"Nope...just jolly old Saint Nick!"
On Christmas Eve, a dysfunctional wealthy family's mansion becomes the target of a gang of thieves - posing as caterers - who do not bargain on coming up against David Harbour playing an alcoholic, embittered and disillusioned version of Santa in this full-blooded festive action-thriller. Inevitably, a variety of Christmas decorations and wintry objects are deployed as weapons - you will never look at a Nutcracker in quite the same way again - and the film is quite a peculiar experience as both the Christmas-movie and action elements are played straight and with sincerity, fused without one making any concessions to the other (often in the same scene). Harbour is inspired casting, playing his usual fine line between serious drama and dour comedy - his scenes with the young girl are charming - and John Leguizamo chews the furniture in the lead panto villain role. Oddly, the whole concept works better than perhaps it should, even if the overall end result is entertaining but forgettable.
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