Bruno-Vision: Die Hard 2: Die Harder

Welcome back to Bruno-Vision! A deep dive into the career of Bruce Willis by yours truly, Robert Jordan Hunt. 

Last I left you dear reader, our boy Bruno had swung for the fences with his dramatic performance in the Vietnam drama In Country, but unfortunately it turned out to be a big fat miss, with audiences and critics largely ignoring it (despite the actor giving a genuinely great performance). 

Willis knew it was time to give the people what they wanted most. Die Hard 2. 

This sequel was a high priority for its studio, 20th Century Fox, as they saw the perfect opportunity for a franchise. The sequel had a budget of $70 million (compared to the original’s $28 million) and its star received $7.5 million (up from the historic $5 million he made for the first). They got Steven E. de Souza back to write this follow up, while bringing back co stars Bonnie Bedeila, William Atherton, and even a quick cameo from Reginald VelJohnson. 

In fact, the only major creative voice not to return for the sequel was director John McTiernan, who was busy directing another action masterpiece, The Hunt For Red October. 

Now, as is wont to happen with sequels, the studio realized they could save money with a new up and coming director. Luckily, that director turned out to be Renny Harlin, fresh from another successful sequel, A Nightmare On Elm Street 4: The Dream Master, and would later go on to direct Cliffhanger, The Long Kiss Goodnight, and Deep Blue Sea. 

Harlin had just proved he could successfully jump into a franchise and deliver exactly what the studio wanted, so hope was high that he could do it again. 

In my humble opinion, the director did just that. Die Hard 2: Die Harder is obviously not as good as its predecessor, but it was also never going to be (especially without McTiernan), so it seems like a waste of time to even try to compare the two. Instead, I just view Die Hard 2 as the extremely entertaining ‘90s action sequel that it is. “More is Better!” is the official theme of this flick, with more action, more squibs, and so many more one-liners from leading man BW. The movie even acknowledges how ridiculous the idea of the same shit happening to the same guy twice is truly insane, which makes me love it all the more. 

The plot follows a group of mercenaries (including John Leguizamo & Robert Patrick) who hold an entire airport hostage while planning to rescue a drug lord from custody, played by Django himself, Franco Nero. 

What actor dare take over the main bad guy role after the masterful Alan Rickman? Why, the one and only William Sadler! Yep, the guy who plays Death in the Bill & Ted movies is this film’s big bad! And you know what? He’s good! Again, it’s just silly to even try to compare to Rickman’s Hans Gruber. Besides, Sadler and the screenplay wisely don’t even try to replicate that Rickman magic. Instead, the actor plays this military Colonel as a cold and calculating (not to mention extremely buff) killer. Sadler is one of the all time great character actors and watching him here be a complete psychopath is a real blast. Although I admit his mantra of “We’ve gotcha. We’ve gotcha.” as he intentionally gives a flight full of passengers incorrect coordinates so that they crash into the runway is absolutely chilling. 

The action is extremely well staged thanks to Harlin’s direction, and the bigger budget is apparent throughout, with some great practical effects and stunt work. Die Hard 2 can hold its head up high with other ‘90s action sequels like Lethal Weapon 2,3 & 4, Predator 2, & even Robocop 2 if you’re a sicko (like me). 

As for ol’ B Dub, my man shows up for work! He doubles down on the charisma and gives a perfect Action Star performance, ensuring the bad guys do indeed Die Harder. The real magic trick to his performance here though is letting his character still get the everloving shit kicked out of him throughout (while always coming out on top of course). Willis is able to transfer that everyman quality that everyone loved from the first and use that goodwill in the sequel to enormous effect, especially as this entry leans a little more into the ridiculous. 

Also, quick shoutout to Dennis Franz! The dude is an all time great On-Screen Asshole. Just so good at being a dick, it’s amazing.

Hot Take incoming—

I firmly believe that Die Hard 2 is a better Christmas movie than Die Hard could ever dream to be. The first installment simply takes place on Christmas Day. That’s the sole reason every year we as a society crumble into darkness as we try to argue whether or not Die Hard is in fact a Christmas movie (I personally would rather just talk about how good Die Hard is). Die Hard 2, however, rockets past the original by not only taking place during Christmas, but also highlighting the nightmare of traveling, the horror of your in-laws and even showcases the god damn bad guys carrying weapons in Christmas presents! I mean COME. ON. 

—Hot Take concluded

*Ahem* Anyway. 

The movie was a rousing success in the summer of 1990, outgrossing the original in every way with $117 million domestically and $240 million worldwide (the original grossed $83 million here and $141 million WW). Even critics agreed that the sequel was highly entertaining, if not quite as good as the original (duh). 

Thanks to this hit sequel, Bruno was once again shining bright in Hollywood, and for a second it seemed like the good times were gonna continue thanks to another film he had coming out later the same year. This time the actor was working with acclaimed director Brian DePalma (Blow Out, Dressed To Kill, Scarface) and actors Tom Hanks, Melanie Grifftih and Morgan Freeman on a big budget adaptation of the hit novel The Bonfire of the Vanities. The film was positioned by Warner Bros. to be an Oscar contender of the highest order. 

Unfortunately, the movie proved to be one of the biggest disasters of the brand new decade. 

But that’s gonna have to wait until next time. Until then, my friends!