The Movie: Fatman
The Directors: Eshom Nelms, Ian Nelms
The Cast: Mel Gibson, Walton Goggins, Marianne Jean-Baptiste
The Story: To save his declining business, Chris Cringle, also known as Santa Claus, is forced into a partnership with the U.S. military. Making matters worse, Chris gets locked into a deadly battle of wits against a highly skilled assassin, hired by a precocious 12-year-old after receiving a lump of coal in his stocking.
The Review:
If you've ever wondered what might happen if some disgruntled individuals tried to assassinate Santa Claus for putting coal in their stocking then this is the movie for you. Right off the bat, seeing Mel Gibson as the jolly old fat man and Marianne Jean-Baptiste as Mrs. Claus, you know this is not going to be an ordinary, classic Christmas tale. I honestly wasn't sure what to expect from this film and how far the directors might go in creating a violent film, but Gibson and Jean-Baptiste together bring more than enough holiday magic to make this a fun watch.
I first became aware of Walton Goggins from his performance in The Hateful Eight and I have loved everything he has done since. Seeing him as a professional hitman is exactly they type of role that I have been wanting to take on and he does a more than serviceable job bringing the character to life. Outside of the three actors who I have mentioned, the cast is pretty generic and ho hum but I suppose they all serve their purpose well enough. I think out of anyone in the movie, I enjoyed Marianne Jean-Baptiste's take on the wife of the jolly old fat man the most as she brought such warmth and love to the role and is a perfect complement to Gibson's grizzled take on Santa.
Where I feel this movie is a bit of a let down is in the lack of action and violence which seems to be promised by the tone and style of the movie as established from the very beginning. I figured the first half of the movie was going to be a strong build up to the eventual showdown between the forces of good and evil but it ended up being at least two thirds of the movie. Once the action gets going it was over pretty quickly and, even if what I did see was pretty cool, it still felt like it wasn't anywhere near the payoff I was expecting.
The Verdict:
Fatman may not be the ultra violent, bloody mess of a holiday movie you were hoping for, bit it's still not the dusty old lump of coal that you probably deserved this year.
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