''Die Hard 2'' (also known by its tagline ''Die Harder'')
[The film's onscreen title is ''Die Hard 2'', as also given at the initial home-video release']
official website
The film's original advertising used "Die Harder" as a tagline, and many releases of the film (e.g. the 2006 DVD release and 2007 Blu-ray release) were marketed under the title ''Die Hard 2: Die Harder''. is a 1990 American
action-thriller film
Action film is a film genre in which the protagonist is thrust into a series of events that typically involve violence and physical feats. The genre tends to feature a mostly resourceful hero struggling against incredible odds, which include life ...
and the second installment in the
''Die Hard'' film series. The film was released on July 4, 1990, in the United States. The film was directed by
Renny Harlin
Renny Harlin (born 15 March 1959) is a Finnish film director, Film producer, producer, and screenwriter who has made his career in Cinema of the United States, Hollywood and Cinema of China, China. His best-known films include ''A Nightmare on Elm ...
, and written by
Steven E. de Souza
Stephen or Steven is a common English first name. It is particularly significant to Christians, as it belonged to Saint Stephen ( grc-gre, Στέφανος ), an early disciple and deacon who, according to the Book of Acts, was stoned to death; ...
and
Doug Richardson
Doug Richardson is an American screenwriter and novelist who writes action movies and thrillers. He is best known for writing movies like ''Die Hard 2'', '' Bad Boys'', and ''Hostage'' and was the first Hollywood writer to sell a spec script for ...
. It stars
Bruce Willis
Walter Bruce Willis (born March 19, 1955) is a retired American actor. He achieved fame with a leading role on the comedy-drama series ''Moonlighting'' (1985–1989) and appeared in over a hundred films, gaining recognition as an action hero a ...
as
John McClane
John McClane is a fictional character and main protagonist of the ''Die Hard'' film series, based on Joe Leland from Roderick Thorp's action novel, '' Nothing Lasts Forever''. McClane was portrayed in all five films by actor Bruce Willis, and ...
. The film co-stars
Bonnie Bedelia
Bonnie Bedelia Culkin (born ) is an American actress. After beginning her career in theatre in the 1960s, Bedelia starred in the CBS daytime soap opera ''Love of Life'' and made her film debut in ''The Gypsy Moths''. Bedelia subsequently appeare ...
,
William Sadler,
Art Evans,
William Atherton
William Atherton Knight (born July 30, 1947) is an American actor, best known for portraying Richard Thornburg in ''Die Hard'' and its sequel and Walter Peck in ''Ghostbusters''.
Early life
Atherton was born in Orange, Connecticut, the son ...
,
Franco Nero
Francesco Clemente Giuseppe Sparanero (born 23 November 1941), known professionally as Franco Nero, is an Italian actor, producer, and director. His breakthrough role was as the title character in the Spaghetti Western film '' Django'' (1966), ...
,
Dennis Franz
Dennis Franz Schlachta (; born October 28, 1944), known professionally as Dennis Franz, is an American retired actor best known for his role as NYPD Detective Andy Sipowicz in the ABC television series ''NYPD Blue'' (1993–2005), a role that ea ...
,
Fred Thompson
Freddie Dalton Thompson (August 19, 1942 – November 1, 2015) was an American politician, attorney, lobbyist, columnist, actor, and radio personality. A member of the Republican Party, he served as a United States Senator from Tennessee f ...
,
John Amos
John Allen Amos Jr. (born December 27, 1939) is an American actor known for his role as James Evans Sr. on the CBS television series ''Good Times''. Amos's other television work includes ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'', a recurring role as Admir ...
, and
Reginald VelJohnson
Reginald VelJohnson (born Reginald VelJohnson; August 16, 1952) is an American actor. He is best known for playing police officer characters, such as Carl Winslow on the sitcom ''Family Matters,'' which ran from 1989 to 1998, and LAPD Sergeant A ...
.
As with the first film, the action in ''Die Hard 2'' takes place on Christmas Eve. McClane is waiting for his wife to land at
Washington Dulles International Airport
Washington Dulles International Airport , typically referred to as Dulles International Airport, Dulles Airport, Washington Dulles, or simply Dulles ( ), is an international airport in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Eastern United States, loc ...
when terrorists take over the air traffic control system. He must stop the terrorists before his wife's plane and several other incoming flights that are circling the airport run out of fuel and crash. During the night, McClane must also contend with airport police and a military commander, none of whom want his assistance.
The film was preceded by ''
Die Hard
''Die Hard'' is a 1988 American action film directed by John McTiernan, with a screenplay by Jeb Stuart and Steven E. de Souza. Based on the 1979 novel '' Nothing Lasts Forever'', by Roderick Thorp, it stars Bruce Willis, Alan Rickman, Ale ...
