Just over 30 years after it first hit theaters, Die Hard 2 director Renny Harlin is opening up about a major disagreement he and Bruce Willis had on the set of the action sequel. The 1990 film picked up two years after the events of the iconic original, finding Willis' John McClane stuck in Washington Dulles International Airport on Christmas Eve waiting for Holly, with whom he is married to again, to land, only to contend with terrorists who have taken over the airport and is preventing any of the incoming planes from landing in the middle of a snowstorm. While not as well-received as its predecessor, Die Hard 2 was considered a hit at the time, though not without hurdles to overcome.

In a recent interview with Empire, Renny Harlin reflected on his time making Die Hard 2 and working with Bruce Willis. The director revealed he and Willis actually had a somewhat difficult time working together on the film, primarily stemming over how the star wanted to depict John McClane in the film, opting for a far more serious tone than the comedy of the original, which led to Harlan, Willis and producer Joel Silver having to have a sit-down meeting to negotiate a middle ground. See what Harlin explained below:


Why Die Hard 2 Is One Of The More Divisive Sequels


Though the final installment in the series, A Good Day to Die Hard, remains the worst-reviewed sequel from critics and audiences alike, Die Hard 2 is still considered to be one of the more divisive follow-ups in the franchise. Many reviewers and fans took issue with the film's lackluster attempts to one-up the story of its predecessor, taking away the claustrophobic tension from the original Die Hard by putting McClane in multiple locations, rather than trapping him in one building with only so many methods of travel to remain hidden from the terrorists. Die Hard 2's plot was also deemed to be far less credible than that of its predecessor, with many noting the convoluted nature of its antagonists' plans and the lack of likely safety protocols to prevent such a terrorist takeover from occurring.

One of the more consistent critiques for the film among Die Hard fans has been its very inconsistent tone, which too often veers intensely dramatic in comparison to its somewhat self-aware predecessor. Between its jaw-dropping plane crash killing hundreds of people to Willis' hero delivering fewer one-liners and quips than before, Die Hard 2 has had a hard time resonating with many audiences for moving away from the formula that made the original such a hit. Evidence of this could be seen in the subsequent sequels, Die Hard with a Vengeance and Live Free or Die Hard, which saw McClane return to the quippy, beat-down personality fans had come to love and expect of the character.

Harlin Is Right About John McClane


While Willis' hopes to keep things fresh with his character in subsequent sequels is an admirable one, especially being so early into the franchise, many are sure to feel that Die Hard 2's Renny Harlin was ultimately right about how John McClane should be portrayed in film. Though generally considered a hero throughout each film, McClane's self-deprecating humor leaned into his being an imperfect protagonist audiences could easier connect to, whereas if he had been a clean-cut figure, he would've been far less compelling of a character to watch. Willis' time in the franchise may be done, but audiences can revisit his tenure as McClane with the Die Hard franchise streaming across Starz and Fubo now.