Bruce Willis in character as John McClane in Die Hard – which may or may not be a Christmas film, depending on who you ask

This article was first published in December 2020.

Guns, violence, gore: hardly the usual elements of a classic Christmas film.

The debate around whether or not Die Hard (and Die Hard 2) constitutes a proper holiday movie is almost as contentious as the inevitable annual love/hate debate over sprouts or Christmas pudding.

Yes, the action takes place on Christmas Eve, but does that really make them festive films?

To find out more, we spoke to some (ahem) die-hard Die Hard fans to find out what they love so much about the film that even Rotten Tomatoes has labelled “the definitive holiday action classic”, and more importantly, whether or not they *whisper it* think it’s a Christmas film or not...

With scenes of violence, Die Hard isn't the classic Christmas film

“His ex-wife is called Holly! I mean c’mon!”

Kaleem Aftab, 46, film critic based in London.

Is it a Christmas movie? Yes

“Die Hard starts with that most Christmas of all elements: The office party,” says Kaleem. “It’s all about love. Kind of.

“Just like It’s a Wonderful Life, it has a man who doesn’t know how good he has it, until he’s faced with his own mortality. There is a family estrangement. But a family estrangement with a dose of realism as it acknowledges that Christmas is a time of divorce.

“Also, his ex-wife is called Holly! I mean c’mon! And like all the best movies, it happens on Christmas Eve. It also acknowledges Christmas presents with the immortal line, ‘Now I have a machine gun, ho ho ho!’

“And what a brilliant Scrooge, Alan Rickman giving his best villainous panto turn.

“Now is that enough to make it a Christmas film? The nature of the question is that somehow Xmas films have to be saccharine dramas reinforcing humanity, but that seems way to constrictive and also who decided that? Its Christmas setting may be a construct to have a party, snow and difficulty moving around but that is as much part of Christmas as........

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