'' (1988) and followed by ''
Die Hard with a Vengeance
''Die Hard with a Vengeance'' is a 1995 American action thriller film directed by John McTiernan (who directed the first installment). It was written by Jonathan Hensleigh, based on the screenplay ''Simon Says'' by Hensleigh and on the charact ...
'' (1995), ''
Live Free or Die Hard
''Live Free or Die Hard'' (released as ''Die Hard 4.0'' outside North America) is a 2007 American action-thriller film directed by Len Wiseman, and serves as the fourth installment in the ''Die Hard'' film series. It is based on the 1997 articl ...
'' (2007), and ''
A Good Day to Die Hard
''A Good Day to Die Hard'' is a 2013 American action thriller film and the fifth and final installment in the ''Die Hard'' film series. The film was directed by John Moore and written by Skip Woods, and stars Bruce Willis as John McClane in hi ...
'' (2013).
Plot
On
Christmas Eve
Christmas Eve is the evening or entire day before Christmas Day, the festival commemorating the birth of Jesus. Christmas Day is observed around the world, and Christmas Eve is widely observed as a full or partial holiday in anticipation ...
, two years after the events of the
previous film,
John McClane
John McClane is a fictional character and main protagonist of the ''Die Hard'' film series, based on Joe Leland from Roderick Thorp's action novel, '' Nothing Lasts Forever''. McClane was portrayed in all five films by actor Bruce Willis, and ...
is now a lieutenant with the
L.A.P.D, who arrives at
Dulles International Airport
Washington Dulles International Airport , typically referred to as Dulles International Airport, Dulles Airport, Washington Dulles, or simply Dulles ( ), is an international airport in the Eastern United States, located in Loudoun County and Fai ...
to pick up his wife, Holly. Meanwhile, a plane carrying corrupt foreign military leader General Ramon Esperanza is also headed to Dulles under extradition for using U.S. funds to buy drugs. Waiting to meet Esperanza's plane is disgraced former Colonel William Stuart and a group of ex-military sympathizers who supported Esperanza's actions. Suspicious, McClane follows two of Stuart's men into a restricted baggage sorting area where a gun fight ensues. McClane kills one man, but the other escapes.
With the help of his friend, Sergeant
Al Powell
Sergeant Al Powell is a fictional character from the 1988 action film ''Die Hard'', portrayed by Reginald VelJohnson. Powell is an off-duty police officer who gets called into work to investigate a potential hostage situation at Nakatomi Plaza. P ...
, he discovers that the dead man's fingerprints correspond to an American soldier who died in a helicopter accident two years ago. Putting this together with Esperanza's imminent arrival, McClane reports his concerns to the airport police chief, Carmine Lorenzo, and
air traffic control
Air traffic control (ATC) is a service provided by ground-based air traffic controllers who direct aircraft on the ground and through a given section of controlled airspace, and can provide advisory services to aircraft in non-controlled airs ...
director Ed Trudeau, but neither believe him. They are convinced when Stuart and his men, operating out of a church on the outskirts of the airport, cut all communications with incoming airplanes, disable all runway lighting, and demand that Esperanza's plane be allowed to land without interference. Under Stuart's direction, Trudeau orders all air traffic controllers to have all planes in Dulles airspace hold in the air despite their low fuel warnings.
McClane becomes worried about Holly's plane and enlists the help of the airport janitor Marvin to fight back. Chief airport engineer Leslie Barnes decides to try using an unfinished antenna array to communicate with the stranded circling airplanes. Carmine sends an airport SWAT team with him, but Stuart's men kill them all and destroy the antenna. Barnes is saved by McClane. In retaliation, Stuart crashes a British airplane killing everyone onboard by impersonating air traffic control and faking the airplane's
altimeter
An altimeter or an altitude meter is an instrument used to measure the altitude of an object above a fixed level. The measurement of altitude is called altimetry, which is related to the term bathymetry, the measurement of depth under water. The m ...
reading. Once Esperanza's plane lands, McClane wounds Esperanza before Stuart and his men arrive. They blow up the plane and take Esperanza to the church, but fail to kill McClane. A
U.S. Special Forces
The United States Army Special Forces (SF), colloquially known as the "Green Berets" due to their distinctive service Berets of the United States Army, headgear, are a special operations special operations force, force of the United States Ar ...
team arrives, led by Major Grant, for whom Stuart is a protégé.
