Why "Die Hard" Is the 2024 Christmas Movie

Is "Die Hard" is a Christmas film? I. Don't. Care. But some of the film's bigger themes have aged well.

Photo by Matt The Artist on Unsplash

Since the early days of the Internet there has been a running debate about whether Die Hard is a Christmas film or not. As someone who only celebrates Jewish Christmas, this discourse was once amusing but now — much like the “is a hot dog a sandwich?” discourse — it feels played out.

None of this is to denigrate the actual 1988 film, directed by John McTiernan and starring Bruce Willis, Alan Rickman, Bonnie Bedelia, and Reginald VelJohnson. It’s got everything: a vulnerable hero, a charismatic villain, an interesting female supporting role,¹ compelling backstories for almost every character sketched quickly & cleanly, interesting henchmen, legitimate humor, and some kick-ass action. I mean, there’s a reason that so many films were described as “Die Hard in a ____” for the next decade — and the trailer for the 2025 film Cleaner looks like “Lady Die Hard in the UK.”

This movie rocks. Just ask Brooklyn Nine-Nine’s Jake Peralta!

In late 2024, however, the original Die Hard resonates for some more disturbing reasons: the issues touched on in the action film continue to plague American society nearly four decades later.

Let’s start with Japanese foreign direct investment. This was a huge issue in the 1980s, as the combination of Japan’s manufacturing renaissance and post-1985 real-state asset bubble enabled a lot of takeovers of U.S. properties and firms. The rise of Japan generated significant political backlash in the United States,² fostering a declinist narrative in the late 1980s that got memory-holed after the end of the Cold War. Needless to say, the political hysteria regarding the economic rise of Japan proved to be wildly exaggerated and just a little bit racist.

In that sense, Die Hard was legitimately contrarian: both the Nakatomi Corporation and the Japanese-American CEO, Joseph Yoshinobu Takagi, are portrayed as responsible stakeholders.³ Unfortunately, the misplaced hostility to Japanese acquisitions of U.S. firms has persisted into 2024. The Financial Times’ Demetri Sevastopulo reported in how the Biden administration has handled Nippon Steel’s proposed takeover of U.S. Steel. This is a deal supported by U.S. Steel’s workers — and yet it has hit a huge political roadblock:

The Financial Times reported this week that at least three Cfius agencies — the Treasury, Pentagon and State department — had concluded that the acquisition of the iconic American steelmaker posed no security risks. The main opposition inside Cfius to the transaction is being led by Katherine Tai, the US trade representative.

Biden and president-elect Donald Trump have both voiced opposition to the deal. Biden came out publicly against the deal this year, which critics said amounted to politicising the Cfius process.

Cfius has drafted a mitigation agreement that outlines how Nippon Steel could alleviate the concerns raised by some of the government agencies. But the people said the US trade representative office showed no sign of reversing its opposition.

If Cfius reached unanimous agreement, Biden would have to find another justification to derail the transaction if he wanted to block it. If the panel remains split, however, Biden would be required to make the decision.

A person close to the process said Biden was determined to block the deal. He said some of the government agencies pushing to approve the deal were also increasingly resigned that they would lose the Cfius battle.

Asked if Biden would block the deal, the person said: “Not whether but when.”

The situation has soured US relations with Japan, its most important ally in Asia. Japanese officials point out that Washington wants Tokyo to work together to counter China but says Japan is a security risk.

Several senior US officials told the FT that Biden’s opposition was political. Biden, Kamala Harris and Trump all used their opposition to try to win union votes in Pennsylvania, where US Steel is based, during the presidential election campaign….

“The Nippon case reveals a flaw in the Cfius process, where a member like USTR, that does not have national security pedigrees nor represents any specific risk arising from this transaction, is able to make a huge geostrategic mis-step,” said a former Cfius official in the Biden administration.

Good to know that mindless opposition to foreign direct investment from an allied government persists nearly 40 years after this film’s release

The second parallel between Die Hard and 2024 are the deceptive motivations of the villain of the story. In the film, Hans Gruber is described in the media as a former member of the West German Volksfrei movement (which does not exist). Gruber monologues frequently in the film, acting as though he has taken hostages to achieve political ends:

As it turns out, however, Gruber is merely using what he reads in Time magazine as cover to steal $640 million in untraceable bearer bonds from the building's vault. When Holly Gennaro-McClane realizes Gruber’s true intentions, she says, “after all your posturing, all your little speeches, you’re just a common thief.” To which Gruber replies, “I am an exceptional thief, Mrs. McClane.”

A villain who uses political misdirection to disguise more corrupt motives? Far be it for me to suggest parallels to the real world in 2024, but they should be manifestly obvious to any observer.

Finally, and sadly, Die Hard highlights the complete impotence of any private or public authority to deal with someone as transgressive as Hans Gruber. Within Nakatoni, a coked-up Ellis tries to negotiate his way out of being a hostage, and it ends… poorly for him:

Meanwhile, both the local and federal authorities believe that they can categorize Gruber as a political terrorist, and rely on standard operating procedures to deal with him. In the film, the FBI sound pretty confident they know how to deal with the problem at Nakatoni Plaza:

As it turns out, of course, Gruber is so familiar with the FBI playbook that he has incorporated it into his own master plan for breaking into the vault containing the bearer bonds.

Again, I think it is safe to say that in late 2024 the theme of private-sector and public-sector officials possessing limited capacity and/or willingness to handle transgressive threats will resonate.

In the film, the presence of fly-in-the-ointment John McClane and some duct tape prevent Gruber’s plan from working. In late 2024, however, Die Hard is not just a Christmas film; it is a warning about what happens when there is no John McClane in the real world to save the day.

Yippie Ki-Yay, America. And Merry Christmas!!!

1. It’s a near-run thing but Die Hard does pass the Bechdel test.

2. It also produced one mediocre Michael Crichton novel and one weird-but-better-than-it-should-be film adaptation of said novel.

3. Indeed, when Gruber reads out Takagi’s bio, he notes Takagi’s childhood internment during World War II.