This time of year, I’m often seeing how many movies I can watch. From cheesy classic Hallmark films to the holiday classics, it seems like there isn’t enough time to catch them all.
For years, I’ve sat and watched people call the 1988 action film Die Hard a Christmas movie. In fact, my little brother refers to it as his favorite Christmas movie. But for me, I cannot consider this a Christmas movie no matter how hard I try.
I decided to come and state some reasons why it is not a Christmas movie.
- Bruce Willis says it’s not.
Years ago, Bruce Willis allowed himself to be roasted for one reasons and one reason only. To go on the record to say that Die Hard is not a Christmas movie.
As the star agress with me, I find this to be a suitable opening argument to this banter.
2. Christmas is not the centerpiece
Christmas is more used as a set dressing – to give the movie a sense of place. The robbery is happening because the building is largely empty. People are gathered for the occasion (now why someone would hold their company Christmas party on Christmas Eve is another question altogether).
For Die Hard, Christmas isn’t the focus, it’s more a plot device that allowed the writers to set up the scenario.
A popular argument is that it checks a lot of the boxes of a Christmas film (up to and including the date – but I agree that Iron Man 3 is also not a Christmas film despite people trying to make that argument). Thematically, it does. But in my opinion, it’s just missing something that would make it work as a holiday movie for me.
3. Placing it as a holiday movie belittles it’s value to the action genre
Die Hard doesn’t belong boxed in as a Christmas movie. With solid writing, great pacing, and a compelling story, it’s not a film that I want to gather around the fire place and watch beside the glow of a Christmas tree.
Yes, there are serious Christmas movies – they can’t be all warm and fuzzy like Hallmark makes them out to be. It’s A Wonderful Life is an excellent example of a rather dark tale.
This is a debate that will continue for years to come. For me, it’s not a Christmas movie. It’s a solid action film made in a decade that produced some of the greatest cinema in the medium’s history.
What do you think? Is it a Christmas movie? Please share your thoughts with us on our Boss Rush Facebook Group or our Boss Rush Discord.
Image: IMDb
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The Boss Rush Podcast is the flagship podcast of Boss Rush Media and the Boss Rush Network. Each week, Corey, Stephanie, LeRon, and their friends from around the internet come together with other creators, developers, and industry veterans to talk about games they’ve been playing, discuss video game and entertainment based topics, and answer questions solicited on social media and the community Discord.
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