5 Forgotten Action Movies Set Around Christmas

 

Christmas time brings Christmas cheer, festive atmosphere's, the season of giving and Christmas movies. While some like cheesy Christmas romantic movies (looking at you Hallmark), or Christmas comedies. Others prefer some good ass-kicking and shootouts for Christmas movies, we all know Die Hard, Lethal Weapon, and Batman Returns are Christmas movies. What about the movies set around Christmas you don't remember? There's quite a few of them and here are 5 to refresh your memory.

5. Detective Knight: Redemption

                                     

This 2022 film stars Bruce Willis in his series of Detective Knight films. Detective Knight is doing a bid after the events of the previous film Detective Knight: Rogue. However he negotiates to get released and help save the Christmas season after a jailbreak gets him jammed up. He has to stop The Christmas Bomber and The Real Saints Of Christmas terrorizing the city. The film of course has some inspiration and remnants of Die Hard.

It's available to watch on Tubi.

4. Assault on Precinct 13

So technically this movie takes place on New Year's Eve, but the Holiday season encompasses Thanksgiving til New Years. With Christmas and New Year's a week apart the Christmas season is New Year season as well. This 2005 remake of the John Carpenter original, follows Ethan Hawke as a struggling Detroit police officer who is working the holiday with a skeleton crew. His precinct is set to be closed, but has to accept some prisoners who have to be rerouted due to a dangerous storm approaching. One of those prisoners is mob boss Marion Bishop played by Laurence Fishburne, before they know it the precinct is under attack and they must band together.

Assault on Precinct 13 is currently not available for free on any streaming platforms.

3. Money Train

I just went through my new years spiel with the previous entry, and here we are again. This 1995 film stars Woody Harrelson and Wesley Snipes in their third film together, and Jennifer Lopez before she shot to stardom a couple years later in Selena. The trio are a pair of NYPD officers assigned to work the subway system of New York City, and help protect the money train which collects fares at every station. In their way is Donald Patterson (Robert Blake) who runs the subway system, hates their unorthodox ways and any obstruction to the money train running on time. After some hardships, Harrelson's Charlie decides to rob the Money Train on New Year's Eve.

Money Train is currently not available for free viewing on streaming platform.

2. Enemy Of The State

This 1998 film by Tony Scott starring Will Smith and Gene Hackman was ahead of the curve on it's commentary on surveillance. Will Smith plays Robert Clayton Dean, a lawyer unknowingly swept up in a murder coverup from a high-ranking government official against a politician. He soon needs the help of a recluse ex-CIA agent played by Gene Hackman to clear his name and get out of the mess. The movie does not dwell on it's Christmas season setting, but you will notice Christmas lights in the background of various scenes. And the kind of kick-off point when Dean get's thrown into the thrust of thing's he is doing Christmas shopping in a lingerie store for his wife.

Enemy Of The State is currently not available for free streaming (long live physical media).

1. Long Kiss Goodnight

There is a running joke amongst movie fans and Hollywood in general that writer/director Shane Black loves some Christmas. Lethal Weapon is set during that season, along with Iron Man 3, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, and Last Boy Scout (though I don't remember it). And this film The Long Kiss Goodnight starring Geena Davis and Samuel L. Jackson. Geena Davis plays Samantha Caine an amnesic woman rising her daughter alongside her daughter in a small town. After a car accident she slowly starts gaining new lethal skills she knew she had, and alongside P.I. Mitch (Samuel L. Jackson) she sets out to find her real identity. Besides snow on the ground, there's a Christmas parade and decorations everywhere to let you know it's set during Christmas. 

The film is currently available on Pluto.