well i'll try to write more but i'm clearly doing 39 hours a week of work at uni. *smirk*
well i'll try to write more but i'm clearly doing 39 hours a week of work at uni. *smirk*
Member since:02.03.2001
Reviews:68
Members who trust:9
I think other Ciao users have been a bit hard on this film in general. Its not a classic, but its compared too much to Die Hard. Die Hard is not any normal film, its probably the best action film ever.
So Die Hard 2: Die Harder had alot to live up to, and the plot is fairly similar, its just an airport in Washington instead of a big building in Los Angeles. Both are set on Christmas Eve, and John McClane (Bruce Willis), wonders aloud exactly the same thing could happen to him twice. Just like a normal Christmas he says, "crawling around an elevator".
The terrorists aren't as good as they are in the first film, and they don't have the charismatic leader Hans Gruber, they have Colonel Stuart, who is still well played by William Sadler, and the plot is, they cut the power to a snowbound Dulles International Airport in Washington, because a big time Drugs Baron, General Esperanza (Franco Nero), is flying in to the USA, having been deported, and they want to rescue him.
And they would probably have succeeded, if it wasn't for one man, John McClane, now a Los Angeles cop, whose unfortunate wife always seems to get caught up in these terrorist things. She is in an aircraft that is circling above Washington, and towards the end it runs low on fuel...
The terrorists have proved how nasty they are by bringing down a British plane (typical AMERICAN film), and there plan is going well. It seems, there is nothing even McClane can do about it, especially when he is betrayed by the members of the Special Branch, who turn out to be - terrorists.
They have a Boeing 747 to take them to safety, and in the final scene, McClane is thrown off the plane, and it speeds off down the runway...
Surely that is it, but no, during the fight, the plane starts spilling fuel. As McClane is lying on the floor, wounded, he gets a lighter out and sets fire to this fuel, setting of a line of fire which reaches the plane just as it takes off.
Its a clever ending, where as in Die Hard the terrorists are killed one by one, here they are all taken out at once. It is one of a few differences in a similar film.
Die Hard 2 doesn't have the same battle of wits as there is in the first film between McClane and Hans Gruber, but its still entertaining, and the action is as good as you would expect, as is Willis.
It is put on the shade by Die Hard, but its still got pace and suspense, and is a decent enough way to spend 2 hours.
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
Action/Adventure - Director: Peter Jackson - Original Language: English - Classification: 12 years and over - Starring:Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen, Viggo Mortensen, Liv Tyler, Sean Astin, Billy Boyd, Dominic Monaghan, Andy Serkis
Production Year: 1964 - Action/Adventure - Director: Cyril Endfield - Original Language: English - Classification: Parental Guidance - Starring:Stanley Baker, Jack Hawkins, Ulla Jacobsson, James Booth, Michael Caine, Nigel Green
Production Year: 2002 - Action/Adventure - Director: Vincenzo Natali - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring:Lucy Liu, David Hewlett, Anne Marie Scheffler, Joseph Scoren, Matthew Sharp, Jeremy Northam
Production Year: 1977 - Action/Adventure - Director: Clint Eastwood - Original Language: English - Classification: 18 years and over - Starring:Clint Eastwood, Sondra Locke, Pat Hingle, William Prince, Bill McKinney
my least favourite of the 4 films but still better than most action films!
Howiemon 27.02.2002 17:23
Good review and fair comment, DH2 isn't that bad really, but it will forever be overshadowed by it's predecessor. By the way, what did you do to upset 'mudvein', there's no way this review is just a FH.
mudvein 26.05.2001 21:51
i don't think that die hard was a classic the 2nd film was pretty bad, but the english plane coming down was very funny, oh how i laughed...
Director Renny Harlin (Cutthroat Island) took the reins of this 1990 sequel, which places ... more
Bruce Willis's New York City cop character in harm's way again with a gaggle of terrorists. This time, Willis awaits his wife's arrival at Dulles Airport in Washi...
Postage & Packaging: £1.21 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
Director Renny Harlin (Cutthroat Island) took the reins of this 1990 sequel, which places ... more
Bruce Willis's New York City cop character in harm's way again with a gaggle of terrorists. This time, Willis awaits his wife's arrival at Dulles Airport in Washi...
Postage & Packaging: Free! Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours...
On a snowy Christmas Eve, in the nation's capital, a team of terrorists has seized a major ... more
international airport, and now holds thousands of holiday travellers hostage. The terrorists, a renegade band of crack military commandos led by a murderous rogu...
On a snowy Christmas Eve in the nation's capital a team of terrorists has seized a major ... more
International Airport and now holds thousands of holiday travellers hostage. The terrorists a renegade band of crack military commandos led by a murderous rogue...
Postage & Packaging: £0.00 Availability: 3-5 working days
Advantages: Fast-paced, spectacular, fairly enjoyable if your in the mood Disadvantages: Dodgy acting, weak script, little credibility and zero tension
Howiemon 01.02.2001 (11.04.2001)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Die Hard 2 (DVD)
![Die Hard 2: Die Harder [DVD] [1990]](http://picnicb.ciao.com/uk/76559287.jpg "Die Hard 2: Die Harder [DVD] [1990]")
May 26th, 2001
very helpful by (92%):
somewhat helpful by (8%):
