If there’s one thing that never seems to run out, it’s the amount of Christmas movies available. Christmas movies, most of which are family comedies, are released by the dozens every single year, many of them becoming holiday classics for newer generations. The thing is though, not everybody likes family comedies. Even if you do, they can sometimes get tiring and old.
The holidays can be stressful for a lot of people, what with all the planning and shopping and whatnot, so when you’re at stress level ten, sometimes, the last thing you want is to see yet another family comedy about saving Christmas. Fortunately, some filmmakers are on it, and have come out with a collection of red-blooded action thrillers to watch this holiday season.These are the best Christmas action movies, which offer something different for more mature audiences.
10’The Long Kiss Goodnight' (1996)
Directed by Renny Harlin
The Long Kiss GoodnightstarsGeena Davisas Samantha Caine, a schoolteacher is just settling into her Christmas vacation when she gets in a nasty car accident, and wakes up with a knife in her hand and a new set of skills that she didn’t know she possessed. After a criminal breaks into her family home, Samantha is forced to defend herself, but she worries her newfound skills with weapons may put her family in danger.
She enlists the help of Mitch (Samuel L. Jackson), a private investigator determined to help dig up her past and figure out who she truly is and why she is being hunted all of a sudden. Christmas may not be super important to the narrative in this film, but it is a presence glimpsed throughout the movie, so whileit’s not the most “Christmas-y” so to speak, it can still be seen as a Christmas movie, just one that has a lot of action sequences in it.
The Long Kiss Goodnight
9’The Silent Partner' (1978)
Directed by Daryl Duke
The Silent Partneris a Canadian action film set in the metropolitan heart of Toronto, where a bank teller named Miles (Elliott Gould) is going about his business. On the desk, he finds a discarded note implying the bank will be robbed, and the handwriting happens to match the writing on a Santa Claus' sign outside the bank, who is standing there collecting for charity. An ordinary person might call the police or inform their superiors, but Miles makes the incomprehensible decision to steal the money himself and hightail it out of there.
When the Santa Claus, played byChristopher Plumme, realizes he’s been duped, he begins hunting Miles down for the ill-gotten money in his pockets, all while still dressed in his Santa suit.The movie is kind of goofy, but highly underrated, expertly making use of its comedic side for a movie that audiences won’t soon forget.And what better time to watch it than the Christmas season, when the film takes place?
The Silent Partner
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8’Violent Night' (2022)
Directed by Tommy Wirkola
Violent Nightis what happens when jolly old Saint Nick (David Harbour) spends Christmas Eve at a bar, gets reallly drunk, and decides that instead of delivering presents, he’s going to save a family that has been taken hostage in their own home. The sprawling estate has been captured by mercenaries, trapping the family that owns it inside, and now its up to Kris Kringle to take the mercenaries down and save the family.
By far the best part aboutViolent Nightis how disgruntled and brutal Santa is, dishing out hilariously crude insults and delivering death in typical action movie fashion. It might be a little underwhelming, not quite living up to the craziness of its concept, butit’s still a wild ride that simply must be seenby any grizzled Christmas fanswho want something more their speed.
Violent Night
7’Kiss Kiss Bang Bang' (2005)
Directed by Shane Black
Kiss Kiss Bang Bangis a neo-noir action-comedy set in the sun-filled streets of Los Angeles, so don’t expect to see much snow around. But there are a lot of festive celebrations going down in and around the city, so there’s no shortage of decorations or background events that suggest the holidays approaching. The movie starsRobert Downey Jr.as Harry Lockhart, a professional criminal who accidentally gets thrust into the world of acting after inadvertently waltzing into an audition.
While in Hollywood, Harry is taken under the wing of a real private investigator to prepare for his upcoming film role, but this flipped upside-down when a very real mystery presents itself, with Harry right in the middle of it. This movie is a little bit of everything, from action, to dark comedy, to mystery thriller, to holiday film, and it pulls off each of these concepts extremely well in an underrated Christmas classic that became one ofRobert Downey Jr.’s most memorable roles.
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
6’Merry Little Batman' (2023)
Directed by Mike Roth
Merry Little Batmanis an animated action-comedy film primarily intended for kids, but that doesn’t mean that adults won’t be able to enjoy it, too. In this flick, Batman (Luke Wilson) is out running an errand with the Justice League, leaving his son, Damian Wayne (Yonas Kibreab) back at Wayne manor for the holidays. While there, Damian discovers a plan by the nefarious Joker (David Hornsby) and a ton of other villains to steal Christmas like the Grinch, which prompts Damian to don his own batsuit and take matters into his own hands.
