The Christmas Quest

I like the two leads, but I didn't like the movie.

This was marketed as an adventure/mystery, maybe even borderline suspense. I didn't find any of those things in this movie.

There was too much of a lack of urgency for this to be an adventure. It was meandering at best.

I never once felt afraid for them. Bad writing? Bad acting? Maybe a little of both.

The ending is from the moon. All of that yammering and concern about breaking a code to find this giant pot of whatever at the end of the Iceland rainbow led to this? A stale cake in an old room full of what consists of Christmas crap. The only real mystery is who lit those candles and turned on the lights?

Bizarre.

At least Stefanie (Lacey Chabert) and Chase (Kristoffer Polaha) got a free trip to Iceland, right?

How can I say this in the most kind way possible? Well . . . I had no idea of most of the things people in this movie were saying. The Icelandic traditions, history and language obviously deserve proud representation, but the words were so jumbled that I really could not follow this movie. I did try reading the subtitles. No luck. Icelandic words are hard.

This is like the preschool version of The da Vinci Code and Indiana Jones. I hope the movie made sense to someone, but it wasn't me. I like these actors, but dang, this was a major disappointment.

And, who lit the candles in the old cave? Nonsense. Where did the electricity come from?

What if the treasure you seek is a bunch of old crap? Finish this movie and find out. But don't. Just skip it.

Cast Kudos: none

Measuring Christmas Magic: Nope. Zero.

Alternative Movie Titles: Iceland Deserves Better.

It is the Christmas season. Norse experts, Stefanie Baxter (Lacey Chabert) and ex-husband Chase Baxter (Kristoffer Polaha), go to Iceland to search for the legendary Yule Lads. She is following her mother's research while others are in pursuit. She just doesn't have a gun.

First, there are a lot of Icelandic words. I don't know any of them. I can't remember them. It is in one ear and out the other. Some of the local customs are interesting, but it's almost the same thing. I know that this is a Hallmark movie. They are not going to do gunfights, but they could generate some thrills. At last, the Hallmark gene is too strong and there is no urgency in this quest. They are more likely to take a leisurely walk than go running and jumping.

Hallmark's sanitised take on Indiana Jones or perhaps Lara Croft, features two big stars: the Queen of Christmas Lacey Chabert and Kristoffer Polaha, fresh off his starring role in 2023's 'A Biltmore Christmas'.

The chemistry between the two leads - who are divorced when they team up to hunt for legendary treasure in Iceland around Christmas, battling some not-really-evil bad guys along the way - is strong. They are both accomplished actors, and their banter is effortless.

But, man, the final reveal really sucked the life out of things, and left me shaking my head. Talk about a letdown! Yikes. Ninety minutes invested...for that? No bueno.

I had high hopes for this movie. I like both the principal actors. But this was a cheap knock off of Indiana Jones. It might have worked but the chemistry between the two was lacking. This was one of those low budget movies with lots of shots of snow covered mountains and roads punctuated with music. How much was filmed in Iceland? Not much I think. What could have done differently to have a better movie? Erin Cahill could have had more airtime. The villains could have been more clearly defined. The actors had limited human interaction during the first full 45 minutes while in Iceland. I'm not saying that this is a bad movie, I am saying it was not very good.