To call any single action movie the “greatest of all time” is a bold statement, but that’s just how a lot of people feel about an absolute classic that’s set to land on a new streaming home next month. Sure, there have been more than a few action movies over the years that could easily be called the “greatest,” including John Wick, Terminator 2, and First Blood, but this one has them all beat thanks to how it redefined what a hero could be, while at the same time setting the standard for all villains to follow.
We’re, of course, talking about Die Hard, the 1988 action classic that starred Bruce Willis as John McClane. Up until that point, most action heroes had been big, muscular supermen that were nearly invincible, but Willis’ portrayal of a vulnerable NYPD detective helped change all that. He wasn’t some strongman who excelled at hand-to-hand combat, nor was he a hulking beast that showed no fear. McClane was just a regular guy with regular problems that we could all relate to, improvising his way through a seemingly impossible situation while getting battered, bruised, and scared along the way.
Portraying McClane’s nemesis in Die Hard was Alan Rickman as Hans Gruber. Far from being a cartoon villain who was evil just for the sake of being evil, Gruber had a carefully laid out plan going into Nakatomi Plaza that he would have executed with a calm, charismatic charm had McClane not shown up. He was cold, calculated, and clever, pretending to be one thing when he was really another. Rickman’s performance as the elegant mastermind was second to none, and proved that not all villains had to be stark-raving lunatics with no end game in mind.
Is ‘Die Hard’ a Christmas Movie?
While Die Hard is definitely in the conversation for the greatest action movie ever made, one thing that has divided people over the years is whether it’s a Christmas movie or not. Sure, it’s set on the eve of the beloved holiday, but the plot itself isn’t about Christmas, nor is the aesthetic essential to the story. You could easily move the date it takes place to February 13 and put up some heart streamers… would that make Die Hard a Valentine’s Day movie?
Heck, even the star himself believes that it’s not a holiday movie, as he once said during a Comedy Central roast: “Die Hard is not a Christmas movie! It’s a goddamn Bruce Willis movie.” That being said, many people disagree with that statement, and consider the action film to be a Christmas classic no matter what anyone, including Willis, has to say about it.
The fact is, Die Hard is a Christmas movie if you want it to be, as the case can be made for or against the matter. In the grand scheme of things, it’s not that big of a deal, because when it comes right down to it, Die Hard is a masterclass in action that helped redefine the entire genre, which is the film’s true legacy. If you want to relive all the fun of this seminal classic, look for it to begin streaming on Peacock starting December 1, 2025.
- Release Date
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July 15, 1988
- Runtime
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132 minutes
- Writers
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Jeb Stuart, Steven E. de Souza
- Producers
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Joel Silver