History Film / DieHard2

* DemotedToExtra: Creator/ReginaldVelJohnson appears briefly as Al Powell helping McClane get info on terrorist he killed in a shootout. VelJohnson's short appearance in the film was because of his schedule with his TV series ''Series/{{Family Matters}}''.

* ImplausibleSynchrony: {{Justified}}. Garber, Miller and Cochrane are shown synchronizing watches before splitting up at the bar.

* AreWeGettingThis: Inverted when the cameraman, seeing Holly and John finally getting together and starting to kiss, remarks that he is getting it to Coleman. She then covers the camera, deliberately ruining the shot.

* CoolGuns: [=McClane=] talks about a non-existent "Glock 7" model, supposedly made of porcelain and designed to get through airport scanners. This may not be the origin of the myth about "plastic handguns," but it certainly helped propagate it. To the point that the US Congress actually passed a law banning such guns. Yes, they banned something that didn't exist at the time (A functional 3D printed gun that was 99% plastic was developed in the 2010s, causing Congress to revise the law to say that all commercially available guns must have a certain weight of metal in them, that is distributed across the frame so that the buyer can't just remove it after purchasing the weapon), no word on whether they plan to ban [[Franchise/HarryPotter the Killing Curse]] next.
** In fact, John's quote in the film is as follows:
---> '''John''': "That punk pulled a Glock 7 on me, you know what that is? It's a porcelain gun, made in Germany. It doesn't show up on your airport X-ray machines, and it costs more than what you make in a month!" [[note]]Compared to the actual Glock series, ''every one'' of his statements is wrong. The assassin in question pulled a Glock ''17'', which is a ''polymer'' framed handgun made in ''Austria'', and which is one of the more affordable firearm options available. While the frame is polymer, the slide is made of steel, thus making it fully detectable by any metal detector or X-Ray machine. Furthermore, even if it was possible to make an entirely porcelain or plastic gun, magazine spring would still be metal, and of course the bullets in the gun would be metal too. [[/note]]
** Colonel Stuart's men make use of Heckler & Koch [=MP5s=] , even loading them with blanks for the faked shootout with the army special forces team. John grabs one, not realising what's happened and wonders why his aim is off. When he checks his magazine afterwards, he figures out that the army team was actually working for Stuart. Stuart uses a [=MP5A5=] as his main weapon (denoted from the [=MP5A3=] by its four-position trigger group), while his right-hand man Garber wields a [=MP5A3=] fitted with a scope, and the {{Mooks}} use [=MP5Ks=].

* FilmTheHand: Occurs when Coleman tries to question Colonel Stuart, his crony covers the camera and says "No pictures, you pinko bitch."

* {{Foil}}: This film gives us Samantha Coleman, a contrast to Dick Thornburg. Dick is a very competent journalist who can uncover a really important story while stuck on a plane, but who doesn't give a damn who gets hurt so long as he gets his story, maybe his Pulitzer. Coleman is willing to ride a helicopter into a firefight and see the entire damn theing through, but though she takes a moment to appreciate the beauty of John's and Holly's reunion, she covers up the camera and gives them their privacy. She's not just a good journalist, she's a ''good'' journalist.

* TraintopBattle: Planetop battle. John [=McClane=] and [[spoiler:Major Grant]] grapple atop the aircraft's left wing. [[spoiler:Grant]] gets toppled into one jet engine's intake, killing him. The fight also let [=McClane=] catch sight of the fuel dump valve on the wing's leading edge.

* BaitTheDog: Played straight with [[spoiler:Major Grant]].

* ArtisticLicenseEconomics: John claims that the gun cost more than one makes in a month (or year?); the guns are relatively inexpensive. More than $1.98 though. Glocks cost around $400-$500, making them midrange and quite affordable, especially on a policeman's salary.

** The airport is shown as being in Washington, DC when it's in Virginia. Northern Virginia is depicted as being empty wilderness, when it's a pretty urbanized area. Also, Washington, DC metropolitan area rarely gets any significant snowfall in December, usually gets most of its snow in January or February..

* ArtisticLicenseGeography: The plot of the film only works if you imagine Washington DC is a remote outpost far from civilization instead of being smack in the middle of the eastern seaboard. The planes are able to circle Dulles for a few hours, which means they have the fuel to reach any one of the many, many, many airports (all of whom are required to accept planes in distress, even the military airfields) in the area.

* AllForNothing: Barnes attempts to restore power via the annex skywalk. Unfortunately, Col. Stuart planned on this, so he has four men stationed there who kill the SWAT team assigned to protect Barnes and blows up the skywalk. This attempt, plus the deaths of his men, prompt Stuart to crash a plane to show that he's serious.

* BatmanGambit: After Stuart warns the Dulles airport police not to attempt to restore air traffic control, they think they can easily do it anyway by going out to the Skywalk where they can access the system. This leads the SWAT team [[spoiler:right into in an ambush]][[note]]Lampshaded by [=McClane=], who notes beforehand how that area is ideal for exactly that[[/note]]

** General Ramon Esperanza is being escorted by precisely one soldier, who appears to be an inexperienced private. The success of the scheme appears to depend on him being able to overpower an entire plane and its crew by himself.

* SinisterNudity: Col. Stuart is introduced to the audience doing naked Tai Chi in his hotel room, looking as lean and mean as the [[Film/Terminator2 T-1000]] (whose actor, incidentally, had a bit part in the film). The only thing Stuart is wearing is a gold watch, which at one point just happens to block the dictator's face on the TV screen in front of him, foreshadowing the financial connection between them.

* RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething: Esperanzo isn't just a fascist dictator puppet used by the US to fight the communisms. He's a pilot. He lands his prison plane when it's damaged and he's the one piloting the escape plane in the third act.

** The fight moves we see Colonel Stuart practicing (naked) in the beginning are the ''exact'' same ones he uses to [[spoiler:kick John's ass]] at the end.

** CurbStompCushion: The SWAT team did manage to kill one of the bad guys, and [=McClane=] bit off a chunk of Stuart's hand.

** John befriends a janitor who gets him all over the airport without anyone being able to see him. He also picks up one of the bad guy's radios that already had the password punched in.

* AlmightyJanitor: John befriends one who gets him all over the airport without anyone being able to see him. He also picks up one of the bad guy's radios that already had the password punched in.

* TokenMinority: Miller and Burke are the only non-white soldiers within Stuart's team. [[spoiler:Major Grant]] is also a participant.