On D List of Movie Reviews

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Die Hard 2 (1990)

Rate: 6
Viewed: 2/06, 5/21

Die2
2/06: Die Hard 2 is another fun-filled picture by the franchise.

Loads of action and elaborate story are the name of the game, and Bruce Willis is back in top form as John McClane. However, there are two annoying characters who manage to hinder the momentum: Richard Thornburg and Captain Lorenzo.

I'm impressed with the filmmakers for recycling the original formula to deliver a sustainable blockbuster although it doesn't match up with the standard.

All in all, Renny Harlin is usually a poor director, but he gets the job done for Die Hard 2.

5/21: Compared to the original, Die Hard 2 is a huge step down in all aspects.

The profanity-filled story is somewhat tolerable, but everybody is too serious. Lighten up because it's Christmas. Yet the snow is so fake that summer must be around the corner. Naturally, no real airline is used in fear of the negative association. Why is there a manhole on the runaway when an airplane can topple off the cover?

John McClane had many great one-liners in the last film, but here, almost all are mediocre. Why does Dennis Franz have to yell and act like an asshole every film he appears in? When McClane made his point by shooting blanks at the incompetent cop, it's a moment that he should've been instantly killed.

Although the running time is too long, the last thirty minutes is good enough to earn '6' from me. But there's one thing that has always bothered me since 1990: how could anyone inside the airport not hear or see the exploding plane that's literally right outside when it failed to land? They finding out for the first time an hour later is incredible. Of course, there are plenty of airports around the 100-mile radius to land in.

All in all, Die Hard 2 is dumb and mechanical that's without a sense of humor.