Forget the naysayers -- this one is every bit as great as the first one!!

Rating: 10/10 (30 December 2011)

Maaan!! What a movie!! This movie has been growing on me over the years like crazy. I'm convinced that it's almost as good as the first one. That Renny Harlin really hit it out of the park with this one!! But what really makes this one great?? Snow! Snow! Snow! Lots of snow!! Snowmobiles, snowy runways, icicles, blizzard conditions - makes you want to grab some hot chocolate (or in my case tea) when watching this one.
OK, so there is no Alan Rickman. Who cares? You've got Bill Sadler as Col. Stuart whose steely blue eyes look like they could pierce right through your heart! Man, that dude gives me chills! Then you've got John Amos, Franco Nero, and even young Robert Patrick, John Leguizamo, and Vondi Curtis Hall in smaller roles as terrorists! And am I the only one who is still seriously disturbed by the scene where Col. Stuart causes the British plane to crash?? I remember when I first saw it (pre-9/11) I found that scene very disturbing to watch. Now it's even more so. Really makes you root for McClane at that point to tear those bastards apart! The film just works like clockwork! It never lags! Always something crazy is happening! There's just something about Christmas, snow, airports, hustle-and-bustle, and ruthless terrorists that make this a must-see every Christmas! And it has one of the coolest endings in action movie history - you know the scene I'm talking about! The zippo scene! And then the movie finishes off with a brilliant rendition of Jean Sibelius's "Finlandia" - courtesy of Michael Kamen. Renny's idea!! I think I can now almost say that I prefer DH2 to DIE HARD WITH A VENGEANCE. Which is no small feat. DH3 is an amazing action picture - with McTiernan back at the helm. But DH2 just feels more faithful to the original - Christmas, terrorists taking over, McClane crawling through ducts/shafts, McClane's wife, Al Powell, Thornburg, pain-in-the-ass bureaucrats, etc! And basically the action being limited to one general location - high-rise/airport.
Top marks for one of the top action films of the 90s!! Even Siskel & Ebert agreed. Siskel in particular was ecstatic about it! And Ebert actually said it's better than the first one. That's some high praise!