We count down to Christmas with a look at Bruce Willis and the ultimate Christmas film Die Hard

Yippee-Ki-Yay, it is the season of movie classics. You can safely roll out your tinsel, crank on the fairy lights and play Slade on repeat, for it is the start of December.

And what better way to kick-start the 25 days until Christmas than a look at the actor Bruce Willis who plays the lead in what is arguably the ultimate Christmas film: Die Hard.

The infamous line ‘Yippee-Ki-Yay, Motherf*****’ has become an unforgettable moment from the film, which was released in cinemas in 1988.

The title does not naturally evoke the Christmas sentiment. The film does, however, have many reasons for becoming a firm favourite with audiences across the globe.

Bruce Willis is the main draw for making this the Christmas classic it has become. He was 32 years old when he played the starring role and made Willis a Hollywood legend.

Willis plays an NYPD officer, John McClane, who tries to save his wife, Holly Gennero – played by the actress Bonnie Bedelia Culkin - and several others taken hostage by German terrorists during a Christmas party at the Nakatomi Plaza in Los Angeles.

His leading action man status was firmly cemented after this film and it rejuvenated the action movie genre. It also made a celebrity of Alan Rickman, who played the charismatic villain Hans Gruber.

There are many reasons this film has stood the test of time and is enjoyed at Christmas, in particular.

The film is set on Christmas Eve; the basic premise being that John McClane is returning to his family for Christmas. The fact his wife is called Holly, well it’s a nod to the season if ever there was.

The main villain, Gruber, explicitly invokes the Christmas spirit when he says “It’s Christmas, Theo, it’s a time for miracles.” I mean, we wouldn’t want to know the miracles this ultimate bad-guy has in store but we get a taste of his dark side in the space of the 124 minutes of film. He’s also similar to the nasty man in It’s a Wonderful Life (another Christmas classic) as Old Man Potter is also a classic bad capitalist who just wants to steal money, just like Gruber.

Music makes a film. Specifically the tone is set via music choice. And the soundtrack on Die Hard includes Run DMC’s Christmas in Hollis and Frank Sinatra’s version of Let it Snow.

Bruce Willis brings to life the everyman and the audience loves him for it. We’d all like to imagine we’d be the hero for loved ones in a hostage situation. Maybe you’ve never imagined your family in a hostage scenario? And that’s fair enough.

Bruce shows us how we’d all like to rise to the occasion and in doing so he is the ultimate action hero. The fact it’s an action film gives a good antidote to the many other Christmas films that are tamer in plot and characters.

Bruce Willis fighting terrorists at a Christmas party while he wears a tank top. Bruce can show you a good time this Christmas and in perpetuity.