Bruce Willis Action Classic Tops Prime Video Charts

McTiernan’s all-timer of an action flick is indeed a Christmas movie. I have personally argued that “Die Hard” is thematically a Christmas movie, as opposed to merely being a movie that takes place on Christmas. It’s an exhausting debate that isn’t really worth having anymore. What is worth acknowledging is that “Die Hard” remains one of the best movies ever made, regardless of the genre. 36 years later, people still seek it out, as they should.

“Die Hard” centers on John McClane (Bruce Willis), a hardened New York cop who’s visiting Los Angeles on Christmas Eve to spend time with his estranged family. Enter Hans Gruber (Alan Rickman), an expert thief, and his merry band of gun-toting criminals, who proceed to violently crash the business party that John and his wife Holly (Bonnie Bedelia) are attending in order to steal the Nakatomi Corporation’s fortune, which is locked within a state of the art vault. The only thing standing in their way? A shoeless cop who wants to save his wife. If I may? Hell yeah.

This is the film that turned Willis into not just an action hero but also a movie star in general. Let’s not forget that, amazingly enough, this was Alan Rickman’s first film as well. With his performance, he gave us one of cinema’s greatest villains. On top of all that, the film gave rise to a five-movie franchise, although the original “Die Hard” remains by far the best of the bunch. In any event, it’s not just a bullet-proof work of cinematic perfection that satisfies every time, it’s also an important film that helped launch careers and generate a property that lasted decades.

In 2024, watching the film takes on new meaning. Willis retired from acting in 2022 after being diagnosed with aphasia, which means the man behind McClane is no longer making movies. So we, unfortunately, no longer get to watch this film and wonder what Willis will do next. Rather, we must marvel at everything he gave us, including this cherished two hours of high-octane excellence.

“Die Hard” is streaming now on Prime Video, or you can grab the movie on 4K, Blu-ray, or DVD via Amazon.