Grant's men and McClane attack the church. McClane kills one of Stuart's men and gives chase with his gun, but the mercenaries escape on snowmobiles. Confused as to why he failed to wound anyone, McClane realizes the gun was filled with
blanks, meaning Grant's team is secretly cooperating with Stuart, and the firefight was staged. Grant, Stuart, their men, and Esperanza all rendezvous at an airport hangar, where a
Boeing 747
The Boeing 747 is a large, long-range wide-body airliner designed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes in the United States between 1968 and 2022.
After introducing the 707 in October 1958, Pan Am wanted a jet times its size, t ...
that they demanded is waiting for them. On Holly's flight, arrogant reporter Richard Thornburg becomes suspicious as to why the plane hasn't landed. He taps into the cockpit communications and records an earlier surreptitious transmission from Barnes to all the circling airplanes describing the situation. In the airplane's lavatory, he broadcasts the recording live on television, leading to a panic in the airport terminal which prevents McClane and Carmine from getting to the 747. Holly subdues Thornburg with a fellow passenger's stun gun.
McClane asks a news crew to fly him via helicopter to intercept the 747. McClane jumps onto the wing and uses his coat to jam the
aileron
An aileron (French for "little wing" or "fin") is a hinged flight control surface usually forming part of the trailing edge of each wing of a fixed-wing aircraft. Ailerons are used in pairs to control the aircraft in roll (or movement around ...
, preventing the plane from taking off. McClane kills Grant, and then opens the fuel valve in the wing during a struggle with Stuart. After Stuart kicks McClane off the wing, McClane uses a cigarette lighter to ignite the fuel trail, exploding the plane and killing everyone on board. The fire trail also serves as a landing guide for all airborne aircraft, including Holly's, to land safely. After McClane and Holly are reunited, Marvin picks them up in his airport cart and drives them away.
Cast
Additional cast members include Stuart's henchmen:
Don Harvey as Garber,
John Costelloe as Sergeant Oswald Cochrane,
Vondie Curtis-Hall
Vondie Curtis-Hall is an American actor, screenwriter, film director, and television director. As an actor, he is known for his role as Dr. Dennis Hancock on the CBS medical drama '' Chicago Hope'' created by David E. Kelley and as Ben Urich in ...
as Miller,
John Leguizamo
John Alberto Leguizamo Peláez (; ; born July 22, 196013:04) is an American actor, comedian, and film producer. He has appeared in over 100 films, produced over 20 films and documentaries, made over 30 television appearances, and has produced ...
as Burke,
Robert Patrick
Robert Hammond Patrick (born November 5, 1958) is an American actor. Known for portraying villains and honorable authority figures, he is a Saturn Award winner with four other nominations.
Patrick dropped out of college when drama class sparked ...
as O'Reilly,
Tom Verica
Tom Verica (born May 13, 1964) is an American actor, director, and producer, best known for his role as Sam Keating in the ABC drama ''How to Get Away with Murder'' (2014-2020). He also played Jack Pryor in the NBC critically acclaimed drama ''Am ...
as Kahn,
Tony Ganios
Tony may refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Tony (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters
* Gregory Tony (born 1978), American law enforcement officer
* Motu Tony (born 1981), New Zealand international rugby leag ...
as Baker, Michael Cunningham as Sheldon,
Peter Nelson as Thompson, Ken Baldwin as Mulkey, and
Mark Boone Junior
Mark Boone Junior (born Mark Heidrich; March 17, 1955) is an American character actor, best known for his TV roles as Bobby Munson in ''Sons of Anarchy'' (2008–14) and Patrick "Pat" Brown in '' Last Man On Earth'', and film roles in Christopher ...
as Shockley.
Patrick O'Neal appears as Telford, Major Grant's radio operator.
Production
Development and writing
The screenplay was adapted from
Walter Wager
Walter Herman Wager (September 4, 1924 – July 11, 2004) was an American crime and espionage-thriller novelist and former editor-in-chief of ''Playbill'' magazine. The movie '' Telefon'', starring Charles Bronson, was inspired by his novel of t ...
's 1987 novel ''
58 Minutes
''58 Minutes'' is a 1987 thriller novel by American novelist Walter Wager. The novel was the basis for the 1990 film ''Die Hard 2''.
Plot
Frank Malone is a divorced NYPD captain who is waiting at JFK international airport in New York City for h ...
''. The novel has the same plot but differs slightly: a police officer must stop terrorists who take an airport hostage while his daughter's plane circles overhead, and has 58 minutes to do so before the plane crashes.
Roderick Thorp
Roderick Mayne Thorp, Jr. (September 1, 1936 – April 28, 1999) was an American novelist specializing mainly in police procedural/crime novels. His novel '' The Detective'' was adapted into a film of the same name in 1968. Thorp is also better ...
