Many of my favorite Christmas movies are Christmas action movies, such as my all-time favorite holiday classic, Die Hard. Of course, there are plenty more non-traditional Christmas movies that keep the holidays bright with muzzle flashes and visceral explosions. However, this list of the best Christmas movies from the action genre begins with two that I believe deserve to be called Christmas movies despite years of debating the topic.
Die Hard And Die Hard 2 (1988, 1990)
Director: John McTiernan, Renny Harlin
Starring: Bruce Willis, Bonnie Bedelia
What it’s about: New York cop John McClane is tasked with rescuing his wife and others from life-or-death situations on two different disastrous Christmas Eve nights.
Why they are some of the best Christmas action movies: While it is not exactly perfect, Die Hard is widely considered one of the best action movies ever made for its gripping suspense and incredibly talented cast, and Die Hard 2 is also a lot of thrilling holiday fun.
How to watch Die Hard and Die Hard 2
- Stream Die Hard on Amazon Prime
- Stream Die Hard on Hulu
- Buy Die Hard on Blu-ray on Amazon
- Stream Die Hard 2 on Hulu
- Stream Die Hard 2 on AMC+
- Rent or buy Die Hard 2 on Amazon
- Buy Die Hard 2 on Blu-ray on Amazon
Violent Night (2022)
Director: Tommy Wirkola
Starring: David Harbour, John Leguizamo
What it’s about: The one and only Santa Claus becomes the only hope to save a family taken hostage by ruthless thieves on Christmas Eve.
Why it is one of the best Christmas action movies: If you take the plot of Die Hard and replace John McClane with Old St. Nick, you basically have Violent Night, which features one of the all-time coolest movie Santas as a badass, sledgehammer-wielding hero.
How to watch Violent Night
- Stream Violent Night on Starz
- Rent or buy Violent Night on Amazon
- Buy Violent Night on Blu-ray on Amazon
On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969)
Director: Peter Hunt
Starring: George Lazenby, Diana Rigg, Telly Savalas
What it’s about: 007 is forced to work during the holidays when Stavro Blofeld plans to hold the world for ransom.
Why it is one of the best Christmas action movies: The only James Bond movie starring George Lazenby, On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, is also the only film in the spy movie franchise set around Christmas.
How to watch On Her Majesty’s Secret Service
- Stream On Her Majesty’s Secret Service on MGM+
- Stream On Her Majesty’s Secret Service on Pluto TV
- Rent or buy On Her Majesty’s Secret Service on Amazon
- Buy On Her Majesty’s Secret Service on Blu-ray on Amazon
The Tower (2012)
Director: Kim Ji-hoon
Starring: Sol Kyung-gu, Son Ye-jin
What it’s about: On Christmas Eve, the residents of a 108-story apartment complex in Korea are tasked with finding a way out alive when a devastating fire breaks out during a party.
Why it is one of the best Christmas action movies: Borrowing plot elements from both Die Hard and The Towering Inferno (before Dwayne Johnson’s Skyscraper did), The Tower is a high-stakes South Korean thriller that, like any great holiday classic, is about family coming together despite insurmountable odds.
How to watch The Tower
Lethal Weapon (1987)
Director: Richard Donner
Starring: Mel Gibson, Danny Glover
What it’s about: The holidays are put on hold for an aging detective and his new, younger, loose-cannon partner who are thrown together to chase ruthless L.A. drug smugglers.
Why it is one of the best Christmas action movies: Before there was Die Hard, the definitive Christmas action movie was the first of the Lethal Weapon movies, which is arguably the best of many Shane Black-penned holiday classics on our list.
How to watch Lethal Weapon
The Last Boy Scout (1991)
Director: Tony Scott
Starring: Bruce Willis, Damon Wayans
What it’s about: A private investigator and a disgraced former NFL quarterback become embroiled in a violent corruption plot in the world of professional sports.
Why it is one of the best Christmas action movies: The second Shane Black-penned Christmas classic on our list — the most overt evidence of its holiday connection being a gory illustration of “Satan Claus” — is director Tony Scott’s The Last Boy Scout, which is another action-packed Bruce Willis movie set around the holiday.
How to watch The Last Boy Scout
The Long Kiss Goodnight (1996)
Director: Renny Harlin
Starring: Geena Davis, Samuel L. Jackson
What it’s about: After her memories as a government assassin resurface, an amnesiac teams up with a detective to help her protect her family from enemies of her past.
Why it is one of the best Christmas action movies: Yet another Shane Black-penned Christmas classic is The Long Kiss Good Night, which is also another fun buddy movie and an action-packed holiday flick from Die Hard 2 director Renny Darlin.
