DIE HARD 2 (1990)
Reviewed By Jerry Saravia
The subtitle for "Die Hard 2" is Die Harder. Thankfully that was omitted but it wouldn't have mattered. "Die Hard 2" is an exciting, nail-bitingly suspenseful action flick that is as good as, if not better, than the claustrophobic original.
Bruce Willis is back as John McClane, seen in the opening scene at Dulles Airport where he gets a parking ticket and his car towed away. It is the beginning of a bad day for McClane, the police detective who foiled a terrorist plot at Nakatomi Plaza in the original film. This time, some nasty, murderous mercenaries are taking control of Dulles flights thanks to Colonel Stuart (William Sadler). Stuart's objective is to allow a Fidel Castro-type drug lord, Esperanza (Franco Nero), to land safely at Dulles without intervention. McClane catches wind of these mercenaries up to some dirty business, and it begins with a fight scene that involves not only luggage and a ten-speed bicycle but also a spray can! Naturally, when McClane fails to foil the terrorist plot, nobody believes one word he says. This includes the airport chief of police, hilariously played by Dennis Franz, who thinks McClane is making it up as he goes. The leader of the air-traffic control tower (Fred Dalton Thompson) has his doubts but then there is a disturbing plane crash, caused by the terrorists, that is about as horrific as plane crashes get, at least back in 1990.
For action scenes, there are slow-motion gunfights, a chase scene involving snow mobiles, a fiery exit from a plane by ejector seat, and a fistfight on a plane wing. As directed by Renny Harlin, there are also some gory bits of violence, including clever uses of a propeller and an icicle. Some of this may seem relatively tame today but back in 1990, an audience I saw this with found it a tad too violent for its own sake. If you recall, the summer of 1990 was full of ultraviolent action pictures like "Total Recall" and "Another 48HRS."
"Die Hard 2" is a highly improbable action-thriller with a few too many neat coincidences and contrivances. And watching John McClane running around an airport using underground tunnels in freezing temperatures may produce unintentional chuckles. And yet this movie is spectacularly entertaining, concentrating more on dialogue to further its narrative than on various large-action set pieces of which this film has blessedly few. Bruce Willis makes for an invigorating John McClane and William Sadler is an appropriately cold-blooded villain. There is a nicely extended cameo by Bonnie Bedelia, reprising her role as McClane's wife who is aboard a flight that may be in danger. There are also some precious digs at the press, including another reprisal by William Atherton as the reporter who hopes to get a Pulitzer. Like I said, it is fun but you won't believe a moment of it.
