Die Hard 2 (1990)

John McClane, officer of the NYPD and hero of the Nakatomi Hostage Crisis, attempts to avert disaster as rogue military officials seize control of Dulles International Airport in Washington, D.C.

Director:

Renny Harlin

Writers:

Walter Wager (novel), Steven E. de Souza (screenplay),

Stars:

Bruce Willis, Bonnie Bedelia, William Atherton

1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Bruce Willis	...	Lt. John McClane
Bonnie Bedelia	...	Holly McClane
William Atherton	...	Richard Thornburg
Reginald VelJohnson	...	Sgt. Al Powell
Franco Nero	...	Gen. Ramon Esperanza
William Sadler	...	Col. Stuart
John Amos	...	Maj. Grant
Dennis Franz	...	Capt. Carmine Lorenzo
Art Evans	...	Leslie Barnes
Fred Dalton Thompson	...	Trudeau
Tom Bower	...	Marvin
Sheila McCarthy	...	Samantha 'Sam' Coleman
Don Harvey	...	Garber
Tony Ganios	...	Baker
Peter Nelson	...	Thompson

Storyline

After the terrifying events in LA, John McClane (Willis) is about to go through it all again. A team of terrorists, led by Col. Stuart (Sadler) is holding the entire airport hostage. The terrorists are planning to rescue a drug lord from justice. In order to do so, they have seized control of all electrical equipment affecting all planes. With no runway lights available, all aircraft have to remain in the air, with fuel running low, McClane will need to be fast.

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Plot Keywords:

airport | airplane | plane | fuel | colonel | 

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Taglines:

Die Harder.

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Genres:

Action | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Details

Official Sites:

foxhome.com - Behind-the-Scenes and ensemble cast

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

4 July 1990 (USA)

Also Known As:

Die Hard 2: Die Harder

Filming Locations:

Alpena Airport, Alpena, Michigan, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$70,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$117,541,000 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, Gordon Company, Silver Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

124 min

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) Dolby SR (35 mm prints)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In the "Making of" Featurette for Die Hard: With a Vengeance, actor William Sadler (Col. Stuart) said that for this movie, his favorite part pertaining to his character was when Col. Stuart crashes the Windsor Air plane by pretending to be someone from the tower.

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Goofs

When talking to Powell on the phone, with the female desk staff listening, McClane mentions his stay at his in-laws and also that he's waiting for his wife. Afterwards when the desk staff asks him for a date, he shows his engagement ring as if the girl doesn't know he's married. However some people aren't bothered about asking out married men/women, some people are unfaithful.

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Quotes

Richard Thornburg: [Thornburg has been grossly distorting and exaggerating the facts about the terrorists to WZDC News over the air-phone] But at least the truth, is *not* among the hostages because I, Richard Thornburg, just happen to be here. To put his life and talent on the line for humanity and country,
[Holly enters the bathroom]
Richard Thornburg: and if this should be my final broadcast...
Holly McClane: [zaps him with stun-gun] Amen to that, Dick!

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Connections

Referenced in Inspector Gadget's Biggest Caper Ever (2005)

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Soundtracks

"CAROL OF THE BELLS"
Written by Peter Wilhousky

User Reviews

You can't get too much of a good thing

For those who argue that Die Hard 2 is a desperate re-hash of the original... So what? I didn't expect a companion piece like The Godfather Part II. Die Hard was about a really cool guy in a really bad situation, and the result was probably the greatest action movie ever made. Die Hard 2 achieves status on its own just by being about the same thing. When so many movies want to be Die Hard but fail, why not just make another Die Hard? Director Renny Harlin (Cliffhanger)realized that because it's a sequel, there had to be more stunts and explosions. So there is. Die Hard 2 (appropriately called Die Harder) ups the ante a bit and has fun with a flurry of furious action scenarios. The fight on the wing of the plane is a classic in its own right, and Die Hard 2 stands alone as one of the best of the genre.