With the theory that movies set with references to Christmas as part of the underpinnings for establishing the story might be Christmas movies, we return to the action thriller sequel to Die Hard (1988) with the Renny Harlin directed movie Die Hard 2 (1990). This movie is set on Christmas Eve with the main context for the movie being Dulles International Airport in Dulles, Virginia.
With the movie Die Hard 2 having been based on the book 58 Minutes by Walter Wager, we encounter John McClane awaiting the arrival of his wife, Holly, on a flight arriving at the airport. McClane, as portrayed by Bruce Willis, uses his intuition as a lieutenant in the Los Angeles Police Department to act on his suspicions that a pair of men are behaving erratically. In following the men into a restricted space for sorting baggage, a gun fight ensues with just two of the three men in the encounter escaping with their lives. Bonnie Bedelia portrayed Holly, John’s wife.
The men confronted in the restricted area are part of a plan aimed at freeing corrupt foreign military leader General Ramon Esperanza, who is being extradited to from outside the country by airplane to Dulles International Airport. With the help of Sergeant Al Powell of the LAPD, John McClane learns that the man he killed was an American soldier who supposedly died in a helicopter accident two years previously. Airport police chief, Carmine Lorenzo, and air traffic control director Ed Trudeau find McClane’s suspicions unlikely when he reports what he knows. Franco Nero, Reginald VelJohnson, Dennis Franz and Fred Thompson portrayed Esperanza, Powell, Lorenzo and Trudeau, respectively.
Former Colonel William Stuart, meanwhile, works with a group of ex-military sympathizers on the outskirts of the airport in support of causing chaos among the team operating the airport. Thrills, twists and turns follow the initial baggage claim scene with the motivations of Major Grant, Dick Thornburg and others coming into question. The seeds of McClane seizing the initiative, as cultivated with the original Die Hard movie, bears fruit during the blizzard and flight control issues that follow the shenanigans intended by Stuart and the team allied with Ramon Esperanza. William Sadler, John Amos and William Atherton portrayed Stuart, Grant and Thornburg, respectively.
The central appeal for the movie Die Hard is first and foremost the action and intrigue. The undercurrent of humor present with the original movie were downplayed with the sequel, though I found the movie did not require the humor to remain engaging. I grant Die Hard 2 as directed by Renny Harlin 3.75-stars on a scale of 1-to-5.
Matt – Saturday, December 3, 2022