Hello Film Fanatics,
As the first week of December approaches us, we all begin to get filled with Christmas joy, for some may be decorating their house or setting up the tree. However, on this website, we begin to feel the nostalgia associated with Christmas movies when Christmas rolls around. It would be fun to end the age of debate about whether the classic action movie Die Hard (1988) is a Christmas movie. At the same time, it may not share some more of the similar attributes associated with Christmas, such as movies like Miracle on 34th Street or The Grinch. However, while this Christmas classic should fall under the category of Christmas movies, does this iconic movie hold up? Or does the conundrum of whether this movie is considered a Christmas movie push it to the point where it’s a nostalgic classic? We shall find out in this review.
This action movie is based on the novel Nothing Lasts Forever by Roderick Thorp. Eventually, this novel was adapted into a film in which 20th Studio Fox decided to hire Jeb Stuart as a screenwriter to bring this project to life. Eventually, the studio hired John McTiernan, the same man who directed one of the studio’s biggest hits in the ’80s, Predator (1987). Bruce Willis was hired as a lead for the film.
Die Hard follows John McClane, played by Bruce Willis, on Christmas Eve as he attends his wife’s office party in Los Angeles. Being a New York City detective, he feels highly out of place in this office setting. However, John will do whatever it takes to reconcile with his wife. The building and office party are eventually captured by a terrorist group seeking financial gains from this hostage situation—the terrorist organization led by Hans Gruber, played by the talented Alan Rickman. John is the only one to escape this hostage situation and begins a cat-and-mouse chase with Hans. Throughout the movie, John must defeat this terrorist organization to save his wife. Will John succeed, or will Hans succeed in his goal?
Bruce Willis and Alan Rickman truly give outstanding portrayals of their characters. Rickman’s portrayal is genuinely menacing, making Hans Gruber one of cinema’s most despicable villains.
The action sequences in this film are masterfully shot for an action movie. Also, the action leads to some of the best dialogue ever written in an action film.
This movie has become a Christmas tradition for our family.
We have begun to watch it every year for Christmas since the debate came upon our family. After a long and heated debate, our family finally settled that Die Hard (1988) is a Christmas movie due to all the Christmas elements associated with the film. The movie takes place on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. However, to this day, my mom still disagrees with this decision.
Regarding action movies, Die Hard(1988) is truly special, and adding that element of Christmas takes this movie over the top. Therefore, Die Hard (1988) is worthy of 10 out of 10 frosty film projectors. The dialogue alone in this movie is genuinely nostalgic and is some of the cinema’s most classic lines.
I would love to ask my audience to settle this debate if Die Hard (1988) is truly a Christmas classic.
- The Nostalgic Film Critic
