Critique: Film> Reviews.

Once again it's Christmas and John McClain is about to have a very bad day. This time he's at Dulles International Airport in Washington D.C., awaiting the arrival of his wife's plane; though before his wife makes it safely to the ground, a group of terrorists begin seizing control of the airport and are threatening to crash the planes unless their demands are met. They say lightning never strikes twice... They were wrong (says the film's tagline).

Die Hard 2 feels like its predecessor in the sense that McClain acknowledges his pathetic luck, crawls through ventilation shafts, and starts taking out the bad guys one by one. Though, what a shame that none of this is particularly exhilarating. Those who've seen the film will probably remember the part where McClain is ejected from an exploding plane (as a result of the slowest detonating grenades, like, ever), but the special effects in this scene, I have to admit, are cringeworthy by today's standards. It is fair to say that this sequel hasn't aged well at all.

Die Hard 2 lacks memorable villains, also. I'm a big fan of John Amos (Lock Up) and he's great here as the corrupt general, but everyone else is underwritten and instantly forgettable. As a result, when McClain does come face to face with his antagonists, there is much less suspense than there was in the original film. Remember how gripping the conclusion was when Willis and Rickman finally met in the first Die Hard? Well, it's nothing like that here.

Willis is still McClain in humour and heroicness, though, and that's at least a good point of the film. He's always watchable -- still a cut above most action heroes -- and gives this sequel a little credibility. It's just a shame that he's part of an unsatisfying sequel, overall.

(C) Andy Carrington, 2009.