Product Details

• Actors: Bruce Willis, William Atherton, Bonnie Bedelia, William Sadler, Reginald VelJohnson
• Directors: Renny Harlin
• Writers: Doug Richardson, Steven E. de Souza, Walter Wager
• Producers: Charles Gordon, James Herbert, Joel Silver, Lawrence Gordon
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, Letterboxed, THX, Widescreen, NTSC
• Language: French (Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround), English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround), English (Dolby Digital 5.1)
• Subtitles: English, Spanish
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rating: R (Restricted)
• Studio: 20th Century Fox
• DVD Release Date: March 9, 1999
• Run Time: 124 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (113 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6305280703
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #23,014 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #11 in	Movies & TV > Action & Adventure > Action Directors > Renny Harlin
  #13 in	Movies & TV > Action & Adventure > Series & Sequels > Die Hard
  #49 in	Movies & TV > Action & Adventure > Action Stars > Bruce Willis

• For more information about "Die Hard 2: Die Harder" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Director Renny Harlin (Cutthroat Island) took the reins of this 1990 sequel, which places Bruce Willis's New York City cop character in harm's way again with a gaggle of terrorists. This time, Willis awaits his wife's arrival at Dulles Airport in Washington, D.C., when he gets wind of a plot to blow up the facility. Noisy, overbearing, and forgettable, the film has none of the purity of its predecessor's simple story; and it makes a huge miscalculation in allowing a terrible tragedy to occur rather than stretch out the tension. Where Die Hard set new precedents in action movies, Die Hard 2 is just an anything-goes spectacle. --Tom Keogh

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Yippee... you know the rest, January 31, 2008

By	Gunner (Bethlehem,Georgia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Die Hard 2 - Die Harder [Blu-ray] (Blu-ray)

Die Hard 2 DVD


Once again John McClane deals with terrorists at Christmas time; once again McClane is forced to crawl through ventilation shafts muttering to himself; once again McClane climbs up and out of elevators; once again no one's going to take the threat seriously but McClane. And once again, McClane gets to drop everyone's favorite line: "Yippi ki-yay, motherf----r."

To make things worse, the film itself, adapted from the novel "58 Minutes" by Walter Wager, is unrealistic nearly to the point of ridiculousness. McClane dodges bullets and chases villains on snowmobiles like Roger Moore's James Bond. What made McClane so appealing in the original film was the fact that he was an everyman, not the unbeatable hero he would seem in "Die Hard 2," were he not saved by a down-to-earth performance from Willis. There are points at which scoffing is inevitable. That's not helped by William Sadler's villain, who pales in comparison with Alan Rickman's Hans Gruber. There's plenty of:
-cussing
-shooting
-Explosions, and
-action
In other words a typical Die Hard movie


"Die Hard 2" isn't bad, though. Viewed as a standalone film, it's actually quite good, and considering the stature of its predecessor, it's a decent sequel, too. It recalls "Die Hard" enough to get by, but what really keeps the film afloat is Harlin's cold, sharp style, which adds just the visual flair the film needs to entertain. On the topic of visuals, there are two truly stellar shots in this film. The first is a frightening plane crash, the one time John McClane doesn't succeed (though of course what doesn't kill you only makes you stronger). The second is a shot of McClane, strapped to an ejector seat, shooting up into the sky toward the camera as a jet blows up below him, cursing and then falling to the ground.

Though it's not the action spectacle that was McTiernan's classic, "Die Hard 2" is a decent film, guaranteed to liven up a dull night. It has enough of the original to satisfy, enough brainless action to entertain, and the kind of clever directing that makes that brainless action seem worth something.

Recommended for fans of Bruce Willis and Die Hard fans

Gunner January, 2008

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars NOT AS GOOD AS THE FIRST, BUT A WORTHY SEQUEL!, August 11, 2007

By	! MR. KNOW IT ALL ;-b "DR SHOCK" (TRI STATE AREA) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

This review is from: Die Hard 2 - Die Harder (DVD)

I did not remember the story in Die Hard 2 as well as the original. This made seeing it again a treat, because I did not know what was going to happen. Some complain that it is a "been there, done that" Movie, but I didn't see it that way at all. This is a very good action film! Willis is great as the wisecracking cop who is always in the wrong place at the wrong time. The action never stops and the plot twist did surprise me. I have the Ultimate collection and I think that is the way to go if you are into the Die Hard films. Each film comes with great transfers and plenty of extras of two disc sets for each! I found the set for peanuts. Under $15.00 for a 6 disc set isn't bad.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars How can the same thing happen to the same guy twice?, June 26, 2002

By	trebe - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

This review is from: Die Hard 2 - Die Harder (Special Edition) (DVD)

The makers of Die Hard 2, hoped to surpass the success of the original Die Hard. While the second film may feature action on a larger scale, the plot does not draw the audience into the story in the same way the first Die Hard did. Director and action movie specialist, Renny Harlin, is only partially successful at creating and sustaining a high level of suspense and excitement, working with a script that could have been stood a bit more polish.

Once again police officer John McClane (Bruce Willis) gets into some heavy-duty action on Christmas Eve. This time it's at Dulles Airport, in Washington, where terrorists have taken control and seek the release of a foreign general. McClane is suddenly in the middle of the action, seeking to foil the plot and also save his wife Holly (Bonnie Bedelia), who is a passenger on a circling plane, in danger of running out of fuel.

Die Hard 2, is a very different film from Die Hard. Some of the elements most critical to the success of the first film, are not present. The first time around, action was confined to a limited area, a few floors in the Nakatomi Plaza. The danger to McClane's wife was more immediate and real, reinforced by the menacing presence of supercrook Hans Gruber, played with style by Alan Rickman. There was real antagonism between McClane and Gruber, which propelled the movie. In Die Hard 2, the action is spread over a much wider stage, with many more players. McClane, though still a one-man army, never establishes a relationship with one principal "baddie". Colonel Stuart (William Sadler), the wild-eyed leader of the mercenaries is rather robotic, and lacks any special charisma. McClane and wife Holly, are pretty much out of touch throughout the critical phases of the movie. And if not for the "coincidental" presence of news reporter Dick Thornburg (William Atherton) from the first film, Holly would have almost nothing to do. A logical plot, is secondary to the action. If not, then the "same thing" wouldn't happen to the "same guy".

Die Hard 2 - Die Harder, is a good action film, that takes a different approach from its predecessor. There is no shortage of action, but the "intimacy" that characterized the first film is absent. Bigger? Yes. Better? Perhaps not.

The Special Edition DVD features director Renny Harlin's detailed and revealing commentary. As usual, he is very informative, insightful, and frank, in discussing the production of the film. Harlin's commentaries are among the best, for their honesty. You also get a second disc with a couple of documentaries, deleted scenes, interview with Harlin, and other special features.