More of the same, but still more fun with our favorite terrorist-busting detective

Rating: 8/10 (11 December 2005)

It would be interesting to see if Detective John McClane (Bruce Willis) ever has a normal day. Nah, that wouldn't be a whole lot of fun, now would it? We've been watching our hero bust up bad guys for nearly 20 years now, and with talks of another, fourth "Die Hard" in the works, I think it would be nice to go back in time and watch his past exploits, like 1990's "Die Hard 2: Die Harder."
John McTiernan directed 1988's "Die Hard" and rocketed wild-card star Willis to fame in an iconic action role. McTiernan's gone for now, and up at the helm this time is Finnish blood-maestro Renny Harlin (whose future clinchers "Cliffhanger," "The Long Kiss Goodnight," and "Deep Blue Sea" would later cement the director's reputation in Hollywood).
The film is basically a repeat of its predecessor, going as much as to reuse some of that film's plot devices and mechanics to structure its own fast-paced story line. On a snowy Christmas Eve night, not a creature was stirring... okay, not quite accurate, but it's a good start for a review, even though the events are on Christmas and a blinding snowstorm is rapidly approaching the metropolitan area.
At Dulles International Airport, where Detective McClane is patiently awaiting the arrival of wife Holly (Bonnie Bedelia), terrorists led by the ousted military colonel Stuart (William Sadler) lay siege not with guns, but by crippling the airport's landing system so they no longer have control of their incoming flights. Col. Stuart's meticulous plan is a jail break: deposed drug lord Gen. Esperanza (Franco Nero) is on one of Dulles's special Christmas Eve flights, and by disabling their guidance-landing systems and using their own equipment, they're going to spring him free and then head to a tropical paradise with no extradition treaties.
Over Dulles, however, many planes are circling and have nothing to do except wait. Those with enough fuel are sent to alternate airports but there are still many overhead, and running out of fuel. With Holly on one incoming flight, what's John to do? The terrorists don't care of course, except getting their cargo.
Only one thing stands in the terrorists way, and that is our hero John McClane, who must also deal with D.C. bureaucrats including a pre-"NYPD Blue" Dennis Franz as an airport security chief and Fred Dalton Thompson as air-traffic controller Trudeau. John does eventually find some aid with Leslie Barns (Art Evans) though. Reginald VelJohnson reprises his role as Sgt. Al Powell (in what is essentially a five-minute cameo) and William Atherton is back as arrogant news reporter Richard Thornburg, who's also trapped on a plane with Holly.
For his rogue gallery here, director Harlin (working from Walter Wager's novel "58 Minutes"), has assembled a flawed but capable production that has a stronger emphasis on action scenes rather than plot. In "Die Hard," McClane was an Everyman caught in a not-so-everyday predicament and had to rely on his wits to stay alive, and a lot of the action was spare and took place in confined, claustrophobic areas. We don't have much of that here, as his character has pretty much been reduced to a generic trash-talking, one-liner-spewing archetype who's able to dodge the many bullets fired in his direction without much trouble. But he's still a pretty cool guy, though.
The bad guys, corrupt military officials, aren't all that frightening or intimidating either, though Col. Stuart does seem to peak in sly villainy during one particularly disturbing and explosive sequence of "lessons." (This scene alone is probably why "Die Hard 2: Die Harder" is on the FAA's "no-play" list of many in-flight movies.) Eventually, Washington brings in Maj. Grant (John Amos) and his men to come and deal with the crooked military terrorists. And lastly, you should also be on the look out for a pre-T-1000 Robert Patrick and comedian John Leguizamo in small parts as Col. Stuart's henchmen.
"Die Hard 2: Die Harder" isn't a failure but is a worthy sequel to its landmark predecessor. It's bigger, bloodier, and much louder than "Die Hard." But the tag line's not lying: this sequel "dies harder."
8/10