Die Hard IS a Christmas movie

There+has+long+been+debate+over+whether+or+not+Die+Hard+is+a+Christmas+movie.

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There has long been debate over whether or not Die Hard is a Christmas movie.

Andrew Crocker, A & E Contributor

It might be a bit late, but it’s time to review the completely un-ironic best Christmas movie ever. That movie is Die Hard. YES, it is a Christmas movie. Die hard takes place at a Christmas party. There is even a Christmas tree in the background of several scenes, so yes it is a Christmas movie. 

For those who have not seen this classic, or parody of it, the movie takes place in Nakatomi Tower during a Christmas party. Terrorists take over the tower and are trying to steal the hundreds of millions in the vault. As Hans Gruber put it, “I am an exceptional criminal”. Honestly a whole essay could be written about the famous quotes from this film. They are so prevalent as to completely dominate the dialogue of the film, John McClane is a New York cop visiting his separated wife. He must single handedly fight off the thieves, hindered heavily by the outside police, FBI, and the media. Despite these hindrances and getting heavily wounded he manages to kill all the would be thieves. 

Die Hard has a great script. The superb lines are so numerous as to be impossible to count. So many have been paid homage to in many a show or film. From “Come out to the coast, we’ll get together, have a few laughs.” to “Now I have a machine gun, Ho, Ho, Ho.” See, Christmas themed. Of course the script is nothing without the excellent acting of Bruce Willis and Alan Rickman. 

One of the best things about Die Hard is the superb acting. This is exemplified by the protagonist John McClane. He is portrayed by a fairly famous action star, Bruce Willis who is perfect for the role. With this being said the true star of the film is the ever brilliant criminal, Hans Gruber. The person portraying him is perfect for the role, that being Alan Rickman, who also played Professor Snape in the Harry Potter film series. During the entire movie he packs the same style of acting as he did in the wizarding world and it works perfectly. The acting is yet more impressive when consideration is put toward not only the extreme time restraint, but the fact that several scenes had to be done in one take. These things are because the building being used was set for demolition, lending to the rather difficult time restraint, and the explosions were actually set off, meaning these scenes could not be filmed again. All these things make the acting in the film very impressive. 

All in all Die Hard is the best definitely Christmas movie. It’s perfect acting and writing combine to make something truly special that has lasted the ages. If you have time, or even if you do not, you need to watch this super festive Christmas movie. It will definitely get you into the spirit of the season.