When it comes to Christmas movies, they typically get a “pass.” Audiences go in wanting to enjoy the scenery, holiday vibes, and plot that is easy to get behind. Violent Night was being sold as a Christmas action movie where Santa (David Harbour) must save a group of rich people from a hostage situation in their own house. What sounded like a fun adult Christmas movie ended up being one of the worst films of 2022.
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First off, Violent Night was not even entertaining. The one job a Christmas movie, even an action film at that, has is to entertain. Strike one for the movie right there. It was way too long and drawn out and the pacing was all over the place. It had at least three different endings that then continued to more scenes that were one more slog after another. None of the characters were interesting to follow, not because they were all terrible people (even though they were), but because it expected me as an audience member to care if these people turn out okay when all they do is lie, steal, and betray their own family.
Secondly, this was an action-comedy. Maybe the comedic aspects could be the saving grace. Wrong. The script was dreadfully unfunny and cringey. Adding f-bombs to lazy insults does not make it funny or more “adult.” Speaking of laziness, the jokes felt like a 14-year-old boy wrote them, starting with the first joke of the film being how they are going to have to deal with settlements for the teenage boy’s sexual assaults. Comedy gold apparently.
This is a Christmas action film at its heart. When it came to the action, however, the scenes were as dry as a board. Every “villain” was so undistinguished from the last, making every sequence Santa versus Person A, Person B, and so on. The violence in the film only served the purpose of making people laugh in the theater, not because the violence has comedic choreography or elements. Still, we are supposed to be laughing because violence exists… I can’t say much more about Violent Night other than it may be one of the hardest skips I will tell people about this year. Don’t waste your time, money, or Christmas spirit on this absolute mess.
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