Die Hard 2 (1990)

 

Is this sequel to one of the best action films ever made just as good?

Of course not. Silly goose.

But it is still a pretty good action romp. Its main problem is that it is too close to the first one in terms of setup, but even the characters acknowledge this. It's a good thing that for the third, they tried something different, but you'll still be entertained by Bruce Willis and his shenanigans.

It's been a year since the events at Nakatomi Plaza and John McClane is waiting for his wife Holly to land at Dulles Airport. But there's also a plane heading that way holding a deposed general from the country Val Verde.

This is also the country that plays a part in 'Commando', so these two films take place in a shared universe. Now where's John Matrix to help McClane?

As one would imagine, there's trouble afoot when soldiers hold the airport hostage by taking over the guidance systems, insuring no plane can land without their say-so. In a raging winterstorm and fuel becoming increasingly low for a lot of planes, will John be able to stop the nefarious evildoers whilst spouting oneliners and outwitting even the best of soldiers?

What do you think is going to happen? 

Director Renny Harlin had a tough job following up on the iconic first entry in to what is now a series, and the main issue with this one is that it has way too many beats similar to that first one. Other than that, few complaints. Harlin is also a very decent director and knows how to stage his action. Granted, he is no John McTiernan, but there's no substitute for that man's acumen. Bruce Willis plays up the sequelitis by occasionally referencing the fact that this stuff seems to happen to him far too frequently. It is funny and the winks and nods give this self-aware humour some extra spice. 

The setup is okay and the plan of the bad guys make some sense, even if it relies far too heavily on some massive coincidences. William Sadler is very good as the chisel-jawed Colonel Stuart, but alas: his character is no Hans Gruber and though it is good they went for a different kind of villain, he falls a little flat in the 'memorable'-category. 

But hey, it's fun, it's actionpacked from start to finish and doesn't waste any time. You could do a lot worse as far as sequels are concerned.