Whereas the first Die Hard really grabbed hold of you and wouldn't let go, as well as creating icons in terms of heroes and villains, Die Hard 2 isn't really bothered about engaging the viewer at all. Once again John McClane is in the wrong place at the wrong time, an airport this time, but has trouble convincing the airport security that things are about to go horribly wrong. But however charismatic Bruce Willis is, his mettle is only measured by the bad guy he's up against, and William Sadler's Col. Stuart is not even a tenth as convincing as Alan Rickman in the first film. He's predictable, boring, and completely un-menacing.
I was annoyed by too many silly parts in the film (SWAT team not wearing body armour, McClane out on the runway one second then back in the control room 10 seconds later), that I just couldn't get on board with it. I also felt the pacing was all over the place, jumping from the excitement of a plane crashing into the runway then back to McClane bitching to airport security again. Certainly the plane crashes were filmed well and looked suitably spectacular, but this is definitely the poorer cousin of the first film. The only other thing worth saying is that Die Hard 2 features the appearance of a very Robert Patrick; who dies quite easily.
The scene at the end where the jumbo jet blows up in mid-flight is still one of the most breathtaking and exhilerating images in the entire history of cinema.
ReplyDeleteIt is quite impressive to be fair; maybe it should feature in a Sunday Scene if I get round to doing that again. Cheers Teddy.
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