Another returnee worth mentioning is Michael Kamen, who once again provided a unique musical score.Although it certainly isn't the most original movie of all time, "Die Hard 2" does a good job of providing thrills in the same vein as its predecessor. Subsequent sequels strayed further from the original template and, in my opinion, lacked the intangible qualities that made "Die Hard" stand out among a sea of action movies in the first place. While "Die Hard With a Vengeance" has its moments, "Die Hard 2" has always been (and is likely to remain) my favourite of the sequels.

For me, this Bruce Willis actioner is perfect. It has it all; cheesy one-liners ("You're the wrong man, in the wrong place, at the wrong time!" "Story of my life..."), lots of brutal action, some really nasty baddies, great special effects from Industrial Light and Magic, and lots of suspenseful and thrilling situations. Of course, it's not on par with the original, untouchable classic, but then what is? By basing this story on an unconnected book, about an airport being taken over by terrorists, the producers wisely moved away from simply doing a rehash of the first film with new locations and plot twists.Director Renny Harlin is at home with the many action scenes here with are fast, furious, and pull no punches. Lots of baddies die in various ways, my favourites being the man whose head gets stuck in a luggage compactor, and the nasty creep who gets an icicle through his eye for his troubles. The action bits in the DIE HARD series are my favourites of any film; I don't know what it is I like about them, but it's just the style and their efficiency which impresses me.The acting is very good, once again, from an excellent cast. Bruce Willis has firmly settled into his leading action man role, playing the kind of laconic, down-to-earth lawman which he would essay throughout the early '90s. Bonnie Bedelia lends glamour and an icy cool to her role as Willis' long-suffering wife, while William Atherton gets to redo his obnoxious reporter role from the first film. As for the baddies, they're excellent again, with the exceptionally nasty-looking William Sadler being the chief villain. John Amos is highly likable as the ultra-tough army sergeant. Even Italian favourite Franco Nero turns up as a wicked general.I love that immortal dialogue by Willis, especially the self-referential lines. I love the fantastic, poetic ending which has to be one of the best endings of any action film, EVER. It's just sheer brilliance (everybody I know who's seen the film agrees with me). I love Dennis Franz as the foul-mouthed pencil-pusher. I love the escape-by-ejector-seat scene. Basically, I love everything about this film and I could watch it again and again for the rest of my life. Unsurprisingly, it's one of my absolute favourites.