Why all the fuss about Die Hard? It’s pale, male and stale

I’m really not sure what made me enjoy ‘Die Hard’ less, writes Gemma Abbott – the utter lack of Christmas or the utter lack of women

There are only two named female characters in the whole film: Holly McClane, John’s wife, and Ginny, the pregnant woman who works in the building (Alamy)

Settling down with a glass of mulled wine in front of the telly last night, my partner began to scroll through our viewing options. “A Christmas movie,” I said. “We haven’t watched anything festive yet this year.”

We scrolled back and forth through endless apps and dozens of Christmas-movie titles, until (as often happens) I got bored and decided to read my book.

So my partner ended up choosing for us. He went for one of his all-time favourite films: Die Hard. At a very rough guess, he estimates that he’s probably watched it over 30 times. Me? I’ve somehow reached well into my fifth decade on earth having avoided the template-setting action movie blockbuster.