“‘Tis the season…” is often used as a beginning-salutation, an introductory phrase that announces the arrival of Christmas merriment, chestnuts possibly roasting by the fireplace, and the overall feeling that gift-giving, reindeer dashing, Santa coming down the chimney, and the litany of yuletide holiday events are either about to take place or are taking place.
This goes for the seasonal movies that are watched during Christmas as well as having a story that takes place during Christmas as a setting; Christmas movies are a staple that movie-goers and movie-buffs alike entertain and return to year after year and season after season. But the cheer and jolliness of those movies are not always straightforward. Surprisingly, there are a lot of Christmas movies that are chock-full of action.
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Indeed, Christmas action movies are extremely popular, as much as the usual holiday treats of Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer, Frosty the Snowman, A Charlie Brown Christmas, A Christmas Carol, A Christmas Story, and Grandma Run Over by a Reindeer. However, the question of why remains because, for the most part, Christmas connotatively evokes both an idea and feeling of calm and peace mixed with merriment and joy.
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The contrast of an action film could very well feel out of place, but yet it works. As much as people enjoy the serenity of the season, they also enjoy watching buildings blow up, guns ablaze, fists pummeling, death-defying leaps from skyscrapers, a young child left all alone on Christmas hunting down burglars with intense precision and ferocity. There is joy in those things as well, and the power-of-the-suspension-of-belief when it comes to film and TV, allows for the perfect juxtaposition between Christmas and action.
Die Hard Started a Debate That Hasn’t Ended
Movies like Die Hard and its sequel, Die Hard 2, which as part of witty seasonal banter are always argued over whether they are “Christmas movies,” take place during the holiday season in both films while also utilizing the setting of time to activate the plot. In the original Die Hard, Bruce Willis’s John McClane fights against terrorist who have taken over a building where his, at the time, estranged wife, Holly, works.
John moves heaven and hell to save her and takes down these terrorists. Die Hard is action-packed and never lets off the gas. Yet, it is also a movie about union and the distance that can come between togetherness, as it is in John’s and Holly’s case even before the events of the movie. In the end, they find their way back to each other through all the action and bloodshed just like a Christmas miracle.
Similarly, Die Hard 2, once again, finds John McClane fighting terrorists, but this time instead of his wife being trapped in a building, she’s on a plane during the Christmas season, trying to get home. The story revolves around the idea of trying to get home for Christmas, a relatable experience for most, however, when the seemingly insurmountable obstacle of danger arises to hinder Holly McClane from getting home, her husband John McClane steps in.
Die Hard 2 is exorbitant in action, it’s big and explosive and clamorous and extremely violent, nothing that a so-called “White Christmas” is supposed to be. But seeing the red blood in the white snow works because it’s both relatable while simultaneously entertaining through some of the best forms of escapism in film.
20th Century Fox
The formula for Christmas action movies like Die Hard and Die Hard 2 remains fairly consistent as settings usually including snow, ornaments, and decorations bathe the view with characters pitted against each other or some form of an obstacle. Batman Returns has a Gotham City slick with ice and snow and filled with decorations and danger as Batman faces off with the Penguin and a slippery Catwoman.
The Home Alone Movies Are Family Friendly Christmas Action
This is the same for Home Alone. The elaborate, over-the-top action sequences from Die Hard 2 are not present in this Christmas action-flick, but Kevin’s quarry in the film, two dimwitted and ultimately, dumbfounded, burglars stand no chance against him, as traps are set throughout the house, constantly preventing the burglars from getting what they want. What makes the formula work, again, is one-part being relatable and the other-part the-power-of-the-suspension of belief: Human fear of leaving a child home alone, forgetting that child, is relatable; juxtapose that with the unbelievable verve and ingenuity of Kevin to survive while being alone and the marriage of Christmas movie merriment and action born.
20th Century Studios
The Trend Continues in Modern Films Like Violent Night
Overall, more and more movies are being made to fit this mold and formula. Recently, Violent Night, starring David Harbour as a very violent Santa Claus, released in theaters. The movie is said to have similar tones of Die Hard 2 and Home Alone. Additionally, The Mean One, another violent, action-filled take on a Christmas icon, the Grinch, just came out. These movies are all following a long tradition of Christmas action movies, attempting to add to what is becoming a stunning subgenre.