, who wrote the 1979 novel ''
Nothing Lasts Forever'', upon which ''Die Hard'' was based, receives credit for creating "certain original characters", although his name is misspelled onscreen as "Roderick Thorpe".
One of the writers of the screenplay, Steven E. de Souza, later admitted in an interview for the book ''Action Speaks Louder: Violence, Spectacle, and the American Action Movie'' that the villains were based on America's "Central American" meddling, primarily the
Iran–Contra affair
The Iran–Contra affair ( fa, ماجرای ایران-کنترا, es, Caso Irán–Contra), often referred to as the Iran–Contra scandal, the McFarlane affair (in Iran), or simply Iran–Contra, was a political scandal in the United States ...
.
The film was originally budgeted at $40 million.
[ Bruce Willis was paid $7.5 million for reprising his role for the film.] Producer Joel Silver
Joel Silver (born July 14, 1952) is an American film producer.
Life and career
Silver was born and raised in South Orange, New Jersey, the son of a writer and a public relations executive. His family is Jewish. He attended Columbia High School i ...
was accused of profligate spending and it was claimed the film cost $62–70 million.[ Fox domestic distribution president ]Tom Sherak
Thomas Mitchell Sherak (June 22, 1945 – January 28, 2014) was an American film producer who was president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Biography
Sherak was born in Brooklyn and studied at New York City Community Col ...
dismissed the $70 million claim as "absurd".[ It was reported at the end of filming that Silver had been relieved of day-to-day producing duties.]
Scenes of Dulles airport in the snow were to be filmed in Denver but was scrapped due to warm weather. Some outdoor scenes were filmed in Alpena, Michigan, while others needing to accommodate the landing of the 747 with snow were filmed at former Kincheloe Air Force Base
Kincheloe Air Force Base was a United States Air Force (USAF) base during the Cold War. Built in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan in 1943 during World War II, the base was in service
The base was known by various names, including Kinross Munic ...
in Kincheloe, Michigan. Other scenes were filmed on a sound stage in Los Angeles using fake snow.[
''Die Hard 2'' was the first film to use digitally composited live-action footage with a traditional ]matte painting
A matte painting is a painting, painted representation of a landscape, set (film and TV scenery), set, or distant location that allows filmmaking, filmmakers to create the illusion of an environment that is not present at the filming location. H ...
that had been photographed and scanned into a computer. It was used for the last scene, which took place on a runway.
According to Franco Nero, Silver got the idea to cast him after he saw movie posters of Nero hanging in the office of their mutual accountant. Nero did not want to do ''Die Hard 2'' because he did not like the script and he had committed to do the film '' Breath of Life''. Finally, Silver scheduled Nero's scenes in such a way that the actor could do both films.
Release
Marketing
In a trailer for the film screened during Christmas 1989, the film had a planned release date of June 29, 1990. This was brought forward to June 22; however, following claims of the film running over time and budget, the release date was pushed back two weeks to July 4.
Home media
The film debuted on video in the United States on January 31, 1991, and it was the most rented video in its first week above ''Navy SEALs
The United States Navy Sea, Air, and Land (SEAL) Teams, commonly known as Navy SEALs, are the United States Navy, U.S. Navy's primary special operations force and a component of the United States Naval Special Warfare Command, Naval Special Wa ...
'' and sold a record 505,000 units for rental.
The film became available on DVD
The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...
on March 9, 1999, followed by a 2-Disc Special Edition DVD on July 10, 2001, as part of the Die Hard Ultimate Collection DVD and re-released again in early 2005 as a Widescreen Edition and June 19, 2007, followed by a Blu-ray
The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of sto ...
release on November 20, 2007, and a re-release on January 29, 2013.
Reception
Box office
''Die Hard 2'' exceeded all expectations by outdoing the box office success of ''Die Hard''. The film had the largest pre-opening, earning $3.7 million from 1,828 theaters. For six years, it would hold this record until it was surpassed by ''Independence Day
An independence day is an annual event commemorating the anniversary of a nation's independence or statehood, usually after ceasing to be a group or part of another nation or state, or more rarely after the end of a military occupation. Man ...
'' in 1996. It had a wide release In the American motion picture industry, a wide release (short for nationwide release) is a film playing at the same time at cinemas in most markets across the country. This is in contrast to the formerly common practice of a roadshow theatrical re ...
in 2,507 theaters in the United States and Canada, grossing $21.7 million its opening weekend. ''Die Hard 2'' went on to gross $117.5 million in the United States and Canada, and $122.5 million internationally, earning over $240 million worldwide, almost doubling that of ''Die Hard''. The film was re-released internationally in 1993 and made $216,339 more, which totaled its gross to $240.2 million.
