Apex Mountain
Die Hard 2 for Renny Harlin; Oliver North-style villains; evil John Amos; Bruce Willis's pre-thinning hair; Bonnie Bedelia; icicle eye stabbings; public airphones
In the discussion (9)
Approx. transcript time · 01:00:08Read transcript
- The segment opens with a death-toll question: the internet says 114, though the crashed flight alone seemed to hold about 200.
- Valverde appears in both films, but Commando remains its apex because that movie actually goes there.
- An apex case for Willis rests on this film outgrossing the first, but the earlier Die Hard verdict is unresolved; he spent the capital on risks such as Bonfire of the Vanities, Hudson Hawk, Billy Bathgate, Mortal Thoughts and Last Boy Scout.
- Snowmobile chases are raised, with The Living Daylights and Inception offered as rivals; for Franz, NYPD Blue has to be the apex.
- For Harlin, The Long Kiss Goodnight is the favorite, but this, his most successful film, is his apex; Deep Blue Sea may be what he is best known for, Cliffhanger is loved, and Cutthroat Island pulled him down.
- More apex picks: Oliver North-style villains, evil John Amos, Willis's pre-thinning hair, and Bonnie Bedelia at her 1990 peak with this and Presumed Innocent; airport-set movies come down to this or Airplane.
- Icicle eye stabbings get a yes, but Single White Female keeps the top eye stabbing; X is mentioned as a current horror film with a notable one.
- Two late additions: public airphones, and the debate over whether Sadler's fully nude tai chi tops Swayze's half-nude tai chi in Roadhouse, left unsettled.
- Die Hard 2 may have invented the recreational taser, but The Hangover, or possibly Jackass, is its apex.