Capo, I think we share the same criticims on DIE HARD 2, where it has such stuff that hacks it like:

*WILLIS THE UNSCRATCHABLE - In the first and third movies, Willis gets the shit beaten out of him but #2, he falls off an airplane wing and shakes it off. I know this is status quo for action movies, but I liked the DIE HARD principle that the pain stays. Maybe I'm a masochist.

*BLAND VILLAINS - I always liked William Sadler, but he's given garbage to work with as some renegade Green Berets trying to reinstate an anti-commie leader. The only provacative interest is his APOCALYPSE NOW-like nude yoga in his hotel room, but otherwise Rambo eats these guys for breakfast.

*CONTRIVED RED TAPE - Sure parts of DIE HARD involves convenient red tape from the state tying up the hero's hands but in DH2...despite "dead" spooks getting gunned down years after their "death" in the airport terminal, explosions, and a known past-spook conveninently at the airport...nobody believes John McClane.

Nevermind this was the same hero that a year earlier that had his 15 minutes of fame.

Thing is, Dennis Franz has made a career of working the asshole part, but compare his cop part in Brian DePalma's DRESSED TO KILL: His character uses people, sometimes circumventing them, to get done what he wants.

DIE HARD 2 isn't a bad movie, its just...like every other action movie that came out after the first DH flick. So really, DIE HARD 2 not only ripped the original off, without the franchise moniker, it would be one of the best knock-offs of all-time.