Why Die Hard is definitely a Christmas movie

It's a debate which has raged for years

When one conjures up the thought of a Christmas film in their head, they usually imagine a few particular kinds of movies. Family is one of the key themes, bringing a film like Home Alone to mind, as well as the likes of Deck the Hells and other less successful yuletide yarns. Laughter generally comes into it too - it is a time to relax, after all - as well as love and lessons learned, something which a true classic like It's a Wonderful Life has in spades. Die Hard is not your traditional Christmas film, on the surface at least, with guns and action and death and swearing seemingly at odds with 'the most wonderful time of the year'. But that doesn't mean it's not a Christmas film. We spoke to film critic Mark Kermode ahead of the festive season, and he explained to us why it most definitely is.