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What makes a Christmas movie ? It should be set at Christmas , feature aChristmas party , have folk members jet in with present , and sport a glad ending . Die Hardhas all that . And more . So what ’s the problem ? OK , the movie is violent . People die right left and center . But hey , that ’s life .
No , in the debate over whetherDie Hardis the perfect Christmas movie , we are on the side of John and Holly McClane . pop off Hardhas it all . Here are 10 , count them , 10 rationality whyDie Hardis right up there as one of the most sodding Christmas movies ever . It is one ofBruce Willis’best films too .
There Are Lots Of Twinkling Lights
Okay , most of the jiffy comes from the flashing red lights on law cars , but the Christmas political party features all the trimmings , from a Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree to canape . It takes place on Christmas Eve , for gosh sakes . John McClane get into the spirit of things by put a Santa hat on a dead terrorist .
" Now I have a machine triggerman . Ho , ho , ho , " the message read across the dead cat ’s shirt . Meanwhile , down at ground level , those light are flashing and twinkling . What could be more festive ?
It’s Got Flying Things In The Sky
piddling children have visions of Santa in his sledge , being perpetrate along by flying caribou . Remember those FBI helicopters zooming down the airspace ? Well , while the obnoxious FBI agent is far from Santa Claus , the thought is still the same .
He ’s coming to deliver the good . Ho , ho , ho . The fact he does n’t quite make it is beside the point . It ’s the idea that bet . And , do n’t forget , the point of it all . Yes ? Just like Santa , the agent is on a mission . Think about it .
Christmas As War
Christmas is think to be about glad family catch together . Sure . Anyone who has survive a family Christmas will get this one . A family Christmas can be a pleasant experience , but , as someone say , you pick out friends , not sept . So , kinsfolk Christmases can ( on social function ) be tense personal business .
Sure , John McClane is battle a chemical group of nasty terrorists and not his nearest and dearest , but the decimal point is identical . Die Hardperfectly captures this vibe . permit ’s face it , Christmas can be hell . Hallmarkwas never like this .
It’s Got A Festive Christmas Party
New York copper John is fly into Los Angeles in hopes of accommodate with his wife Holly . She ’s attending a Christmas political party at the Nakatomi Building where she works . With his jumbo teddy in tow , McClane flap up .
But , look , Hans Gruber ( Alan Rickman ) and his band of beefy terrorist have burst in and put an end to the festivities . The party ’s over . Holly and her colleagues are surety . This is when the action motif takes over . It does n’t make the movie less of a Christmas movie . On the reverse . The trimmings and trappings of Christmas are still all around us .
Friends And Family Gather Around
So inside the construction , John McClane is fighting the bad guys , while outside sensible police force Sargent Al Powell ( Reginald VelJohnson ) is trying to talk sense into his mishandle superiors . Meanwhile , McClane and Al organise a mutual accompaniment group via the walkie talkie link .
Al is the adult leadership , cheerleader and no - nonsense crony to John McClane ’s action man act . Al is the voice of reason that counter the sometimes macho , the sometimes cop - head approach of his victor . It ’s the arrant Christmas conjugation . The two have never met , but agnize one another directly when McClane emerges from the construction . Ah .
Hans IS The Grinch
All through the motion-picture show , forefront honcho terrorist Hans Gruber just breaks a sweat . He does n’t even loosen his tie . He is the perfect cool , calm and collected villain . The question is do we cast him as the Grinch or Scrooge ? We are vote for the Grinch , because Hans , literally , stole Christmas .
Han dynasty is the quintessential sorry cat . The moment when he have his comeuppance is definitive . The looking on his cheek as he realizes he is about to take a swan plunk off a skyscraper is staring Alan Rickman , full of ire , terror , and fear .
McClane’s Wife Is Called Holly
intimation , hint . What more can you do than give McClane ’s estranged wife such a Christmas - friendly name ? As in the Charles Hardin Holley and the common ivy . It ’s a not so subtle Christmas touch . Never mind the 80s hair and clothing , she embodies the spirit of Christmas .
All through the latent hostility - packed battle , she keeps drop in loving references to her admittedly difficult husband . When the long - hairy blond terrorist pitches a fit after an showdown with McClane , she drops in that nobody can get to you quite the manner McClane can . And she says it with a grin on her face . Holly , you see , means domestic felicity .
Pyrotechnic Displays Abound
We ’ve had scud light . And now we have pyrotechnic . It ’s a celebratory extravaganza of thing going boom . Do n’t quibble . It ’s just a fact . By the end of the motion-picture show , the priming coat around the office building is awash with things that have gone up in flames .
And when Holly and McClane are come on by an intrusive TV newsman who insists on flummox a mike in her facial expression , what does Holly do ? She flares up and punches the guy in the nose . Final exhibit . Then Holly and John clamber into the beaten-up limo John had taken from the drome .
Triumph Of Good Over Evil
What could capture the spirit of Christmas more than the definitive triumph of sound ( John and Holly ) over evil ( Hans and troupe ) ? Sergeant Al Powell even gets to finish off the last bad guy standing . What could be more in the purport of Christmas than the good guys winning ?
And John did n’t just get ahead . He win workforce down against all the betting odds . It was a kind of miracle , really . One by one , he picked off the bad guys until he prevail . And in the physical process , it looked as if he has won back the heart of Holly .
Cue The Christmas Music And A Happy Ending
At the end , when John and Holly climb into the knock about limousine and depend on off , if not into the sundown , then into the future , we get the distinct depression that John and Holly are about to flirt well-chosen families yet again . And what could be more in the holiday emotional state than that ?
Ho , ho , and more ho for the McClanes . In fact , the whole movie is awash with Christmas music , especially at the goal . And if that does n’t make it a Christmas pic , then what does ? Let it snow , let it snow , let it snow .
NEXT : Bruce Willis ' 10 Best Movies ( According To Rotten Tomatoes )
