REVIEW: Die Hard 2 (Released in 1990) [30th Anniversary]

DIRECTOR: Renny Harlin

PRODUCERS: Lawrence Gordon & Joel Silver & Charles Gordon

WRITERS: Doug Richardson & Steven E. DeSouza & Walter Wager (novel: 58 Minutes)

PERFORMERS: Bruce Willis Bonnie Bedelia William Atherton Reginald VelJohnson William Sadler Franco Nero John Amos Don Harvey Dennis Franz Art Carney Fred Dalton Thompson

I remember watching the original 'Die Hard' for the first time, it was an excellent film, Thrilling, nonstop, witty and a very smart action event from start to finish. I was aware for a long time that there were a series of these films and was just in junior high school when I saw each of them. Then I saw this film and it did so much more for me than first film did: Blow my mind away! For it's 30th Anniversary and in the tradition of sequels we'll be looking at the sequel that blew everybody sky high. Die Hard 2 is the sequel that proved you can't teach an old dog new tricks, but learn them as you go along.

HOW CAN THE SAME THING HAPPEN TO THE SAME GUY TWICE?

It all started 2 years ago, when actor Bruce Willis starred in perhaps one of the most memorable action films ever put to screen. The film told the tale of an off duty police officer from New York who flew to Los Angeles to attend a Christmas Party, then German Terrorists take over the party and he springs into action to save the day. From there you have one of those things you just can't get through Christmas without. And now here, in this sequel we see him again in the same predicament but in a different location and up against a different group of terrorists. Willis' character John McClane is in Washington D.C. waiting for his wife's plane to arrive and once again finds himself asking that unavoidable question: "Why is this happening to me? ...AGAIN!" The group he's up against is nothing like the ones he faced before and that's what makes them so intimidating. They're ex-commandos charged with freeing a military drug dealer from justice and not only are they professionals, they're lethal in every possible way. Willis' performance is once again the major highlight of the film, so much that I can't even imagine anyone else playing his part which I'm sure is what everyone said the first time around. In this one, putting the lone soldier in the nation's capital, dealing with intelligent men and the incompetent officials (there were times when I would say "Shut Up!" to the screen, especially to Dennis Franz), with the magic of special effects as well as visual in a well written follow up. You think of James Bond when you see this guy going through all extremes to save the day.

DIE HARDER... INDEED

All the elements of this one are played out so well, executed so well and set up so well. Director Renny Harlin really knew his stuff when he did this film. This is someone who I believe knows what a good action film is, if you look at some of his earlier work you'll see the difference, but look at his later work with films like Cliffhanger, Vertical Limit and even Deep Blue Sea, you might get a sense of where this guy's directorial roots came from. I sometimes think that John McTiernan should have been the one directed this, but on the other hand he wouldn't have done Hunt for Red October and we all know what a great film that one was. Plus this was able to do what the last one didn't: set the story on Christmas holiday in a location where it's snowing everywhere. You're even given an inside glimpse of how the airport system works and I have always wondered from within the terminal 'how and where do things come from?' In this film from the baggage room to the control tower and various parts around the location even the underground, I found myself engaged in the movie even more. Just seeing how these landing systems and more work within the airport system I learned more and more about them. Sometimes I always ask, why would it be necessary to alter a landing calibrate if you're gonna crash a plane? The lights are out and you can't see anything, but then when the head of the group played by William Sadler crashes the plane, he gives them phony instructions which leads to their death letting everyone know who's calling the shots and that alone answered my question above. And just running the show from a nearby area with your own equipment? That's just genius. It's like watching another show running a show that's already in progress, this one changes the setting, changes the rules and changes the scale of pure action entertainment. The one thing that stood out to me was the mid air explosions such as the snowmobile chase where Willis is thrown off his mobile as it explodes.

There were no downsides to this film compared to the first film, it was clearly it's own story, had it's own cannon not to mention it's own scale. That's the stuff that sequels were made of in the 1990's. The more... the better, the bigger... the more potential. All you had to do was make the film so much more than what the first was. Even in the summer of 1990 from what I discovered, it wasn't a bad year for movies at all but rather a heavy competition for movies. You had sequels left and right, very new subject matters here and there and even depressing but satisfactory and even uplifting pictures. But in the end, you always walked out that theater satisfied or just dissapointed. This particular sequel of a film didn't dissapoint, not from a cinematic point of view but from a audience point of view because like I said, I saw this in later years and that was enough for me.

A JOB WELL DONE FOR A FOLLOW UP

As I conclude this review I think of what made me enjoy this film in the first place: an ensemble cast, the timing, the setting and action sequences. Putting these all together made for a worthy viewing of this one. Sequels have always been regarded as the ones that do less than the original did and depending upon what that sequel was has often fell into that trap of never learning new things, but the only thing tougher than putting a hero up against all odds and overcoming them is putting him against even greater odds. This movie manages to do that very well. Though I wish certain actors like Reginald VelJohnson got more screen time even though William Atherton's character did in this one, it was otherwise a good film. If anything I would rank it #2 in my list of 'Die Hard' films list with the original obviously #1 because... it's the first entry of it's kind and the classic that sent Willis into the annals of total stardom. Even showing that you don't need to be muscular or indestructible to be in films like this, but just vulnerable, wisecracking and witty. That's why the Die Hard series has stood the test of time for as long as it has and will perhaps continue to do so. Well done sequel and Happy 30th Anniversary to Die Hard 2: Die Harder! #anniversaryseries #diehard21990 #DH230 #filmsof1990 #filmreview