Bring on the guns!

Rating: 7/10 (29 November 2006)

The Die Hard series counts among the few series with simply great movies in it, such as Indiana Jones, Star Wars or LOTR.
With a smash hit opening like Die Hard I, destroying it with a sequel is close at hand. But no, Renny Harlin delivers a tight and witty package of smoking guns, an intelligent plot, great stunts, hilarious one timers and some fairly good acting. It does not quite live up the claustrophobic feel of of the first film, nor the wits and charisma of the third blockbuster, but in no way is this a weak link.
The film is set in an airport and action takes place on baggage strips, on escalators, in basements, in venting shafts, on runways, on snow scooters and on the wing of an airplane. Former military man Colonel Stuart (William SAdler) hacks in to the control tower of an airport in Washington DC in a snowstorm and blackens all the runways, making all planes circle around in oblivion, waiting to run out of fuel and start falling out of the sky. The constant Unlucky Alf, or police officer John McClane (Bruce Willis) of course finds that his wife Holly (Bonnie Bedelia) is on one of these planes. When trying to take control of the situation he gets to take a truckload of crap from airport security captain Carmine Lorenzo (Dennis Franz from NYPD Blue).
So follows a race against time in all places imaginable on an airport with deceits, lies, killings, crashing planes, bombs and a lot of masculine boasting. Bruce Willis cements his character as the well-meaning, but take-no-crap-officer McClane in this movie and is backed up with great acting from obnoxious reporter William Atherton, Franz and Art Evans. Many later famous actors do very small roles as henchmen, pilots or other killing crew in the movie, most notably Robert Patrick, who's next role would spring him to fame in the role as T-1000 in Terminator 2, but also renowned actors as John Leguizamo, Don Harvey, Tom Verica and Robert Martin Steinberg. A big chunk on the downside is that Sadler isn't really doesn't convince as the bad guy of the movie, he is too casual.
All in all, a very good action reel.
-Respect the Humpp!