How to watch The Long Kiss Goodnight
- Stream The Long Kiss Goodnight on Pluto TV
- Rent or buy The Long Kiss Goodnight on Amazon
- Buy The Long Kiss Goodnight on Blu-ray on Amazon
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005)
Director: Shane Black
Starring: Robert Downey Jr., Val Kilmer, Michelle Monaghan
What it’s about: After he is mistaken for an auditioning actor, a thief on the run teams up with a private investigator to solve a case as part of research for a movie role in Hollywood during Christmas.
Why it is one of the best Christmas action movies: Considered Shane Black’s best movie (and featuring one of Robert Downey Jr’s best non-MCU performances) is his directorial debut, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang — a dazzling Neo-noir thriller based on Brett Halliday’s novel, Bodies Are Where You Find Them.
How to watch Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
Iron Man 3 (2013)
Director: Shane Black
Starring: Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, Guy Pearce
What it’s about: Still traumatized from his battle against alien invaders, Tony Stark is forced to take on his greatest threat yet.
Why it is one of the best Christmas action movies: Shane Black would later direct Robert Downey Jr. in Iron Man 3, which — you guessed it — is one of the few Marvel movies set around Christmas so far and even borrows a few themes from traditional classics like A Christmas Carol.
How to watch Iron Man 3
Batman Returns (1992)
Director: Tim Burton
Starring: Michael Keaton, Danny DeVito, Michelle Pfeiffer
What it’s about: A wealthy vigilante finds himself at odds with a bird-like enemy but also attracted to a different cat-like adversary.
Why it is one of the best Christmas action movies: Another one of the best superhero movies set during the Christmas season is one of the best live-action Batman movies, Batman Returns — a visually inventive and infamously controversial follow-up to Tim Burton’s first box office smash about the Dark Knight.
How to watch Batman Returns
- Stream Batman Returns on Max
- Rent or buy Batman Returns on Amazon
- Buy Batman Returns on Blu-ray on Amazon
Shazam! (2019)
Director: David F. Sandberg
Starring: Zachary Levi, Asher Angel, Mark Strong
What it’s about: A teenage foster child becomes a hero after he is imbued with the ability to transform into a superpowered grown-up.
Why it is one of the best Christmas action movies: Another great Christmas superhero movie (also one of the funniest superhero movies) is Shazam!, which fans of the DC flick may recall has a spectacular final act set at a magical holiday celebration.
How to watch Shazam!
Reindeer Games (2000)
Director: John Frankenheimer
Starring: Ben Affleck, Charlize Theron, Gary Sinise
What it’s about: Recently released from prison, a man poses as his dead cellmate and finds himself participating in a dangerous heist on Christmas Eve.
Why it is one of the best Christmas action movies: Reindeer Games is an action thriller chock-full of holiday themes such as the title, setting, the robbers’ choice to wear Santa outfits during the centerpiece crime, and the main character’s name: Rudolph.
How to watch Reindeer Games
- Stream Reindeer Games on Paramount+
- Stream Reindeer Games on Pluto TV
- Rent or buy Reindeer Games on Amazon
- Buy Reindeer Games on Blu-ray on Amazon
Enemy Of The State (1998)
Director: Tony Scott
Starring: Will Smith, Gene Hackman, Regina King
What it’s about: While searching for a Christmas gift for his wife, a lawyer accidentally comes into possession of conspiratorial evidence and becomes targeted by a corrupt politician.
Why it is one of the best Christmas action movies: Yet another Tony Scott-directed holiday classic is one of the best Will Smith movies of the ’90s, Enemy of the State — an intense everyman tale from producer Jerry Bruckheimer.
How to watch Enemy of the State
The Silent Partner (1978)
Director: Daryl Duke
Starring: Elliot Gould, Christopher Plummer
What it’s about: After receiving a tip about an upcoming stick-up, a bank teller stashes away most of the cash for himself, leaving the crook outsmarted and certainly not happy about it.
Why it is one of the best Christmas action movies: Christopher Plummer’s villainous character carries out the inciting robbery of The Silent Partner in a Santa suit, which is just one of a few ways this suspenseful, and even funny, adaptation of Anders Bodelsen’s novel, Think of a Number, deserves attention during the holidays.
How to watch The Silent Partner
Deadly Games (1989)
Director: René Manzor
Starring: Alaine Lalanne, Patrick Floersheim
What it’s about: After a killer dressed as Santa breaks into his home, it is up to a young boy to defend himself and his grandfather one fateful Christmas Eve.
Why it is one of the best Christmas action movies: Imagine the plot of Home Alone, but with much higher stakes and more graphic violence not played for laughs and you essentially have this French cult thriller that is known in the states as Deadly Games.
How to watch Deadly Games
May your holidays be merry, bright, and filled with explosive, high-octane thrills by gathering the family (sans the younger ones, to be safe) to watch one of these classic Christmas action movies.
