Hollywood's Obsession with Explosives Can Still Bear Fruit

Rating: 8/10 (5 March 2012)

Bruce Willis returns to the role that made him a star, with Samuel L. Jackson along for the ride as his unwitting new partner. A furious ticking time bomb (both literally and metaphorically), it's nearly on the same level as the original with wall-to-wall action and one high-pressure twist after another. Jackson and Willis are masters of the action set, playing up the tension while easily building a great dynamic together, and the film keeps enough ginormous obstacles around to maintain a dead sprint for the full two hours. Jeremy Irons deserves special mention as the foreign-born evil mastermind with a personal tie to the rest of the Die Hard mythos. Large, loud and ludicrous, it's still loads of fun after all this time.