“Is Die Hard a Christmas movie?” It’s a popular question often discussed around this time of year and one that still divides people everytime it’s brought up, but here’s a different spin on the enigma: “Is Iron Man 3 a Christmas movie?”
Yes, much like the aforementioned classic, Shane Black’s threequel is an action flick set around the holiday season. But does that make it a bonafide Christmas movie even though it doesn’t fully get to grips with the spirit of the season? Well, according to Marvel, yes, it does.
Over on their official website, the company has stated that not only do they consider Iron Man 3 to indeed be a Christmas movie, but they’ve also backed up their stance with a fairly lengthy article – a portion of which you can read below:
The plot of Iron Man 3 could honestly take place at any time of the year — considering it’s not wholly dependent on its Christmas setting. But, the fact that it does take place at Christmas makes it a clear contender for a true Christmas movie, and we’re here to say, once and for all, that it deserves a place in the Christmas Movie Hall of Fame. Proclaiming this, of course, brings up the age-old debate as to what actually qualifies something as a Christmas movie, and your mind probably wanders to that argument over the likes of Die Hard, Lethal Weapon, Gremlins, and Rocky IV. Hey, if those are allowed to be classified as Christmas movies, so is Iron Man 3.
Well said. And going one step further, the House of Ideas also states that it’s considered a Christmas movie due to the essence of the story that’s at the heart of the film.
But even more so than the others, we believe Iron Man 3 is a Christmas movie because the essence of the story revolves around Tony going through hardships and coming out the other side to see the wrong in his ways. That’s the spirit of Christmas. Iron Man 3 follows Tony as he tries to take down Killian — who he first met some 20 years before — who has come back with a vengeance and his Extremis virus: Back in the late 90’s, Tony shrugged off Killian’s early ideas for A.I.M. and now he’s going to pay the price for it. Meanwhile, Tony is struggling with his own inner demons because he is still trying to get over the events of Marvel Studios’ The Avengers. Tony isn’t sleeping, he’s suffering from frequent anxiety attacks, and everyone just wants to talk about how he escaped the wormhole in the sky. You’d be pretty on edge, too — and that’s not including the added stress of the season like picking out perfect presents and decorating trees.
The Christmas setting adds another layer to the story because it sure feels like Killian is literally a ghost from Tony’s holiday past that’s come back to haunt him. Honestly, if there’s one movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe that could be compared to Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, it’s Iron Man 3.
Again, it’s hard to argue with all this and while some may maintain that Tony Stark’s third solo outing shouldn’t be classified as something you’d watch over the holidays, Marvel makes a pretty strong case. And besides, now that the threequel is on Disney Plus and even classified as a Christmas movie on there, maybe more people will check it out next week and finally see it the way that the House of Ideas does?
Tell us, though, do you consider Iron Man 3 to be a Christmas film? Or is Marvel wrong here? Let us know in the usual place below and no matter what you decide to watch with your friends and family next week, we wish you a very happy holidays!