7.1 | / 10 |
Users | 4.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
John McClane attempts to avert disaster as rogue military operatives seize control of Dulles International Airport in Washington, D.C.
Starring: Bruce Willis, Bonnie Bedelia, William Atherton, Reginald VelJohnson, Franco NeroAction | 100% |
Thriller | 70% |
Crime | 43% |
Holiday | 12% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.37:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English: Dolby Digital 2.0 (224 kbps)
French: Dolby Digital 5.1 (448 kbps)
Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1 (448 kbps)
English, English SDH, Spanish, Cantonese, Korean
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
D-Box
Region A (locked)
Movie | 3.0 | |
Video | 3.0 | |
Audio | 3.0 | |
Extras | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
I’m not going to contest the impact that the Die Hard franchise has made on the action genre. The first movie is a bona fide macho classic that, like a Hitchcock film on steroids, took an unsuspecting everyman and thrust him into a situation that required calm under fire, ingenuity, and massive balls of steel. It employed never before seen set pieces and special effects, it gave us a wickedly memorable villain in Alan Rickman’s Hans Gruber, and it launched Bruce Willis into an action star orbit previously only occupied by Stallone and Schwarzenegger. But for all its ante- upping and ingenuity, Die Hard wasn’t immune to sequelitis, that damnable disease that plagues most high-grossing, blockbusting summer crowd pleasers. Die Hard 2: Die Harder might as well have been subtitled Try Harder, as it adheres to the bigger-faster-harder- more follow-up philosophy, resulting in an over-bloated experience that’s sloppier, more tedious, and infinitely less memorable than its game-changing predecessor. It’s still decent, lazy Sunday afternoon entertainment if you’re feeling particularly non-discerning and just want to turn your brain off for two hours, but that really isn’t saying much, is it?
John McClane and his veritable snowbank of dandruff.
Originally released in late 2007 as part of The Die Hard Collection, Die Hard 2 shows its age in both hazy late '80s filmmaking techniques and a 1080p/AVC encode that seems like it's still feeling out the boundaries of its then relatively new high definition format. The film doesn't look bad by any means, but it doesn't exactly provide the 50-foot leap in clarity and color that we've become accustomed to with Blu-ray. While close ups show a fair amount of fine detail— see the texture on McClane's Eddie Bauer-looking sweater—anytime we pull back into longer shots the image takes on a noticeably softer quality. Certain colors appear very strong, like the reds and blues of police sirens, or the pinkish glow inside the air traffic control room, but skin tones occasionally veer towards an overly tanned orange, and other hues seem flat and lifeless. Likewise, contrast seems a bit dull and black levels, while truly deep at times, have a tendency to go opaque and grayish during the darker scenes, effectively crushing shadow detail. On the plus side, I didn't notice any rampant compression artifacts, aside from some brief banding and color blotchiness during a few explosions, and both edge enhancement and noise reduction seem to have been kept to a minimum. Grain is mostly unobtrusive, but look out for the special effects shot, which swarm with huge chunks of it.
Die Harder arrives on Blu-ray with a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track that
sounds about average for an action film of its 1990 vintage. Meaning, the effects are kind of
clunky, stocky, and artificial, directionality lacks subtlety, and the track's mid-range sounds
slightly hollow. Real speaker usage is frequent but not entirely convincing. Airport ambience
seems canned, movements through the surround channels are heavy handed, and machine gun
blasts feel as if they were selected from a sound effects library and simply dropped into the track
with little concern for acoustics. When Michael Kamen's score kicks into high gear and the action
scenes really ramp up, some of this artificiality is lost in the sheer amount of sound, but it's
always there if you listen closely. The track's low-end is adequate, but the two or three massive
explosions in the film, which should rattle the picture frames on your walls, seem to lack any real
heft or presence. Overall, the sound is suitable but it doesn't really bring anything new to the
experience of watching the film—not that that's necessarily a bad thing.
Do note that some viewers have reported problems with their players being unable to decode the
DTS-HD Master Audio track and forcing the Dolby Digital mix instead. For the record, I had no
problems on my PS3 with up-to-date firmware.
Commentary by Director Renny Harlin
He may not be the most creative or credible director, but Renny Harlin knows how to
enthusiastically fill up a commentary track with anecdotes, thoughtful ruminations on shooting
action sequences, and endless amounts of trivia. The pace rarely flags here, so prepare to get an
earful.
Deleted Scenes (SD, 8:15)
There are four deleted scenes, including one with a horrible children's choir at the airport wearing
ridiculous red bows.
Featurettes (SD)
HBO First Look (23:08) is a vintage making-of documentary that's even more dated than
the film itself, but certainly worth a watch for fans. A condensed and aptly named
Featurette (4:07) follows, which recycles material from the HBO special. The Bad
Guys (6:39) is a quick look at the film's baddies, complete with interviews with William
Saddler. Breaking the Ice (4:10) takes us behind the scenes of the film's snowmobile
chase. Chaos on the Conveyor Belt (7:53) leads us through the early shoot-out in the
baggage room. The Interview with Renny Harlin (6:44) is somewhat of a misnomer, as it
features just as much screen time by William Saddler.
Next up are three visual effects breakdowns, Ejector Seat (3:19), Airport
Runway (1:58), and Storyboard Sequence (2:58), followed by three side-by-side
comparisons, Chopper (1:19), Airplane Models (3:13), and Wing Fight
(1:44).
Trailers and TV Spots (SD, 6:17)
Includes four trailers and two TV spots.
Fox on Blu-ray (1080p, 7:48 total)
Includes trailers for Die Hard, Die Hard: With a Vengeance, Live Free or Die
Hard, and Alien vs. Predator.
Die Harder is definitely the black sheep of the Die Hard franchise, and I don't really mean that in a good way. Director Renny Harlin kicks the action up a notch, but the film's darker tone means the first film's characteristic humor is noticeably dampened. I don't think I'd personally pick this one up on its own, but I definitely wouldn't mind having it as part of The Die Hard Collection, which fans should consider before buying the individual releases.
1988
2007
1995
Extended Cut
2013
2013
2003
2005
The Complete Final Season
2010
2018
1994
Unrated
2015
2012
2013
2009
The Dirty Harry Collection
1976
2008
2016
1996
2002
1987