Die Hard

Christmas just wouldn’t be Christmas without mayhem and bloodshed, and how better to escape these family traditions than by watching Bruce Willis blow stuff up?

Arriving in Los Angeles on Christmas Eve to reconcile with his estranged wife, John McClane (Willis) goes to meet her at her office Christmas party. Unwelcome gatecrashers arrive, led by the smarmy if dapper Hans Gruber (Alan Rickman), and promptly take the party hostage, even being so impolite as to kill the host. Their goal is, of course, to give themselves lots of other people’s money for Christmas, and only one man can be their Grinch. 

With tight plotting that keeps the film moving at a frantic pace, Willis’ charm works in making the everyman McClane a likeable and credible hero. The explosive action sequences are brilliantly choreographed, and Rickman adds a touch of class to one of the most enduring and enjoyable action thrillers of the 80s, if not ever.