by Thom Yee
The first thing I asked when somebody told me there was a fifth Die Hard movie coming out was, “Is it set at Christmas?” It’s not a necessary element. It’s not central to the plot, nor is it something you contemplate in the overall context of the films. But it’s important. To me, the first Die Hard, the one, true Die Hard, is fundamentally three things:
1) a superlative action movie;
2) an all-around perfect movie; and
3) a quintessential Christmas movie.
It’s an atmospheric element that lends so much to the feel of the original that it’s inextricably, inexorably, and never-endlingly linked to what the Die Hard experience is.
A Good Day to Die Hard is not set at Christmas.