The Heist Before Christmas

The beginning of the movie is so funny...only in the UK/Ireland came they do this type of black comedy as well.. It has all the right elements of the classic Christmas redemption movie but with that special touch ( to us North American ), the boys actors are very good because true, in this depressing environment where we see the characters lived ...the funniest comes from their repartee And the slapstick British humour...the redemption comes to every characters. I watch this movie on a post Xmas plane ride from Europe to home. Enjoy it so much ..it left me with a warm feeling...which is always a good sign in a Christmas movie.

The Heist Before Christmas wants to be a festive movie for the haves not. The ones that will get nothing on Christmas day because their parents cannot afford to buy presents.

Set in the working class area of Belfast. Mikey is an antisocial kid who gets into trouble at school, is well known to the police and a tearaway at home. Mikey not wanting to acknowledge that they are poor.

His mother leaves Mikey to look after his younger brother, while she works in a shop, being micromanaged by her bullying boss. He makes Scrooge look like a pussycat.

What should be a working class Christmas story gets silly. James Nesbitt's bad santa goes on the run aftering robbing a bank. Mikey decides to help him escape in exchange for the share of the £80,000 he robbed. The police are out in Belfast stopping every male dressed as Father Christmas at gunpoint.

Mikey then encounters an old man in the woods, Timothy Spall who claims to be the real santa claus.

Tonally the film is all over the place. James Nesbitt increasingly gets involved in some Home Alone hijinx.

Mikey's mother manages to find her boss cheating on the raffle draw.

There is no comeuppance here, no warm endings. It was like the story strands remained unfinished.

This is advertised and portrayed as a family comedy with a few decent stars in nesbitt and spall. In reality it's a low budget children's tv movie with a terrible plot-line.

Looks like it was made with no budget, shocking acting and I mean shocking and where they were used rubbish special effects, no real message (shoplifting is cool) and the closing Santa scene had no conclusion I mean he stayed in hospital? Did the money run out? - Honestly terrible had waited all Christmas Day to watch and was glad there were adverts so I'd have something else to watch, one of the kids fell asleep it was so boring.

Really enjoyed watching this movie. The child actors are the absolute stars of the show. The film is set in Northern Ireland and focuses on a socially deprived family. We weren't expecting much but had lots of laughs as a family watching this on Christmas Day. It's a breath of fresh air to not watch a film about precocious wealthy children being spoiled rotten during the festive season. The true spirit of Christmas comes through by the end of the movie. There is also a bit of Home Alone style action which my kids absolutely loved to watch. The adults had quite a few laughs too. Well done Jimmy Nesbitt!

It is a movie about good people with their backs against the wall. Don't except lots of guns, dead bodies, car crashes, explosions. You would have to have a cold heart not to enjoy this movie. It is an Amazing movie if you believe that all people have problems of one kind or another in life. We all struggle with personal problems. People who still have a little bit of child left in their hearts will enjoy this moment of Christmas. If you enjoy a different slant on a Christmas movie then I recommend the movie for a laugh and a cry with some heart felt moments along the way. Wishing you all a very merry Christmas.