Monday Sequel Spotlight: Die Hard 2

Welcome to a new weekly feature here at Movies With Abe. In this series, I’ll be taking a look at some famous (and infamous) sequels to see how they compare to the original. I'll do my best to alternate between the greats and the best forgotten. Leave your thoughts or a suggestion for a spotlight in the comments!

Die Hard 2
Directed by Renny Harlin
Released July 4, 1990

On Memorial Day, it seems fitting to feature an all-American hero, John McClane, who has no patience for terrorists and won’t sit back and let them ruin his Christmas. The first film, released in 1988, was a huge success, and paved the way for many other action movies over the past twenty years. The second film doesn’t necessarily get as much credit, but, objectively, it’s a fantastic follow-up. A new director didn’t change the excitement and the thrills as John’s wife was on a plane home and John, waiting for her in the airport, discovered a terrorist operation underway and wouldn’t let it take place on his watch. The humor of the first film is present again, and John embraces the “wrong place, wrong time” adage by stepping in to help when only airport police are present to help him take down the bad guys. In between Alan Rickman and Jeremy Irons, William Sadler, who appeared in “The Shawshank Redemption” and also recently guest-starred on “Hawaii Five-0,” is a fitting substitute, equally committed to destruction, no matter what the cost. Dennis Franz, pre-“NYPD Blue,” is also present to butt heads with McClane. This is the kind of role that Bruce Willis became famous for playing, and there’s a reason why that is. Watch the trailer above to travel back and experience the nostalgia. The follow-up films, “Die Hard: With a Vengeance” and “Die Hard: Live Free or Die Hard,” are actually pretty good as well, but neither of them does as a good a job of replicating the feel of the first film.