Die Hard Isn’t the Best Christmas Action Movie, Because This 1982 Favorite Is Actually #1

The holidays are a season of traditions. Things like decorating the Christmas tree, going to see holiday lights, baking and decorating cookies or even having a cookie swap with friends and family, are just a few of the many, many traditions people enjoy as the weather grows cold and the calendar ticks its way down to December 25th. For many, holiday movies also are a major tradition and that leads to something of a tangential tradition that people engage with every year: debating whether Die Hard is or is not a Christmas movie. If we’re being honest with ourselves, that’s not a debate that will ever really be settled; there will always be people who just don’t see Die Hard as a holiday movie. They’re allowed to be wrong. However, while opinions about Die Hard may differ, there’s one things we all need to get on the same page about: Die Hard isn’t the best Christmas action movie anyway. There is another that is actually number one.

Released in 1982, First Blood (Sometimes referred to as Rambo: First Blood) is the first installment of the Rambo film franchise. Starring Sylvester Stallone, First Blood follows Vietnam War veteran John Rambo as he comes to a small Washington town but ends up clashing with the town sheriff and finds himself having to survive a manhunt with his survival and combat skills when he escapes custody after being unlawfully detained. While the film, which also stars Brian Dennehy, doesn’t sound much like a holiday movie on its face, it’s Christmas setting coupled with the film’s unique approach to the idea of peace at Christmas — albeit framed through trauma and tragedy in the tale of a combat soldier’s PTSD and a small town’s corruption and bias — make for an interesting examination of some of the darker feelings of the season.

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First Blood is a Holiday Tragedy That Calls Out Hypocrisy — And Shines a Light on the Suffering of Others

Let’s get something settled at the start: Christmas isn’t an overt element of First Blood. There’s not Santa story, no traditional elements that you’d expect. There’s not even any snow (the film is set in the Pacific Northwest that doesn’t necessarily see a lot of snowfall, but there are a lot of evergreens, so there’s at least that.) But the film does still take place in December and the dressing of the season serves to highlight some of the hypocrisy and cruelty of the people Rambo encounters, specifically Sheriff Teasle (Dennehy). The sheriff’s department is decorated with holiday trimmings and a “Merry Christmas” banner, but contrasted against the inhospitality of the town, those festive decorations feel cheap and performative.

Rambo comes to Hope, Washington after finding out he’s the last surviving member of his army unit and instead of treating him with dignity and kindness, Teasle just kicks him out of the town. When Rambo comes back, he’s arrested and then abused by the deputies. It’s a veneer of kindness and cheer with the decor with cruelty underneath. As the movie continues, we see Rambo fighting is way out of town after being triggered by the abuse and, eventually, the National Guard has to call in Rambo’s former commanding officer to try to get Rambo to surrender which in the end, he does — but not before opening up about the suffering and challenges he’s experienced after coming home from war, relating the feelings that veterans have of feeling lost after everything they’ve experienced.

When taken as a whole, First Blood does the reverse of what most “traditional” Christmas movies does. Most holiday films illuminate the goodness in people, often showing a flawed protagonist learning to have empathy and mercy and generosity of spirit through various trials and tribulations over the course of the story. We see this in classic tales like A Christmas Carol and in more contemporary stories, too. First Blood, however, offers a something more real: the idea that that sort of kindness and understanding doesn’t always come for those who most need it. Rambo is a man who just needs some understanding and kindness. after everything he’s been through, but he’s met with cruelty instead. To put it more simply, Rambo was just seeking peace and was instead given hell.

Die Hard May Be More “Fun” But First Blood Has a Better Message

Ultimately, it’s the message of First Blood that elevates it above Die Hard as the best Christmas action movie. Die Hard may arguably be more fun, but First Blood uses its holiday season setting as a frame to drive home a story of trauma, war, and a need for human understanding. It’s part of the subtle message that that the idea of “goodwill towards men” is something that, while a core concept of Christmas, is often one of the big things that people forget. First Blood is sad, but it’s necessary — especially during the holidays.

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