Operation Christmas

Army, mothers, Christmas trees,military wives, gifts, romance, kids.... A complete Hallmark, offering two good presences - Gabrielle Rose and Marc Blucas. Short, decent and charming , first for the smart use of dilemma of a career woman , attracted by military, animated by fears, desiring full happiness, heart of impressive show. So, far to be bad.

I saw this one for the first time this year and wasn't sure if I would like it for some reason. But I was pleasantly surprised. Emotions are up and down but overall it's a feel good movie with a tearjerker ending. I'm not sure how it happened but these two lead actors were new to me but WOW Tricia and Marc were great together. I have since seen them each in other movies and they have both become favorites.

I'm beginning to think that Marc Blucas is a bit type-cast, playing another soldier here and it's a shame, because those fatigues do nothing for his fine physique.

This one isn't quite as fun as "Holiday For Heroes" covering more of the serious element of army life and those left behind. I have to admit that I cried again at the end.

One of the things I don't understand is why these soldiers all need so much support. How badly are they paid that they can't even afford a Christmas tree? I would have thought the US would have treated "Their Boys" and girls much better than that as they all mean so much apparently?

The cast is all very good, the young lad is a cutey, but the little girl is just cringey and precocious.

It's a nice story, very similar to others, but it has a bit more heart wrenching than most.

I loved this one! I've seen a lot of Hallmark military-themed Christmas movies, and Operation Christmas might be my favorite. With great chemistry between the leads, an important message, a love story to root for, and a tear at the end, what else is there?

Whenever you see Marc Blucas's name in a Hallmark, it's a good clue that the tv movie will feel more like a big screen movie than most of the others. He's a Hollywood-turned-Hallmark who treats every film as though it's the most important of his career. Plus he's a cutie, too! And Hallmark has a great type-cast for him as a strong soldier with a big heart. Tricia Helfer completely holds her own and doesn't let him take up all the energy on the screen. She's also strong, a career woman and single mom, but when she meets Marc on a Christmas vacation, she lets her girly sensibilities take over. He loses her number, she doesn't get his message, and a one big misunderstanding later, they're given a second chance.

What's the conflict? Even the lightest of Hallmarks has a conflict, right? This movie teaches about the sacrifice needed to become a military spouse. Tricia doesn't know if she has what it takes, and even though she's falling in love with him, she can't stand certain things about his job. When he has to leave, he has to leave. He can't tell her where or for how long, and she'll never know if she'll even see him again.

Will love conquer all? Watch this touching Hallmark Christmas flick to find out. Any military family, or any girl with a boyfriend in the service, will need their hankies at the end of the movie. I highly recommend this one; my family looks forward to it every year.

Hallmark are very variable when it comes to their output, especially their Christmas films, the best being very good and the worst being absolutely awful. While they tend to follow one formula and use it frequently with not much variation, there are times where they have a more mature story with more serious themes meaning that they are very capable with doing things differently to usual. That is the case with their military-themed Christmas films.

'Operation Christmas' is one of those films, and although 'Christmas Homecoming' and 'Holiday for Heroes' represent the military with more respect and accuracy (so if anybody prefers those films that's fair enough), when it comes to the performances, the lead chemistry and the emotion 'Operation Christmas' is the best faring of the three in my view. Though it is actually overall quality-wise a close call. While it is far from perfect and not my definition of a great film, it is proof that Hallmark should not be immediately written off and compares favourably when it comes to ranking their work.

Is 'Operation Christmas' flawless? No. It is a bit of a slow starter, with the film taking a while to get going in terms of pace (some sluggish moments here) and story progression (quite uneventful and predictable to begin with).

The portrayal of the military in 'Christmas Homecoming' and 'Holiday for Heroes' was also more realistic and human, it's somewhat too over-idealised here. The dialogue could have flowed better early on.

Conversely, Tricia Helfer is a likeable and heartfelt leading lady. Although Marc Blucas was a little better in 'Holiday for Heroes', the subtlety he has in his performance matches Helfer beautifully. Their chemistry actually felt warm and genuine, and the way it blossoms when it develops is not too sudden or feels too long to get there. Lisa Durupt and Gabrielle Rose sparkle in their supporting roles, particularly Durupt who has the most personality of the cast.

Furthermore, 'Operation Christmas' is a pleasant looking film with the scenery standing out in particular, while the soundtrack matches the spirit of the holiday and the film's themes very well. The script is neither too corny or over-serious, and doesn't come over as muddled tonally. Really liked its sincerity and heart. The story is very heart-warming and moving, its good intentions too admirable. The characters didn't come over as caricatures or one-dimensional, but instead came over as not too perfect or overly flawed real people.

Summarising, good if not great. 7/10.