On this day many of us have watched all or part of one or many Christmas movies. These all have in common the presence of Santa Claus, the baby Jesus, the Christmas Spirit, gifts, trees, vacations, family, shopping and all of the other tropes in varying degrees. But, geeksters, there is one that rises above the fray. This tale does not involve shopping, Santa, lost Christmas Spirit, the baby Jesus, or any of the other stuff I have mentioned. This movie involves one man searching for redemption in the eyes of his wife and one man seeking forgiveness in himself and both will find what they are seeking at Nakatomi Plaza.

This movie does not rely upon the standard tropes to convey the true meaning of Christmas. No, you get European terrorists, guns, explosions, snark, and gumption! I could reiterate the plot here, I mean, we are talking about a 1988 movie. But, I choose to look at the larger themes. Bruce Willis’ John McClain is a New York City Police Detective who is very east coast. He has no use for the yuppies his wife works with and wants nothing more than to get home to be with his kids. Reginald Vel Johnson’s Sgt Al Powell of the LAPD is just a desk jockey who stumbles upon the attack at Nakatomi Plaza. Johnson is McClain’s contact with the outside world and the two find that they are kindred spirits. McClain comes to trust Powell more than the leadership on the ground and this is the beginning of Al’s redemption.

McClain becomes driven to neutralize the bad guys to not only save the hostages, but to rescue his wife. In all of this chaos he begins to find love for his estranged wife and wants to reunite his family. In the midst of all of this violence love flourishes, hope grows and two men who had nothing in common become transformed by the fires of Nakatomi Plaza and exit better men for it. John has his family back and is excited to enjoy the true meaning of Christmas and Johnson is ready to be a fearless cop.

This movie eschews the common tropes and still successfully gives the audience not your typical Christmas movie, but one that they deserve. I encourage you to kick back and enjoy this classic. Open your eyes to see the deeper meaning of it all.

Merry Christmas, all!!