Die Hard 2? Remake of the original. Well that was easy, what's next? What's that - you want more? Grrrrr...well...alright.

To say that this is a remake of the first movie is a bit of a glib statement - it's also wrong. Yes both films share many elements but given the nature of the genre and the success of the first film, the creators have very little option but to stick with the winning formula. Does that make Die Hard 2 a bad film? How does that incorrect noise from Family Fortunes go?

While the first film had us a knife edge of wondering what was going to happen, in Die Hard 2 we know what's going to happen - we just want to SEE it happen. The film doesn't disappoint on this level and the action is first rate. The stunts are tremendous and there's enough firepower, explosions, and action going on to satiate even the most gung-ho of appetites. But it's not mindless action though and while it may have the odd 'lucky' moment, it generally stays within the realms of reality. There is no overdose of hey-let's-have-a-'cool'-fight-on-top-of-something-stupid moments and while we never come across this kind of thing happening normally (well I never have, but I lead a sheltered life) it never oversteps that invisible line that separates entertainment from stupidity.

No-one could fill John McClane's shoes but Bruce Willis and thankfully Willis slots back into one of his most famous roles effortlessly. The same slightly cocky charm of the everyday Joe thrown into the eye of the storm is there in spades and Willis is entertaining throughout. In the action scenes he looks great and while McClane may become a little more superhero than before at times, he still never becomes comic book which would have spelled disaster or the movie. McClane is still vulnerable and streetwise and we love him for it, and it's characters like him that raise the Die Hard series of movies from being cardboard cutout rent-a-hero films into something more complete. Blah, blah, blah.

William Sadler's Colonel Stuart is a poor replacement for Alan Rickman and while Rickman was charming, nasty, and devilishly evil, Sadler ends up being stiff and wooden. Rickman charmed us and we rolled his duplicity around like a rich dark chocolate. Sadler though is brusque and almost cartoon like - not good. John Amos is as likeable as ever, Dennis Franz is as 'jobsworthy' as ever, and on it goes. The casting is pretty much excellent and all of the players are well placed. I especially liked Fred Dalton Thompson but only because he has one of THE most fabulous voices.

The production is splendid and just has that certain something that makes it look substantial and believable. The walls of Dulles airport never look like cardboard or indeed even a movie set, the runway scenes look cold and inhospitable - in short it has that little air of the real. Die Hard had a skyscraper to play with and Die Hard 2 has an airport to play with. Both add realism to what are really over the top situations but the scale that they bring just sets it apart from mindless trash like Tango and Cash.

If you want high drama, and exploration of the human soul then you're out of luck here, but that's not what the film sets out to do. It's high octane action and was made when the market still craved the big gun, big muscle heroes of Stallone, Arnie, and co. Action fans will therefore love it.