Entertaining, but slightly inferior Die Hard sequel

Rating: 7/10 (5 December 2015)

Bruce Willis makes his return as the iconic hero John McClane who was last scene taking down a dozen German terrorists one by one at the Nakatomi Plaza in Los Angeles in one of the most crowd pleasing action flicks of all time. Taking place exactly one year after the events of the first film, John McClane is awaiting for his wife Holly (played by Bonnie Bedelia again) at the Dulles International Airport in Washington D.C to spend another great Christmas with her. His plans quickly go bad once again when a group of international terrorists led by Colonel Stuart (played by William Sadler) began seizing control of the airport and taking countless innocent civilians hostage. To make matters worse, the terrorists began taking control of the air traffic control, causing runway lights to shut off and inference in traffic signals. With planes full of innocent lives (including his wife) running low on fuel and unable to land safely, McClane must once again use his incredible skills to take down the merciless terrorists and the save the lives of the passengers along with his wife, once for all.
With John McTiernan returning as the director, this movie comes as a decent continuation to the franchise; with some exciting action scenes and well-drawn characters and performances. However, this film fell slightly short of the formula that made the first film a smash hit. The main villain Colonel is not quite as memorable as Hans Gruber played by Alan Rickman in the previous film. While William Sadler gives a great performance, his character doesn't have the same charisma as Gruber. On the other hands, the action scenes are a bit exciting and well shot, especially the intense fight scene that takes place on the wing of the plane towards the end. Most of the action takes place outside in the snow and blistering cold winds. Then there is John McClane who still remains fresh as ever and is energized with a strong performance by Bruce Willis. Lastly, the plot works pretty well, although there some inconsistencies here and there. Overall, it was enjoyable at the least.
Die Hard 2: Die Harder may not be as memorable as the first film, but there is no doubt that this film is quite a thrill ride and Bruce Willis shows that he still has John McClane in him.