To be perfectly honest, I was skeptical about "Die Hard 2." Not for the standard reason that sequels are usually inferior to their predecessors, but because "Die Hard" was so clearly a "a director's picture."
John McTiernan, who earlier directed "Predator" and later gave us "The Hunt for Red October," was obviously the guiding force that made the first "Die Hard" such an exceptionally exciting thriller.
But, like the inferior "RoboCop 2," which also had a different director taking over the reigns after a well-crafted original (Paul Verhoeven moved on to "Total Recall"), I expected "Die Hard 2" to suffer.
Especially since the only earlier film credit listed for the new "Die Hard 2" director, Renny Harlin, was "A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master," which, as regular readers know, is not exactly my favorite film series.
But doggone if Harlin doesn't pull it off. And he even manages to correct a few — though not all — of the first film's missteps.
For the uninitiated, "Die Hard" was an action-packed thriller focusing on New York cop John McClane (Bruce Willis) and his single-handed battle against terrorists (who turn out not to be terrorists) in a Los Angeles high-rise office building on Christmas Eve.
The film was loaded with slam-bang sequences that had audience members gritting their teeth and grabbing the arms of people sitting next to them — whether or not they came in together. It was "Indiana Jones" as a modern-day cop in a claustrophobic setting. And, as with the best thrillers, the rapid-fire pace kept us from scrutinizing the plot.
So it is with "Die Hard 2," also loaded with plausibility problems, but so fast a mover that we can't think about it. And that's all to the good.
The setting this time is Dulles International Airport in Washington, D.C., where McClane is going to pick up his wife (Bonnie Bedelia) during a visit with her parents.
Almost immediately we are introduced to the chief villain, a renegade military officer who has an elaborate plan to interrupt the airport's communications and take control of landing all planes in order to rescue a Latin American dictator/drug kingpin.
The ever-suspicious McClane spots some shady characters in the airport's luggage loading areas and before you can say "machine gun," the thrills begin.
Most of the exposition sequences are merely filler between action scenes — McClane in a fight on the luggage conveyer belt (similar to a scene in "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom"), McClane in a fight on an airplane wing (which may bring to mind "Raiders of the Lost Ark"), McClane climbing out of a manhole onto the airport right under a landing plane, etc.
But it is how well-crafted each and every action scene is that makes "Die Hard 2" perhaps the best of this summer's spate of violent action thrillers.
The one major drawback I found a bit frustrating was that among the many villains here, not one is as compelling and enjoyably evil as Alan Rickman in the first "Die Hard." Therefore, none seems a match for McClane. And this film lacks the many little character touches — particularly with the villains — that gave the first film extra depth.
On the other hand, director Harlin and crew wisely eliminated the obnoxious goofball police chief played by Paul Gleason in the first film, and they don't try to pull the old killer-that-wouldn't-die ending on us, which was a big disappointment in "Die Hard."
And it's nice to see John Amos among the cast members, as the major in charge of military rescue operations. There are also solid acting turns by William Sadler, Art Evans and Dennis Franz as airport officials. Bonnie Bedelia is always delightful, but she doesn't have much to do here — again.
William Atherton is also back as the smarmy TV journalist, though his character's presence seems overly contrived this time out, and Reginald Veljohnson, terrific as the cop who helped Willis by walkie-talkie in the first film, is reduced to a Twinkie-gorging cameo here.
Actually, it's Tom Bower who steals the show, as a goofy janitor who offers assistance to McClane from time to time.
Willis has certainly found his niche, and he's terrific as the wise-cracking, ever-exasperated street cop McClane. And if they could all be as terrific as the first two, I wouldn't mind having him return in "Die Hard 3" — or beyond.
"Die Hard 2" is rated R for violence and as much gore and wall-to-wall profanity as the first film offered, plus a scene with male nudity.