It’s the middle of November, and you know what that means, right? It’s the holiday season! Some may say it’s too early to rock our Santa hats, dip candy canes in our hot cocoa and fill our online carts with gift ideas. But this has nothing on Marvel Studios, which apparently released a holiday movie back in May 2013! That’s right, according to the piping hot streaming service Disney+, Iron Man 3 is a Christmas movie. Make some room, Die Hard.
Yes, if you look up “Christmas” in the search tab in Disney+, Iron Man 3 shows up amidst more traditional holiday season titles avaliable such as A Christmas Carol, The Nightmare Before Christmas and I’ll Be Home For Christmas. Sure, it’s on the bottom of the list of 18, right before The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, but in attendance nonetheless. So it looks like we have a new debatable Christmas movie on our hands!
Now, considering the summer release date of Iron Man 3, it wasn’t particularly intended to be a Christmas movie. The blockbuster is set behind the backdrop of the holidays – "Jingle Bell Rock" plays, festive decorations can be seen and Tony Stark befriends a young boy amidst investigating “The Mandarin.” Other than that, it doesn’t really have a Christmas movie feel. Yet, Disney+ makes this distinction; perhaps to give action fans a bit more to draw from in the category?
Then again, Iron Man 3 was written and directed by Shane Black, who seems to make it a point to set his films around the holidays. His Lethal Weapon is considered a Christmas movie by some, along with Kiss Kiss Bang Bang and The Nice Guys. It’s fun to play action and comedy against the Christmas season, and these elements have certainly added additional character to his films.
The holidays have been infamously burdened with the question of whether 1988’s Die Hard should be among movies cycled out during Christmas marathons. The movie revolves around a holiday party gone awry when German terrorists take over the building. An ambivalent John McClane (Bruce Willis) takes matters into his own hands to save his wife and have a nice Christmas with his family. It’s R-rated and violent, and neither Santa Claus nor the magic of the holiday is nowhere in sight.
Last year marked Die Hard’s 30th anniversary, and the debate heated up a notch when Bruce Willis announced his famous movie was not a Christmas movie after his Comedy Central roast. A poll also saw only 25% of those surveyed calling it a Christmas movie. It’s all good, some people are just wrong. But what about Iron Man 3, would you call it a Christmas movie? Hey, if it helps get you in the spirit, why not?
