John McTiernan’s Die Hard is one of the greatest action movies ever made. Bruce Willis’ flawed everyman John McClane is a quintessential hero, Alan Rickman’s chilling terrorist leader Hans Gruber is a quintessential villain, and the story of one off-duty cop fending off an armed siege during an office Christmas party offers plenty of opportunities for both action-packed spectacle and engaging character work. After a decade of invincible musclebound supermen played by Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger, McClane’s relatable flaws provided ‘80s moviegoers with a refreshing change of pace. Whether it’s technically a Christmas film or not, Die Hard is a masterpiece of the action genre.