Yes, "Die Hard" takes place at Christmas. But, unlike "Home Alone", I would argue that absolutely nothing in the plot or the actions would change if it were set, say, during the Fourth of July. My argument (spoilers ahead): John McClane travels to see his estranged wife, a rising star in an LA firm, just before the 4th of July. He brings a really big teddy bear for his daughter (maybe it's her birthday). He shows up at a staff party and everything goes wrong. He uses his cop instincts to fight back against the terrorists/thieves. After he kills the first one, he sends the guy down the elevator in red-white-and blue hat with "God Bless America" written on the guy's shirt. Throughout, various people hum patriotic country songs. NOTHING else changes. The response of the cops (who probably think the gunfire is fireworks), the ulterior motive of the bad guys, the way McClane takes each one down and figures out what's going to happen. In other words, the fact that it is Christmas has almost nothing to do with what happens or how it happens. That being said, it's a good film. Bruce Willis gives his patented funny, grounded, fairly real guy in the middle of extraordinary circumstances thing. The combination of terrorism/robbery and a kind of riff on "The Towering Inferno" makes the tight film engaging. Bonnie Bedelia and the whole cast (particularly Reginal VelJohnson, Alan Rickman and De'voreaux White) round out a strong group of actors you want to watch. And the leading lady isn't a size 0 Barbie girl. See, women looked like women in films in the 80s! It's an engaging action film. But it's not a Christmas tale.
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