Alright, fellow tapeheads, let’s rewind to Christmas 1990. You’ve worn out your copy of Die Hard (1988), maybe even taped it off HBO with slightly fuzzy tracking lines. Then comes the sequel, promising more McClane, more explosions, more… well, more. Die Hard 2 (sometimes known, fittingly, as Die Harder) crash-lands onto the screen, swapping the claustrophobic confines of Nakatomi Plaza for the sprawling chaos of Dulles International Airport during a blizzard. How do you possibly follow up one of the tightest action thrillers ever made? The answer, it turns out, was simple: you don't try to replicate it, you amplify it.
### Snow, Bullets, and Holiday Mayhem
Right off the bat, you feel the shift. Director Renny Harlin, fresh off injecting visual flair into Freddy Krueger's world with A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master (1988), brings a different energy than John McTiernan. Where the original was a tense, vertical chess match, Die Hard 2 is a wide-screen, horizontal demolition derby. The stakes feel immediately, almost absurdly, higher: not just hostages in a building, but entire planeloads of people circling overhead, including Holly McClane (Bonnie Bedelia, thankfully given more to do than just wait by the phone). John McClane (Bruce Willis, slipping back into the sweaty tank top – metaphorically, at first – like a second skin) is just trying to pick up his wife for Christmas. Naturally, heavily armed mercenaries led by the chillingly professional Colonel Stuart (William Sadler, absolutely nailing the icy fanaticism) have other plans, seizing control of the airport's navigation systems to rescue a captured South American dictator, General Esperanza (Franco Nero). Same McClane, wrong place, wrong time... again.
The airport setting is key. It allows for a much broader canvas of destruction – baggage handling systems become deadly mazes, tarmacs transform into battlefields, and even the friendly skies aren't safe. Remember that scene where McClane confronts the mercenaries in the terminal annex? The sheer volume of gunfire, the shattering glass, the way those bullet hits sparked and popped on impact – it felt visceral back then. Renny Harlin wasn't afraid to push the envelope, sometimes right into gloriously over-the-top territory. It's a testament to Willis's enduring charm as McClane that even when things get preposterous (and they do), you're still rooting for the guy who just wants a quiet Christmas.
### The Beauty of Blowing Things Up For Real
Let's talk action, because Die Hard 2 is practically overflowing with it. This was the golden age of practical effects, folks, before CGI smoothed everything over. That scene where McClane uses the ejector seat in the plane cockpit? Sure, it’s nuts, but that fiery explosion felt real because, well, a lot of it was. They weren't painting fire in digitally; they were setting things ablaze! You felt the heat through the screen, even on a fuzzy CRT. A fun bit of trivia: the film's budget ballooned to around $70 million, more than double the original's, partly because of these ambitious sequences and the logistical nightmare of filming them. They even had major issues finding enough snow, having to truck tons of the stuff in and use artificial substitutes when filming in Denver during an unseasonably warm winter, forcing some location shifts.
And the fight on the wing of the moving 747? Come on! Watching McClane duke it out with Grant (John Leguizamo in an early role, though his character was originally meant to be played by John Glover who ended up playing the slimy reporter Thornburg instead!) felt genuinely perilous. You could almost feel the freezing wind and the roar of the engines. Today, that scene would likely involve extensive green screen, but back then, the danger felt palpable because the stunt performers were putting themselves in genuinely risky situations. It lends the action a weight, a certain grit, that’s often missing now. Even the smaller moments, like the icicle kill (Spoiler Alert! if you somehow missed this gem), had a brutal, physical impact that reportedly gave the MPAA fits, requiring cuts to avoid the dreaded NC-17 rating.
### More Than Just McClane
While Willis is the undeniable anchor, the supporting cast adds flavour. William Sadler creates a truly memorable villain – calm, collected, and utterly ruthless. His Colonel Stuart is a perfect foil for McClane's improvisational chaos. We also get the return of slimy reporter Richard Thornburg (William Atherton), still managing to be utterly punchable, and a great turn by Dennis Franz as the initially obstructive, later begrudgingly helpful airport police captain, Carmine Lorenzo. Their verbal sparring provides some classic McClane moments. It's also interesting that the script, penned by Steven E. de Souza (who worked on the original) and Doug Richardson, wasn't based on another Roderick Thorp novel featuring McClane, but rather adapted from Walter Wager's novel 58 Minutes, which featured a different protagonist entirely. They expertly retrofitted the plot to fit McClane's world.
Critically, Die Hard 2 didn't quite capture the universal acclaim of its predecessor. Some found the increased body count and escalating absurdity a step too far. But audiences? They turned out in droves. The film was a massive global hit, banking around $240 million worldwide, proving that the appetite for McClane's particular brand of holiday cheer (and destruction) was far from satisfied. It cemented Die Hard as a major franchise, paving the way for further sequels of varying quality.
***
VHS Heaven Rating: 8/10
Justification: While it doesn't quite reach the tightly-plotted perfection of the original, Die Hard 2 is a prime example of a sequel understanding its mission: go bigger, louder, and deliver spectacular, practically-realized action. Renny Harlin brings a slick, explosive style, Willis remains the everyman hero we love, and the sheer audacity of the set pieces (wing fight!) still impresses. It loses points for some plot contrivances and lacking the original's sharp character dynamics, but it absolutely nails the high-octane thrills expected in the golden age of VHS action blockbusters.
Final Take: This tape was practically glued into VCRs for a reason. Die Hard 2 is a bombastic, ridiculously entertaining slice of 90s action excess that understood the joy of watching things go boom – for real. Yippee-ki-yay... again.