This holiday season, pick up a thrill-ride flick for the DVD player. There are some action-packed holiday themed movies to choose from.
Christmas Action Movies of the Past Decade
Behind Enemy Lines (2001) - A Navy navigator jet pilot is flying a Christmas day mission over Bosnia when he is shot down. The U.S. military wants to let the pilot fend for himself as he was shot down in restricted airspace but his Commanding Officer won't abandon him. Owen Wilson (the pilot) and Gene Hackman (the C.O.) star in this action flick. (Rated PG-13)
The Ice Harvest (2005) - It's Christmas Eve in ice-bound Wichita, Kansas, and a sleazy lawyer is finagling some money from the local mob. But his partner has different ideas about what to do with the money and a woman has caught his eye. It's an unforgettable holiday season in Kansas. (Rated R)
Love, Guns and Christmas (2010) - Two men who have been in the witness protection program for a few years sneak back to their hometown to see their families for the holidays. But the mafia has other plans for their homecoming. (Not Yet Rated)
Miracle at Sage Creek (2005) - In this western action flick, two families experience a Christmas miracle in 1888 Wyoming. (Rated PG)
Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale (2010) - It's Christmas Eve in Finland and Santa Claus is discovered during an archaeological dig. Children start to disappear so a group of hunters set off to find Santa and return him to the people who dug him up. Santa's elves are also on the lookout for the jolly guy. (Rated R)
Reindeer Games (2000) - A man takes over his dead prison cell mate's identity to meet up with a woman the cell mate has been pen pals with. The woman's brother has different plans and forces him to take part in a casino robbery at Christmastime. Ben Affleck, Gary Sinise, and Charlize Theron star in this action flick. (Rated R)
The Santa Trap (2002) - In this made for TV movie, a family moves from New England to the desert southwest. When everyone complains that it doesn't feel like Christmas, the youngest daughter traps Santa and brings him to live with them. When Santa is arrested as an intruder, the daughter is adamant the man is Santa Claus and that Christmas will be ruined if he can't deliver presents. (Not Rated)
Two Front Teeth (2006) - It's Christmas Eve night and a tabloid writer, Gabe Snow, is investigating a plane crash that was caused by a flying creature with a glowing nose. A vampiric Santa Claus and zombie elves are out to stop Snow before he finds out the truth. (Not Rated)
Holiday Action Movies From the 90s
Die Hard 2 (1990) - It's Christmas Eve and NYC Detective John McClane (Bruce Willis) is at the airport awaiting the arrival of his wife's flight when the airport gets taken over by terrorists. They are threatening to crash planes if they are not given what they want, namely a drug lord. (Rated R)
Fallen Knight (1998) - Originally titled The Minion, this movie takes place in New York City on Christmas Eve 1999. A subway construction crew discovers an 800-year-old skeleton and a key. The Knights Templar hear of the find and send their best student to deal with the threat. (Rated R)
Jingle All the Way (1996) - This family holiday action flick stars Arnold Schwarzenegger as a workaholic father who is tired of disappointing his son. To make it up to the boy, Schwarzenegger's character is determined to get his son the year's hottest toy, the Turbo Man action figure. (Rated PG)
The Long Kiss Goodnight (1996) - It's the holiday season and a suburban housewife school teacher who has suffered from amnesia for a decade finds her memories starting to come back. In her pre-amnesia life she was a secret agent and people from her past are coming to get her. (Rated R)
Turbulence (1997) - It's Christmas Eve and a 747 carrying prisoners has been taken over by the criminals. A tenacious flight attendant must outsmart a serial killer and get the plane back on the ground. (Rated R)
Vendetta: A Christmas Story (1997) - In this 21 minute action short, Santa gets himself mixed up with the wrong group of people. (Not Rated)
1980s Christmas Action Flicks
Dead-Bang (1989) - Don Johnson stars as a homicide cop given the task of hunting down the killer of a police officer that was shot on Christmas Eve. He comes up against an uncooperative FBI agent and a group of white supremacy extremists. (Rated R)
Die Hard (1998) - It's Christmas Eve and NYC Detective John McClane (Bruce Willis) has gone to Los Angeles to spend the holidays with his wife. He goes from the airport to the office tower where she works only to find 12 terrorists holding the building hostage. McClane has to single-handedly save the day. (Rated R)
Lethal Weapon (1987) - It's the holiday season and LAPD Detective Roger Murtaugh (Danny Glover) and Detective Martin Riggs (Mel Gibson) have to work together to stop a gang of drug smugglers. Gary Busey plays their main enemy. (Rated R)
Enjoy a good shoot 'em up this holiday season!
Toby Welch - Toby is a full-time freelance writer who specializes in magazine articles, online writing, e-books, and manuscript editing.
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