We know it’s important to have the spirit of Christmas instilled in all of us during the holiday season. But sometimes, it’s good to shake things up a bit. Here are some examples of movies that spread more bullets than cheer, as we run down some of our favourite action-packed Christmas movies.
Batman Returns (1992)
Tim Burton’s epic follow-up to Batman has the caped crusader (Michael Keaton) taking on arch nemeses Catwoman (Michelle Pfeiffer) and Penguin (Danny DeVito) in Gotham during the holiday season. Who can forget the scene where Catwoman and Batman wind up under the mistletoe…“Mistletoe can be deadly if you eat it,” warns the Dark Knight. “But a kiss can be even deadlier, if you mean it,” replies the feline villain.
Lethal Weapon (1987)
Roger Murtaugh (Danny Glover), a soon to be retired cop is forced to pair up Martin Riggs(Mel Gibson), a fellow colleague who has suicidal tendencies. Using the Christmas period as the backdrop and spot on dialogue and chemistry, this arguably stands as the ultimate buddy-cop film of all time.
There’s even a Christmas-skewed scene with Riggs working a drug /bust sting operation on a Xmas tree lot.
Die Hard (1988)
Detective John McClane (Bruce Willis) gets balls-deep with terrorists after they take over the Nakatomi Plaza on Christmas Eve. An all-out battle of wits ensues with gun battles, fisticuffs resulting in one of the most memorable action movies ever made. Best remembered for the scene where McClane sends a message to the bad guys by dressing up a dead terrorist with a Santa hat with the words “NOW I HAVE A MACHINE GUN…HO-HO-HO” written on his sweat shirt.
Long Kiss Goodnight (1996)
Samantha Caine (Geena Davis) stars as an amnesiac suburban housewife who suddenly recalls her past life as Charly Baltimore, a lethal super assassin. The bad guys soon come a calling and they all die horribly. The film culminates in a finale with Caine/Baltimore chasing down the bad guys in a Reindeer sleigh. A film truly fitting the action-packed Christmas mould.
Rocky IV (1985)
Sylvester Stallone returns for a fourth jab (sorry, couldn’t help it) as Rocky Balboa who journeys to Russia to take on Ivan Drago (Dolph Lundgren) in a brutal heavyweight boxing grudge match. The twist? The match takes place on Christmas Day. Christmas miracles do happen in Rocky movies. In this one, it’s Balboa getting the home crowd to cheer for him after going toe to toe with Drago before dropping him in the final round.