David Hornsby brings a pretty great performance as the voice of the Joker for this animated flick, a performance which allowed him to be nominated for an Annie award, which was one of two nominations that the film received.Even if it is primarily for children, parents of said children, or even adults without any kids will still be able to sit back, relax, and appreciate the goofy film for its humour and cartoony action.
Merry Little Batman
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5’Red One' (2024)
Directed by Jake Kasdan
Red Oneis a recently-released movie starringDwayne “The Rock” Johnsonthat has been met with some mixed reviews. Critics panned the technical aspects of the movie, but as for regular moviegoers, it was an absolute blast. Sure, it may have some elements that are lacking, but this is a movie that is a heck of a lot of fun, and when taken at face value, can make for a really good time.
The plot is about Santa (J. K. Simmons) getting kidnapped, which prompts the North Pole’s top-secret special forces unit to team up with a well-established bounty hunter and get Saint Nick back home in time to make his annual delivery run. Sure, it’s super cheesy, but that’s also part of the reason why it’s so enjoyable.It’s ridiculous and it knows it, never taking itself seriously for even a second, which allows it to get away with being as action-packed and goofy as it wants.
4’Die Hard 2' (1990)
Die Hard 2is, obviously, the second film in the action franchise that initially started in the 1980s. In this film,Bruce Willisreprises his role as John McClane, who is enlisted to fight back against a group of mercenaries that have seized control of an international airport in Washington, D.C. on Christmas Eve. Aside from the life and death stakes, it also seriously delays people flights to rush home for Christmas morning, making this blatant attack extra uncool on behalf of the bad guys.
Like many sequels, the second film was kind of lacking in comparison to the first, and missed a few beats that its predecessor hit right on the nose. However, it is still regarded as one of the better films in the franchise, and can absolutely be seen as a Christmas movie, despite many online nay-sayers who insist it isn’t.Christmas is such a focal point of the narrative that its explosive thrills and fast-paced fight scenes can easily be watched during the season without it feeling out of place.
Die Hard 2: Die Harder
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3’Lethal Weapon' (1987)
Directed by Richard Donner
Lethal Weaponwas one of thebiggest action-comedy moviesof the 1980s, set during the holiday season and following a pair of police officers who couldn’t be more different. The officers in question are Martin (Mel Gibson) and Roger (Danny Glover), who are almost always at each other’s throats because of their different style and clashing personalities. But as the film goes on, they begin to grow on each other.
The movie has a touching scene at the end of the two sharing Christmas dinner together, but the road to get there is about the furthest thing from holiday cheer possible. The adventure is littered with gunfire, emotional blowups, hilarious chemistry (or lack thereof), and an overall air of cynicism from Martin.In the end, it actually is quite Christmas-y, as the core message is about working together and putting aside differences for the common good, which is really what the holiday is all about, no?
Lethal Weapon
2’Batman Returns' (1992)
Directed by Tim Burton
Batman Returnsis the sequel toTim Burton’s 1989 superhero flick,Batman, starringMichael Keatonas the caped crusader. Keaton once again dons the cape and cowl for the sequel, which sees him face off against The Penguin (Danny DeVito) and Catwoman (Michelle Pfeiffer) during the Christmas season. Penguin bids to gain control of Gotham by running for mayor, while Catwoman wages a campaign of terror on local businesses as revenge for her boss, Max Schreck (Christopher Walken) trying to kill her.
This movie was so much darker than its predecessor, even for Tim Burton, but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t brilliant. It actually kind of improved upon the original in some ways, made better by the expert performances of its main cast.The Christmas-themed visuals definitely stand front and centre, making for a holiday flick that is much creepier and more action-packed than typical Christmas fare.
Batman Returns
1’Die Hard' (1988)
Directed by John McTiernan
Die Hardis the action movie that has been the subject of an age-old debate in regards to what does and doesn’t classify as a Christmas movie. Some say it isn’t on account of the fact that Santa Claus, reindeer or elves aren’t exactly a prominent feature in the film. But it does take place during Christmas, with holiday decorations and aesthetics taking the forefront and appearing frequently throughout the film.
Story-wise it’s about a father, played by Bruce Willis, whose daughter has been kidnapped and is being held hostage by a group of mercenaries that have taken over a skyscraper. The former special forces operative makes it his personal mission to get his daughter back himself, bringing her home in time for Christmas morning.It’s one of thequintessential 80s action movies, one that just so happens to take place during Christmas.