Critical response
On Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
, ''Die Hard 2'' has an approval rating of based on reviews, with an average rating of . The site's critical consensus reads: "It lacks the fresh thrills of its predecessor, but ''Die Hard 2'' still works as an over-the-top – and reasonably taut – big-budget sequel, with plenty of set pieces to paper over the plot deficiencies." On Metacritic
Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
, the film has a weighted average score of 67 out of 100, based on 17 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore
CinemaScore is a market research firm based in Las Vegas. It surveys film audiences to rate their viewing experiences with letter grades, reports the results, and forecasts box office receipts based on the data.
Background
Ed Mintz founded Ci ...
gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale.
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert (; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American film critic, film historian, journalist, screenwriter, and author. He was a film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, Ebert beca ...
, who gave the original film a mixed review, described the sequel as "terrific entertainment", despite noting substantial credibility problems with the plot. Jay Boyar of the ''Orlando Sentinel
The ''Orlando Sentinel'' is the primary newspaper of Orlando, Florida, and the Central Florida region. It was founded in 1876 and is currently owned by Tribune Publishing Company.
The ''Orlando Sentinel'' is owned by parent company, '' Tribune P ...
'' dubbed the film as being as disappointing a sequel as ''Another 48 Hrs.
''Another 48 Hrs.'' is a 1990 American buddy cop film directed by Walter Hill (director), Walter Hill and starring Eddie Murphy, Nick Nolte, Brion James, Andrew Divoff, and Ed O'Ross. It is the sequel to the 1982 film ''48 Hrs.'' Nolte reprises h ...
'' and ''RoboCop 2
''RoboCop 2'' is a 1990 American science fiction action film directed by Irvin Kershner and written by Frank Miller and Walon Green. It stars Peter Weller, Nancy Allen, Dan O'Herlihy, Belinda Bauer, Tom Noonan and Gabriel Damon. It is the seq ...
'', and said, Whatever small pleasure there is to be found in this loud dud is due mostly to the residual good feelings from the first film... As played by Bruce Willis, McClane is still an engaging character, even if he is much less amusingly drawn this time. Willis is in there trying, but the qualities that helped to make his character sympathetic in the first film are missing. McClane no longer worries openly about his personal safety, as he did in the original movie. His quasi-cowboy personality from ''Die Hard'' is all but forgotten – he has become more of a Rambo and less of a Roy Rogers. And though the filmmakers try to establish McClane as resistant to advanced technology, this promising idea isn't developed.
''Empire
An empire is a "political unit" made up of several territories and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the empire (sometimes referred to as the metropole) ex ...
'' magazine rated the film three out of five stars, while stating, "It's entertaining nonsense that doesn't quite manage to recapture the magic of the original. Still, there are some nice moments here, and Willis is on solid ground as the iconic McClane."
Gene Siskel
Eugene Kal Siskel (January 26, 1946 – February 20, 1999) was an American film critic and journalist for the ''Chicago Tribune''. Along with colleague Roger Ebert, he hosted a series of movie review programs on television from 1975 until his d ...
ranked the film as the sixth best movie of 1990. ''Maxim
Maxim or Maksim may refer to:
Entertainment
* ''Maxim'' (magazine), an international men's magazine
** ''Maxim'' (Australia), the Australian edition
** ''Maxim'' (India), the Indian edition
*Maxim Radio, ''Maxim'' magazine's radio channel on Sir ...
'' magazine ranked the film's plane crash #2 on its list of "Greatest Movie Plane Crashes".
Notes
References
External links
*
*
*
*
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Die Hard 2
1990 films
1990 action thriller films
1990s Christmas films
20th Century Fox films
American action thriller films
American aviation films
American Christmas films
American sequel films
Die Hard
1990s English-language films
Films about aviation accidents or incidents
Films about hostage takings
Films about murderers
Films about terrorism in the United States
Films about United States Army Special Forces
Films based on American thriller novels
Films based on multiple works
Films directed by Renny Harlin
Films produced by Charles Gordon
Films produced by Lawrence Gordon
Films produced by Joel Silver
Films scored by Michael Kamen
Films set in 1990
Films set in airports
Films set in Virginia
Films set in Washington, D.C.
Films set on airplanes
Films shot in California
Films shot in Colorado
Films shot in Los Angeles
Films shot in Michigan
Films shot in Washington (state)
Films with screenplays by Steven E. de Souza
Silver Pictures films
1990s American films