3 great Christmas-themed action movies that aren’t ‘Die Hard’ — including a killer Kris Kringle caper you need to stream before the sequel arrives in theaters next month
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One of my best pals loves 1988’s “Die Hard” so much, he ‘makes’ me play a drinking game around it every holiday season. So if he reads the following, he’ll be loading up a stocking full of coal to bash my head in with. Look, John McTiernan’s legendary movie isn’t just arguably the greatest actioner ever; it’s a whole lot of folks’ favorite Christmas flick too. Still, other Christmas-themed action movies are definitely worth your attention this year, too.
John McClane will no doubt be throwing festive profanities at me for suggesting other festive actioners, but I really dig the following trio. First up, there’s “Carry-On” , a super-fun action-thriller that takes more than a few pages out of “Die Hard 2”. Next we have “Violent Night” , which is a dark comedy about a sociopathic Santa Claus that just so happens to have a sequel coming out next month. Lastly, there’s “Kiss Kiss Bang Bang” , a beloved kinda Christmas comedy that helped put Robert Downey Jr. back on the map. It also gives me serious vibes of 2016’s “The Nice Guys”.
I’m obviously not telling you you shouldn’t watch “Die Hard” this holiday season. What I am saying is that you’ll be on my personal Naughty List for a long old while if you don’t give this trio of Christmasmas action treats a try. And after you’re done with them, check out the 5 best Christmas movies on Netflix, ranked by Rotten Tomatoes scores .
What a few years it’s been for TSA agents. First kickass Rod Williams in 2017’s “Get Out”, and now Ethan Kopek (Taron Egerton) in the very much underrated "Carry On". As someone who loathes both airports and flying, this Christmas-set action movie gives me all the uneasy vibes. Set on Christmas Eve, poor Ethan endures the shift from hell after a mysterious mercenary known as “The Traveler” (a truly chilling Jason Bateman) convinces him to let a deadly nerve agent through airport security.
Why would Kopek play along with such a sinister plan? The Traveler will kill his pregnant girlfriend Nora (Sofia Carson) if he doesn’t play ball. With Bateman’s dead-eyed terrorist for hire planning to assassinate a Congresswoman, then frame the Russians and reap the rewards, the stakes in “Carry-On” are a smidge higher than running out to the store and discovering the last carton of eggnog has just sold out. Fast-paced, edgy and propulsively plotted, this Netflix original would make McClane proud.
Watch “Carry-On” on Netflix now
You thought Billy Bob Thornton’s deviant department store Old Saint Nick was naughty in 2003’s “Bad Santa”? You ain’t seen nothin’ yet. Meet David Harbour’s take on Père Noël. He’s disgruntled, disillusioned and constantly drunk… and oh yeah, he just happens to be an ancient Norse warrior who swapped his Viking gear for a certain red suit centuries ago.
"Violent Night" plays out like a particularly R-rated take on “Home Alone”. Y’know, if Kevin McCallister swapped torturing Harry and Marv with cracked Christmas baubles for beating the brains out of goons with a sledgehammer called Skullcrusher. Despite his killer tendencies, Harbour is actually the reluctant anti-hero in this dark comedy. After he inadvertently stumbles down a chimney to find a criminal gang led by “Scrooge” (a playful John Leguizamo) who are trying to break into the vault of a family’s mansion, it’s up to not-so-merry Old Nick to lay serious Santa smackdown. “Violent Night 2” hits theaters on December 4. Pray you stay on Kris’ Nice List until then.
Watch “Violent Night” on Netflix now
Three years before he’d nab the iconic role of his career playing some sort of metal fellow in the MCU, Robert Downey Jr. was slowly rebuilding his Hollywood reputation in this dark comedy set around the holidays. Here, the future Tony Stark plays Harry Lockhart; a thief so bumbling, he accidentally stumbles into a screen test after he fails to fleece a toy story. So convincing is Harry’s spontaneous performance, the agents give him the gig on the spot and he’s swiftly flown out to Tinseltown.
From here, our thief is paired with Perry van Shrike (a rarely better Val Kilmer), a cynical private investigator tasked with training Harry on how to act like a detective for his upcoming ‘role’. As the pair begrudgingly pal around, Lockhart is reunited with his old flame Harmony Faith Lane (Michelle Monaghan), who pulls our unlikely duo into a real-life murder mystery. Expertly penned and directed by Shane Black of “Lethal Weapon” fame, this alternate Christmas tale might not be quite as associated with the holidays as “Gremlins”, but it’s a hell of a lot of fun all the same.
Watch “Kiss Kiss Bang Bang” on Amazon Prime now