Review of 'Die Hard 2 ("Die Harder")'

2nd film in the 'Die Hard' series

A year after the events of Die Hard, John McClane (Bruce Willis) once again faces a group of terrorists threatening an airport.

On Christmas Eve, McClane is at a very snowy Washington Dulles International Airport to meet wife Holly (Bonnie Bedelia) arriving from Los Angeles. When McClane sees two men looking suspicious he follows them into the baggage area and a shoot-out ensues. He is even more concerned after learning a man he has killed was in the military and reported as killed in action in Honduras as he seemed very much alive never mind the man carrying a gun that cannot be detected by airport security scanning equipment. This information is of no interest to airport police captain Carmine Lorenzo (Dennis Franz) who dismisses his concerns, complaining of how busy the airport is this time of year and refusing to shut down the airport. Meanwhile, former U.S. Army Special Forces Colonel William Stuart (William Sadler) and former members of his unit establish a base in a church near the airport. Their goal is to free drug lord and dictator General Ramon Esperanza (Franco Nero) who is being extradited to the US and is due to arrive at Dulles in a few hours. Then take control of the airport systems, turning off the landing lights, and, soon enough, cause an aircraft to crash to ensure they are taken seriously. Another year, another situation where John McClane must save the day and where his wife is in one of the planes running out of fuel that have been left circling the airport…

Another brutal, violent action flick in the “Die Hard” series which ramps up the stakes considerably from the first film. Now the lives of thousands of people are on the line as McClane struggles to save them without the help of local authorities who think he is nuts. There is also the added pressure of being at the airport on one of the busiest days of the year and, of course, experiencing a massive snow storm. Expect lots of shouting and swearing. However, it is a familiar recipe now and works quite well with some imaginative action sequences, and some truly unexpected plot twists particularly a big one in the last few minutes of the film. I did find a bit of the violence gratuitous (there is one scene which will haunt me forever when John uses an icicle to dispatch a baddie…) but this is not much different than the first film except that there are a lot more bad guys.

As with “Die Hard” John, of course, does end up with some help such as a reclusive airport janitor Marvin (Tom Bower) and the no nonsense head aircraft controller Leslie Barnes (Art Evans). This adds a bit more interest to the film as we are not always focused on John but have these other capable helpers providing him with the information he needs to get the job done. There are also the amusing quips throughout the film such as “How can the same thing happen to the same guy twice?” which make the film a bit more fun than many action flicks…he comes across as a normal cop just trying to do his job…albeit in incredibly difficult circumstances.

Another fun, and entertaining film in the “Die Hard” franchise. Completely over the top, but turn off the brain a bit, sit back and enjoy the ride. Oh, hopefully you don't mind a lot of personal violence along the way…Anyone who loved the first film will love this one as well.

Rating: “Really good but I have some issues”

Review Date: 2026-01-10

Directed by: Renny Harlin

Studio: Twentieth Century Fox

Year: 1990

Length: 124 minutes

Genre: Action/Adventure

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0099423/

• Die Hard (1988)
• Die Hard 4.0 (2007)