Die Hard (1988)

With so many Hallmark Christmas movies on television at the present, it makes a refreshing change to go back to this one from the late 80’s.

Sappy, it is not.

Spicy, maybe.

But mostly fruity, with the language.

Even a shot of someone smoking in the airport was startling, when you consider how far we have come in 30 years.

Die Hard is a (now) often imitated formula when it comes to the ‘one man against the odds’ story line. Even the franchise is a bit repetitive, sometimes, especially in basing their stories around the Christmas season. But, for the men of the household, a welcome change from all that “ho, ho, ho”-ing.

Now, there have been movies in the 70’s which depicted a similar scenario: The Towering Inferno comes to mind. But this one is closer to the real life emergency of 9-11 in time, and the image on the posters of a skyscraper on fire hits a little too close to home. Precognition, perhaps? Even this year’s movie, Skyscraper, picks up the theme.

It was also interesting to have a hero who actually bleeds. This is no Superman, just a dedicated human, determined to save the mother of his children from harm. That was the Christmas theme woven into the movie: Love conquers all fear.