Die Hard 2

Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation | Release Date: July 2, 1990

CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION

67	METASCORE Generally favorable reviews based on 17 Critic Reviews

Positive:

Mixed:

Negative:

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Critic Reviews

Critic score Publication By date

100

Mick LaSalle

Die Hard 2 is a huge movie done right. [3 July 1990, p.E1]

100

Harper Barnes

Die Hard 2, which is far and away the best of the big summer action pictures, is an almost perfect blend of suspense, thrills, human drama and, perhaps most important, comedy. [6 July 1990, p.3F]

Roger Ebert

Because Die Hard 2 is so skillfully constructed and well-directed, it develops a momentum that carries it past several credibility gaps that might have capsized a lesser film. Read full review

James Berardinelli

It's not as crisply directed, and the plot holes are easier to find, but Die Hard 2 is filled with the same sense of good-natured, wisecracking fun that infused the original. Read full review

Jay Scott

The deployment of the hardware may be extraordinary, but it doesn't overshadow the human dimension of this summer sequel. [4 July 1990]

Rita Kempley

It's rambunctiously entertaining, a loop-de-loopy bumper car ride through a firecracker sky, all bright lights, sonic booms and impossible heroics. Read full review

Janet Maslin

It will surprise no one who saw the first ''Die Hard'' that the heart and soul of the new film is Bruce Willis, who this time is even better. Read full review

Dave Kehr

A smart, spectacular and rousing piece of work, one that strains against but can't quite escape the natural limitations imposed by a sequel. [4 July 1990, p.C1]

Staff [Not Credited]

Die Hard 2 lacks the inventivenes of the original but compensates with relentless action. Read full review

Sheila Benson

This is the most cheerfully preposterous film of a jaw-dropping summer, which is not to say it's not fun, it's simply orchestrated Looney Tunes. Read full review

Owen Gleiberman

A number of scenes have been staged with satisfying kinetic flair, and Willis once again makes an appealing superhero. Yet without that great big booby-trapped skyscraper to hold the action together, the suspense dissipates. Read full review

Jay Carr

It's not quite as jolting as the high-impact original, but it's got enough explosiveness to blow away the other sequels in this summer's parade of high-body-count blockbusters. [4 July 1990, p.29]

Susan Wloszczyna

For a film so antsy to start that it barely flashes its opening title, Die Hard 2 takes a curiously long time to get off the ground. Like many return trips, what was once exhilarating is now a bit flat. [3 July 1990]

EmpireStaff [Not Credited]

More violent, more explosive and even bigger than the original - this ticks all the sequel boxes. But as long as Willis is in his vest and playing McClane, it's hard to care about its shortcomings. Read full review

The first hour of Die Hard 2 is pretty good, despite consistent improbability. It's the second half, with its consistent impossibility, that looks like "Tom 'n' Jerry" or "Roadrunner." [6 July 1990, p.E3]

Jonathan Rosenbaum

If your idea of a good time is watching a lot of stupid, unpleasant people insult and brutalize one another, this is right up your alley. Read full review

Jay Boyar

Whatever small pleasure there is to be found in this loud dud is due mostly to the residual good feelings from the first film. Read full review