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Written by: Steven E. de Souza and Doug Richardson (screenplay by), Walter Wager (based upon the novel "58 Minutes" by), Roderick Thorp (certain original characters by)
Directed by: Renny Harlin
Starring: Bruce Willis, William Atherton, Bonnie Bedelia, Reginald VelJohnson, William Sadler, John Amos, Dennis Franz, Robert Patrick, John Leguizamo
Rated: R
Watch the trailer
Plot
John McClane attempts to avert disaster as rogue military operatives seize control of Dulles International Airport in Washington, D.C.
Verdict
It's a satisfactory action movie that checks the boxes, but it trades on the reputation of the first movie. The villains in this movie just aren't that interesting, and a good hero needs a good villain. This tries to keep the plot lively with twists, turns, gunfire, and explosions, but there isn't much story. If all you seek is fights and action, this delivers. If you want more you should see the first Die Hard.
It depends.
Review
The sequel to the great Die Hard, this meets the minimum expectations of an action movie but trades story and character development of the first movie for gunfire and explosions.
John McClane (Bruce Willis) seems to have a habit of being in the wrong place at the wrong time, or the right place and time if he's saving your life. McClane walks right into some kind of coup, and this movie gets into it rather quickly. I wish it took a few more minutes to build the characters like the first movie. While we've seen McClane before, this could still do more with him.
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| Bruce Willis plays John McClane |
The opening action scene is solid as McClane follows two suspicious fellows and ends up in a gunfight in the airport baggage sorting area. He has a hunch about what's happening, but no one in the airport will believe him. The airport wants to brush off the incident, but McClane knows this is a professional group with an agenda. When they finally do believe him, they've lost a lot of time.
There are plenty of gunfights, and if pure action is what you want in a movie, this delivers. I just want a bit more story. The pacing is good with a few surprises thrown in with McClane always one step behind the villains. McClane is a bit more superhuman in this one, and the movie falls into a few more tropes than the first one. It's difficult to top the first one, but this is a commendable effort. While this coasts on the good will of the first movie, and what sequel doesn't, this fails to establish a compelling villain. Part of what made the first movie, and any hero type movie, is a good bad guy. Somebody that we don't like but understand their motivations. With this movie the bad guys are just too generic.
This also loses the claustrophobic setting. The movement adds to the pacing, but detracts from the mood. It's not that this movie is lacking, it's more that the first movie is just so good. Without that as a direct comparison, this movie would look better.
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