Solid Sequel

Rating: 8/10 (9 July 1999)

Before reviewing Die Hard 2, I read everyone else's comments on it. To everyone who badgered the film for being unrealistic, good points, but since when do action films aim to be 100% logical? Hasn't anyone seen True Lies?
That said, Die Hard 2 is very different from the first. McClane is now facing real terrorists at a Washington airport, this time led by American Col. Stuart, played by the always watchable William Sadler. McClane still faces much opposition from the city police force, but at least they are a little more reasonable than Dwayne T. Robinson in the original, and Dennis Franz's character begins to see things McClane's way toward the end.
The mood is much more serious this time, as is characteristic of Renny Harlin's films. And there are plenty of twists and turns that give the pace a much-needed boost. Two fantastic exploding plane sequences toward the end give this one the best climax of the Die Hard trilogy. Watch for a scene outside the D.C. airport in which McClane makes a phone call in a pay phone marked "Pacific Bell."