Red One (2024) is a new action-comedy movie by MGM Studios set during Christmas. It has gained attention worldwide for its clever nod to the classic action film Die Hard (1988), which is one of the most famous Christmas movies.
Both Red One and Die Hard are connected to Christmas but have very different themes. In Red One, Santa Claus (J. K. Simmons) gets kidnapped by an evil witch (Kiernan Shipka). His ELF commander (Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson) teams up with a tracker (Chris Evans) to rescue him and save Christmas.
In contrast, Die Hard is an action-packed movie where John McClane (Bruce Willis), a New York City police officer, fights against terrorists during a hostage situation at his wife’s Christmas party.
Although the two films seem unrelated, with one set in a fantasy world and the other in a realistic crime scenario, Red One pays tribute to Die Hard in one scene. According to Screen Rant, in the closing shots of Red One, Simmons’ Santa crawls through air vents to deliver gifts, reminiscent of a similar moment in Die Hard.
At the end of Red One, there is a montage showing Santa using various tricks to get into and out of houses. One trick involves crawling through the air vents. This scene is a reference to John McClane’s famous scene where he crawls through the vents of Nakatomi Plaza to escape from a terrorist named Karl Vreski (Alexander Godunov).
McClane’s memorable line during this scene is, “Come out to the coast, have a few laughs.” J. K. Simmons’ portrayal of Santa honors Bruce Willis through this iconic moment.
The connection to Bruce Willis may come from the admiration Dwayne Johnson and director Jake Kasdan have for Die Hard. Kasdan has called Die Hard a “great” movie that can be enjoyed any time of year. Johnson has praised Bruce Willis’ action films for inspiring him throughout his career.
In a 2018 interview, Johnson stated, “I wanted to make a film that paid homage and respect to the classic action movies that inspired me and entire generations — Die Hard to Towering Inferno to The Fugitive.”
Johnson has also worked with Bruce Willis in the 2013 film G.I. Joe: Retaliation, where they became close friends. Johnson praised Willis, saying, “Bruce Willis is the ultimate man’s man… Bruce and I have been buddies for a long time.” Additionally, Bruce Willis starred in The Jackal (1997), which also featured J. K. Simmons.
Even though Bruce Willis has retired from acting after being diagnosed with aphasia in 2022, the nod to his famous scene in Die Hard in Red One will likely evoke nostalgia and honor his remarkable career in Hollywood.