There are some questions that may never receive a satisfactory answer. Is there alien life in the universe? What happened to Amelia Earhart? Is Die Hard a Christmas movie? This last one has been a hotly debated topic among film fans for the 30 years since the film was released. However, one voice, that must be given a place of authority, has finally weighed in. Bruce Willis says Die Hard is NOT a Christmas movie.
The moment came at the conclusion of a roast given in honor of the accomplished actor, which is set to air on Comedy Central later this month. After everybody else had been given a chance to fire off one-liners at the star of the Die Hard franchise, he was given an opportunity for rebuttal. According to The Hollywood Reporter, he finished off the evening by ending the Die Hard Christmas debate and declaring it not a Christmas movie.
Of course, let's be honest. While the proclamation from Bruce Willis is certainly worthy of note, this isn't actually going to impact the debate on this question in any meaningful way. Even in the comments on this tweet, there are people taking issue with the statement and arguing that Willis is wrong and that Die Hard is still a Christmas movie. Some people are going to hold to their opinion no matter what.
In most cases, the conversation comes down to how exactly one defines a Christmas movie. Die Hard does take place at Christmas time, and the events of the story unfold around a Christmas party. The holiday is the reason that all these people are together in one place. For many, that's all it really takes to classify Die Hard as a Christmas film.
Others would argue that the holiday, while being circumstantially related, isn't intrinsically necessary to the movie. How much some of the broader themes traditionally found in Christmas movies, such as the importance of family or general love for your fellow man, are important, is certainly a topic worthy of discussion. While our hero does reconcile to some degree with his wife at the end and probably spends Christmas with his family. That had more to do with the stress of the hostage situation and less to do with the magic of Christmas. Also, while Die Hard was set at Christmas, it was released in July.
Whether or not Die Hard is, strictly speaking, a Christmas movie, the film has entered the Christmas rotation of a lot of movie fans and Bruce Willis' proclamation probably won't change that. Still, if you wondering how the star of the movie felt about this eternal question, now you know. Does this answer impact your viewing of Die Hard? Let us know in the poll below.
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