The book is a great one, but this review is going to come from somebody who is going to judge 'The Mistletoe Promise' on its own terms rather than a constant book to film comparison. The concept sounds familiar and the title is slightly corny yet sweet, but Hallmark have showed more than once that they are capable of making above average festive films in a very hit and miss bunch. Luke Macfarlane is often very watchable and no stranger to Hallmark.
Seeing 'The Mistletoe Promise' is a very loose adaptation of the book, which will disappoint (and has disappointed) fans of the book, but it is far from a bad film on its own. 2016 was inconsistent in quality for Hallmark and 'The Mistletoe Promise' is one of the better efforts in my personal opinion. Anybody that loves Christmas and wants a pleasant inoffensive distraction on a dull afternoon may find it likeable enough and while not great it's nice enough.
Editing is on the rushed side in places. The story can be slow and too thin, as well as contrived, in spots, and the characters are sketchy in development. This tends to be a common Hallmark problem so that was not unexpected.
Likewise with the music tending to be too intrusive. Have found more than once with Hallmark that their soundtracks are on the too intrusive and too constant side. Still find that the case here, though there have been worse cases before and since.
Mcfarlane as said has always been watchable and he proves that in his charismatic and subtle performance here. Jaime King tries a little too hard in places but is mostly charming and the chemistry between the two of them never comes over as awkward or dull. They are very sweet and sincere together. Despite the characters being quite sketchy, the supporting cast all do a good job. The direction is sympathetic yet alert enough.
Visually, 'The Mistletoe Promise' is good looking. It's beautifully photographed and the scenery is quite captivating. The dialogue flows better and more naturally than the dialogue in most Hallmark films and doesn't fall as much into cheese and soap. The story is very light-hearted and really warms the heart, despite its predictability and other things, any character changes actually not coming out of the blue or feeling hasty and the music doesn't too overscored. The lead characters grow and aren't too perfect or have negative character traits exaggerated too much.
Concluding, not great but above average. 7/10
