Violent Night

I would've liked to see more and funnier comedic moments, but there are still some fun laughs in this film. It sure beats all the romantic cheesy Christmas films that are in abundance this time of year. The directing was decent, and the pacing was spot-on in the comfortable 112 minute runtime. The story was pretty much predictable, although there were many refreshing references to past iconic Christmas holiday films. All casting and performances were excellent. Even the score and holiday soundtrack was on point. It's certainly an enjoyable one-time watch of mindless entertainment, and a well deserved 7/10 from me.

This movie is a beautiful mixture of Die Hard, Home Alone, Thor... It also contains several cliches from other movies. Not a problem. Yes, it's predictable, but it is kind of different of what we usually recieve on Christmas, and I personally appreciate different movies.

First, action, gore and scenarios are great. Also the main cast. I think almost everyone here does a great job. I really enjoyed music used here too. Great choices.

Second, the script is predictable but at the same time, it keeps you entertained from beginning till the end. Raw action mixed with some goofy scenes.

So, overall if you want to watch a different brutal action Christmas thriller, this one is for you.

'Violent Night (2022)' is surprisingly earnest in its themes of Christmas magic and rekindling your Christmas spirit. What initially seems like a sardonic anti-Christmas movie soon reveals itself to be genuinely interested in spreading Yuletide cheer, although that's not to imply it doesn't also feature all the brutality, bad language and bodily fluids its concept promises. Merging 'Die Hard (1988)', 'Home Alone (1990', 'Bad Santa (2004)' and 'John Wick (2014)' (or, perhaps more accurately, some of its lesser imitators), the piece provides a stockingful of festive fun despite its undeniably derivative nature. David Harbour and John Leguizamo make up for the cast's general lack of charisma, as they're eminently watchable and sell even the silliest of dialogue. Though the piece is certainly self-aware, it's also really sincere and it establishes a strong sense of character for its central figure. In fact, Papa Noël actually has a relatively convincing character arc which prevents his inclusion from feeling as half-baked as it may initially seem. Although the flick sometimes comes closer to feeling like 'Paul Blart: Mall Cop (2009)' than 'Die Hard (1988)' (particularly when it comes to most elements not directly associated with Santa), it features plenty of well-choreographed and exciting set-pieces that revel in all the gory mayhem you could want. The action never rises to the level of something like 'John Wick (2014)', but it's better than a lot of similar American stuff and it continues the welcome post-'Wick' trend of having clean camera work that favours wider compositions. The movie is really fun when it gets going. It has a few issues here and there, and it's arguably a little too sappy for its own good, but it's an entertaining actioner with a strong central performance and several accomplished set-pieces.

Violent Night may be just 10 mins too long but thankfully that doesn't stop it from executing it's beautiful premise extremely well. A super violent and really funny action movie that doesn't forget to bring the necessary heart and festive spirit as a Christmas movie.

David Harbour gives a terrific lead performance as Santa, displaying an emotional range way beyond what's expected and delivering some truly heartwarming moments with Leah Brady who brings a boundless optimism to her adorably innocent character.

Tommy Wirkola's direction is great, the action scenes are so much fun to watch, really inventive and always comprehensible. The music by Dominic Lewis is really good, combining the epic action movie pieces with more traditionally festive moments.

And there's nothing wrong with that.

When Violent Night is good, it's really good. It isn't always nearly as entertaining as it could be, but it definitely capitalises on its goofy premise in all the right ways at various points.

The violence is blunt and rudimentary, but there's something strikingly effective about it. Each hit is loud and visceral, and many of the actual deaths are a lot more creative than I was expecting them to be, even if the violence leads me up to each death is pretty by-the-numbers.

I was pleasantly surprised with the small but satisfying character arcs that the script weaves into the simple story. Santa is given a cynical outlook on humanity and himself to overcome, the family has tension to work out, and the mythology of Santa's backstory is actually given a twist to make his capacity for violence make sense in this movie.

There's nothing particularly groundbreaking about any of this, but it's all crafted with care and it's investing enough that I could easily see myself watching this in subsequent years.

Its aforementioned strengths help it largely overcome its weak supporting actors, dialogue that's sometimes so corny it's cringey, and its few too many scenes of characters sitting and talking.