By Anthony Ritter
A new Christmas movie has just arrived to theaters, but it’s not your normal yuletide tale. David Harbour depicts a tired and rundown Santa. While delivering gifts, he finds himself stuck in the middle of a heist with a family who needs him. Santa must use all his skills and magic to make these mercenaries pay. After all, they are on the naughty list.
What follows is The Good, The Bad, and The Spoilers of Violent Night.
The Good
Violent Night checks all the boxes any good action movie tries to check. True to it’s name, there is plenty of violence that is entertaining, while also sometimes gruesome. Factor in the cheesy Christmas jokes and it makes for comical entertainment.
Probably the best part of this movie is that not only is the story entertaining, but it leaves you wanting to know so much more about Harbour’s Santa character. Audiences come to find out that this Santa use to be a Viking warrior 1100 years ago, but how it happened is a mystery. Santa also mentions many times during the film that he does not understand how his own magic actually works, it just does. By the end of Violent Night, I walked out of the theater hoping that not only do we get another movie but that we get a prequel that shows us just how a murderous Viking warrior became the jolly man who delivers gifts to children.
The Bad
I personally loved every part of Violent Night, so I don’t have any bad points. Some people will not like that this is a Violent Christmas movie. Those are the same people that do not like that Die Hard (1988) is considered a Christmas movie to some. Although you should not go to a movie titled VIOLENT Night and be shocked that it is a violent Christmas movie.
My Overall Opinion
Violent Night is the perfect mix of Action and Christmas cheer. Not only is the story original and engaging, but Harbour is also superb as Santa. If you love a good action flick and want to put yourself in the Christmas spirit, I highly recommend giving this one a watch. I think you, like me, will be hoping that we get a prequel as a Christmas present next year.
On his blog “GoodBadSpoilers.com”, Anthony Ritter critiques and writes a review on selected movies. Once you see a movie that Ritter has reviewed, visit his blog and share your point of view.
