There are two kinds of people in this world: Those who say Die Hard is a Christmas film and the rest we pray for.

All jokes aside, Die Hard is an amazing action film. The story goes as follows: life for John McClane isn’t going well. His job at the NYPD is starting to put a damper on his relationship with his wife. So, trying to prevent things from going south, he decides to visit his already estranged wife at her place of work. Unfortunately, Alan Rickman and his group of terrorists come and take over the office Christmas party. Without any help, McClane decides to be the hero and save everyone.

What makes this film unique compared to the mountain of other Christmas films, is that it has more action than an average Christmas film. Sure, some films do have action in them but they’re mostly small parts of said films. Die Hard just decides to be a whole 80s action film. And who doesn’t love one of those?

Another thing that makes Die Hard an intriguing film, is that McClane isn’t indestructible. Unlike other 80s action films (and to be honest a lot of action films nowadays) the hero isn’t invincible. He’s not going to survive an onslaught of gunfire and walk off without a scratch. He’s a human being. He gets beaten up quite a bit with some painful looking injuries. But that does help to make him more relatable to the audience. It’s easy for audiences to relate to someone who’s human and has the same flaws as them. Not to say invincible characters aren’t likable, but without this invincibility, it does mean you can get these characters easier than others.

If you want something different from all the other Christmas films but just has enough elements to make a Christmas, then Die Hard is dying for you.

(Film Review by Jacob James)