Christmas is just around the corner and snuggling up to watch festive films becomes a highlight of many people’s evenings. Of course, everyone has their favourites from classics like It’s A Wonderful Life, Miracle on 34th Street and White Christmas to more modern hits like Elf, Home Alone, Love Actually and more.
Every year, there’s the question as to whether the smash hit 1988 action film Die Hard is a Christmas film or not. Everyone has their opinion on it, and the debate is almost as traditional as a Christmas roast dinner.
In a poll by the British Board of Film Classification, 44% of people believe the film is not a Christmas film, compared to the 38% who believe it is – and 17% weren’t sure – but I don’t understand why it’s still a topic of discussion.
Despite Bruce Willis asserting in 2018 that it wasn’t a Christmas film, I – respectfully but strongly – disagree. The film begins on Christmas Eve (erm, hello?) with Willis’s jaded New York City Police Department (NYPD) Detective John McClane landing at Los Angeles’s LAX airport in the hopes of reconnecting – and reconciling – with his estranged wife, Holly
He ventures to her work Christmas party (again I say… hello?) held at the Nakatomi Plaza and an awkward reunion ensues.
Before long, the building is taken over by German ex-radical Hans Gruber and his team but McClane is able to evade capture and sets about taking out the criminals while panic rises.
At one point, McClane is able to conceal a gun by taping it to his back using Christmas tape. After killing one of the terrorists, he takes his weapon and writes on his jumper: “Now I have a machine gun, ho-ho-ho”.
Who is famous for saying “ho-ho-ho”? That’s right, Father Christmas. In what other context would quoting Father Christmas be relevant other than a festive setting?
Die Hard is a Christmas film. Sorry, wider British public and Bruce Willis, but you’re wrong to say otherwise.
What is it that actually makes something a Christmas film? Is it when it was released? Surely not, because not every film released in November or December is suddenly classed as a Christmas film.
Horror sequel Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 is due to be released this month and that’s not a Christmas film, is it?
What about when the film is set? I think this is the most relevant factor – for a film to be a Christmas film, the majority of the plot has to take place at Christmas time. Love Actually, for example, begins with a countdown to Christmas, with each character’s story tracked by the big day getting nearer.
By contrast, the first Sex and the City film spans almost a year and includes a few festive scenes but it’s not a Christmas film. Die Hard, however, is set on Christmas Eve. The entire plot occurs at a Christmas party, there’s a hero, there’s action, there’s comedy, and there’s a romantic finale; what could be more Christmassy than that?
On Reddit, one person agreed: “It’s obviously a Christmas movie. Gruber planned his heist to happen on Christmas Eve to take advantage of the chaos of the holiday.
“Plus, if it wasn’t Christmastime there wouldn’t be that roll of cheery Christmas packing tape just sitting there waiting to save the day.”
Every year, I watch Die Hard with my parents and it fits in perfectly with other festive favourites. Hell, John McClane could be the grown up version of Home Alone’s Kevin McCallister.
I think it’s time we retire this argument – it’s almost as tired as whether pineapple belongs on a pizza (who cares? Just eat what you like and stop banging on about it).
It’s not a hot take. It is a Christmas film, and it’s about time everyone accepted this and moved on.
