Saturday, May 19, 2012

Die Hard 2: Die Harder [M]


All John McLane wants is a normal Christmas: eggnog, turkey, Christmas tree, and a happy wife and family. But obviously this was never to be as, whilst waiting at the airport for his wife, Holly, terrorists seize control of the airport and threaten to crash all landing aircraft if their demands are not met: assistance in the rescue of a drug lord from justice. With only 90 minutes left of fuel in Holly’s plane, John is really racing against the clock to bring down the terrorists, save innocent lives, and contend with the horrendously stubborn airport officials. 

Well it’s pretty much official, I’m becoming a bit of a Die Hard fan. I completely LOVED the first one and hastily added it to my collection whilst simultaneously renting the second instalment in the series to keep me entertained this afternoon. Bit of a disappointment really, nowhere near as good as its predecessor (probably because there was no sinister and sexy Alan Rickman). 

All John McLane wants is a normal Christmas: eggnog, turkey, Christmas tree, and a happy wife and family. But obviously this was never to be as, whilst waiting at the airport for his wife, Holly, terrorists seize control of the airport and threaten to crash all landing aircraft if their demands are not met: assistance in the rescue of a drug lord from justice. With only 90 minutes left of fuel in Holly’s plane, John is really racing against the clock to bring down the terrorists, save innocent lives, and contend with the horrendously stubborn airport officials. 

This is by no means the worst sequel in cinematic history, actually it was quite good as it maintained its central characters and basic plotline and its general heated Die Hard feel; but there were some factors that just didn’t make it as good as the first. Firstly, and this is equally the first movie’s fault as well as the second’s, the original Die Hard was just so different and, well so original, that it can’t really be recreated. 
As is the tradition of sequels, this movie was jam-packed with more action, explosions, and a shitload of a lot more blood. We witness some pretty gruesome demises, some of which send a quiver through your lower stomach. Everything became a lot bigger and had heaps more characters to focus on, which in turn brought about the lack of the classic tough-guy one-liners that lightened the mood of the first film. I understand the whole terrorist-in-airport scenario is not one to be made light of but, even though it did pave the way for a hell of a lot more action, it really was a clandestine setting for the rollicking blockbuster that Die Hard is. 
Bruce Willis is back and swanning through the role of McLane, he really does swan through these action movies doesn’t he. He really doesn’t have to try all that hard, he just naturally does this role so effing well! I did like the fact that he tried to be a tad more emotional in this film and, to a certain extent, you really felt the anguish and grief that he conveyed. It was good. 
Starring Bonnie Bedelia, William Atherton, Reginald VelJohnson, Franco Nero, William Sadler, John Amos, Dennis Franz, and Tom Bower, Die Hard 2: Die Harder was a pretty rollicking movie, but not as good as the first one. Filled with blood, suspense, action, punch-ups, fistfights, romance, and the occasional bit of comedy, I enjoyed it fine, but it’s not a film that I’ll be adding to the collection. 

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