Brilliant. Adds to the original splendidly.

Rating: 10/10 (25 December 2015)

Die Hard 2 sees everyone's favourite smart mouth cop John McClane back in business as another group of nasty terrorists descend on LAX on a perticularly cluttered, and this time snowy Christmas Eve. Changing the setting from a mostly deserted high rise to a bustling airport at that time of year amps up the excitement factor quite a bit, and although nothing will ever top the visceral simplicity of the first Die Hard, story - wise the sequel has a lot more going on, and just buzzes with that eclectic vibe of desperation, camaraderie and business that many people wade through on the holiest of nights. Willis is more frantic then ever here, probably because the stakes are higher and local law enforcement is even more unwilling to believe or assist him, to the point of ridiculousness. The terrorists are spearheaded by monstrous Colonel Stuart (underrated William Sadler, leaving a slimy trail of icy fear and violence without ever raising his voice past an unnerving murmur). His troops seize control of the airport's power grid, shutting down all the runway lights and making it impossible for several planes to land. So now instead of a gaggle of office workers held at gunpoint in a building, we have several thousand people stranded at ten thousand feet, in danger of running out of fuel or worse. Higher stakes indeed. Sadler is a representitive and herald of shadowy South American criminal General Esperenza (Franco Nero, wonderfully intense) who is in federal custody somewhere out there and using the airport situation as leverage for his release. It's a bit convoluted and always chaotic, but never boring. Throw in supporting work from Dennis Franz as the world's most uncooperative police chief, William Atherton, Reginald VelJohnson, Art Evans, Fred Dalton Thompson and cameos from a young Robert Patrick and John Leguizamo, and you've got yourself a nice sequel that turns the dial up without going overboard, aims to please and comes out a winner.