| CLOSE WINDOW |
|
FILMTRACKS.COM
PRINTER-FRIENDLY VIEW 
Review of Die Hard 2: Die Harder (Michael Kamen)
FILMTRACKS RECOMMENDS:
Buy it... if you seek an extended and/or more affordable album
presentation of the same basic suspense and action identity expressed in
Michael Kamen's score for Die Hard, minus the classical and
holiday song interpolations.
Avoid it... if a faithfully simple continuation of most of the instrumentation and themes from the previous work, as well as an ineffective new villains' motif, deter you from a score overshadowed once again by the use of a prominent, previously existing piece of music.
FILMTRACKS EDITORIAL REVIEW:
Die Hard 2: Die Harder: (Michael Kamen) One of the
relatively unimportant downsides of the attacks on America on September
11th, 2001 was its impact on filmmakers' ability to show terrorists
causing airplanes to explode in blockbuster movies. Fortunately for
enthusiasts of such chaos on the screen, director Renny Harlin offered
no less than three exploding airplanes caused by terrorist activities in
Die Hard 2: Die Harder. The 1990 sequel to the surprise 1988 hit
Die Hard was, despite its numerous fallacies of logic, praised
for being mindlessly engrossing entertainment, and when the film easily
surpassed the box office numbers of its predecessor, the franchise's
ongoing viability was confirmed. The villains of the sequel are wayward
U.S. Army Special Forces personnel who are conspiring to rescue a South
American drug lord who is about to arrive at Washington's Dulles airport
for trial in America. The home-grown terrorists take control of the
airport's lighting and communications systems using underground
connections to a nearby church, leaving the circling planes low on fuel
above helpless in a snowy nighttime environment. Waiting at the airport
for his wife to arrive is the first film's hero, John McClane (Bruce
Willis), who progressively confronts and destroys the terrorists and
their associates without much help from other law enforcement. The film
remains notable for its impressive special effects sequences involving
the fiery demise of large commercial and cargo airliners, two of which
exploding on take-off or landing in spectacular fashion, killing
hundreds of people. Those who protest the film because of these
depictions forget that the Die Hard franchise has always been
unlucky for innocent bystanders in the story, and at least the villains
in each case are appropriately annihilated as well. The soundtracks for
the first three films in the series are littered with influences from
non-original instrumental pieces, many of which classical. The two John
McTiernan-helmed entries (Die Hard and Die Hard With a
Vengeance) both reflected the director's own classical interests,
those films also making use of pop-oriented source songs as well. For
Die Hard 2, Harlin reprised the use of the Christmas song "Let It
Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!" (performed by Vaughn Monroe) for the
end credits but also made extensive use of the symphonic poem
"Finlandia" by Jean Sibelius, a move thought to result from the
director's own Finnish heritage.
Contending with (and in some cases adapting) the source insertions in the first three Die Hard films was composer Michael Kamen, whose scores for this concept are quite functional but not entirely memorable outside of context. In many ways, Kamen's contributions to the initial trilogy of these movies was overshadowed by the need for him to work around many placements of others' work, especially in the first film, which required him to extensively manipulate several holiday and classical themes into his original music. In Die Hard 2, the tone of "Finlandia" (outside of the most celebratory moments) meshes well enough not to clash with Kamen's music in context. In comparison to the prior film's score, Kamen's sequel is a bit more consistent in its flow, dropping the Western twang for McClane and maintaining longer individual sequences of suspense and action. The style of the instrumentation is similar, though the Christmas-like percussion is reduced to a few brief passages of sleigh bell rhythms and replaced by more heavily slapped metallic elements. Muted trumpets play an even greater role, making connections to Bernard Herrmann's classic suspense style. The prior score's original themes return, the main identity still the rather tragic six-note motif that most often gets cut down to four notes, heard more evenly in the presentation of the score this time. Several of the tapping, stuttering, and generally understated suspense rhythms return as well, in this entry aided by a little more unconventional percussion. The brass motif of accelerating rhythmic blasts to denote the crescendo of an action cue is applied in at least four circumstances, becoming perhaps the most accessible and noticeable idea in the franchise at the time. A couple of new themes are presented, the most important one a significant misstep by Kamen. The dainty woodwind flutters for the terrorists (heard best in "Colonel Stuart" and "The Church") are not only nebulous but awkwardly frivolous for the characters. The bamboo flute application for this motif does little to instill a sense of gravity in the score, especially after the plot shows the main villain ominously performing tai chi in the nude to open the film. More impressive is the less frequently stated idea for the drug lord, his muscular idea in "General Esperanza" reminiscent of vintage Alan Silvestri brawn. Other than these moments, much of Die Hard 2 will seem like leftovers or simple extensions of the material from the first film, "The Annexe Skywalk" a good example of a cue that doesn't really accomplish much other than emulate the predecessor's style. The sustained action sequences in the latter half of Die Hard 2 ("The Runaway," "Snowmobiles," and "Icicle") contain impressive volleys of orchestral might that are a little more harmonically pleasing, emulating the best of Kamen's lone James Bond score, License to Kill. These portions, although they rely upon the low brass pulses and ensemble rhythmic acceleration devices of the previous score, really steal the spotlight in the sequel regardless of the newer ideas Kamen explores. For more than twenty years, the composer's efforts for Die Hard 2 were represented by just forty minutes of material on a commercial Varèse Sarabande album, a decent summary of the score's main features. In 2012, the same label made Die Hard 2 an entry in its limited Club series, the greatly expanded presentation of over two hours selling out from the label in its 3,000-copy run within just a few weeks. Fans frustrated by the shorter presentation will be pleased with the contents and sound quality of the 2-CD set, especially given Kamen's ability to stretch the strengths of his score out over such a great length of time. The additional material on this 2012 product is not only substantial in running time, but it really fleshes out the composer's material to an impressive degree. That means that listeners receive considerably more of Kamen's harshly robust action material (including the full "Fight on the Wing" sequence of over eleven minutes, culminating in one last dissonant blast of the flutes to denote the main villain's demise). On the other hand, it also means that the composer's far less interesting suspense music is also expanded, leaving huge dead spots in the listening experience. Despite the muscularity of Kamen's action cues for this film, his conversational and stalking music barely registers or engages the listener unless you are a big enthusiast of the movie itself. Nineteen minutes of alternate takes are included on the 2012 set, most of which more understated than the other versions and reprising the plucky personality of the previous score. Overall, Die Hard 2 is a sufficient and occasionally entertaining score, serving as a decent alternative on album (either on the shorter or longer releases) for those who do not care to spend a fortune on the historically rare Die Hard albums. Included with both Die Hard 2 album presentations is "Finlandia," and a listener could easily arrange fifteen to twenty minutes of solid music for this franchise from this score. Just don't expect to hear Kamen take the music to the next level, something he was never allowed to do for the Die Hard sequels, despite the fact that Die Hard 2 was unquestionably his most coherent entry in the series. ***
TRACK LISTINGS:
1990 Varèse Album:
Total Time: 40:32
2012 Varèse Album: Total Time: 124:12
NOTES & QUOTES:
The insert of the 1990 album includes no extra information about the
score or film. That of the expanded 2012 product features extensive notes
about both.
Copyright ©
2012-2024, Filmtracks Publications. All rights reserved.
The reviews and other textual content contained on the filmtracks.com site may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of Christian Clemmensen at Filmtracks Publications. All artwork and sound clips from Die Hard 2: Die Harder are Copyright © 1990, 2012, Varèse Sarabande, Varèse Sarabande (Deluxe Edition) and cannot be redistributed without the label's expressed written consent. Page created 1/11/12 and last updated 11/19/12. |
