Die Hard 2 (4 Stars)

Like "Die Hard", this is another Christmas story, but only just. The word Christmas is used a few times to give the film a setting, but it has very little relevance to the story.

The film has been released with different names around the world. "Die Hard 2" is the original title used in the United States, but it's also called "Die Harder" in the UK and "Die Slowly" in Germany. In some countries it's called "58 Minutes to Live", because "Die Hard 2" is based on a novel called "58 Minutes" by Walter Wagner.

Once more John McClane is in action outside his jurisdiction as a New York police officer. He's at Washington DC's international airport waiting for his wife's plane to arrive from Los Angeles. He notices suspicious activity, which he passes on to the local police, but they don't believe him, so he has to do it all alone.

General Ramon Esperanza, the former dictator of a fictional South American country, is being extradited to the United States for drug trafficking. He's due to arrive soon. A team of mercenaries is waiting at the airport to free him on arrival. They shut off the lights and the communications systems at the airport, threatening to let all the aircraft circling overhead run out of fuel and crash if their demands aren't met. John McClane faces them as a one-man army. If he ever receives assistance from others, those who help him are incompetent and just get in his way.

This film isn't quite up to the standard of "Die Hard", but I still enjoyed it a lot. I miss the claustrophobic atmosphere of the first film. John McClane is doubtlessly Bruce Willis' signature role, however many good films he might have made in his life. He was one of the outstanding action heroes of the 20th Century, and his days aren't over yet.

Success Rate:  + 1.4

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