The next Netflix holiday film on my list is 2018’s hugely enjoyable The Christmas Chronicles. For me, the success of this one is all down to the magic of Kurt Russel, unforgettable as one of cinema's greatest, coolest and, dare I say it, sexiest ever Santas. The film is undeniably schmaltzy and melodramatic - do we really need another dead dad? However, it's also a lot of fun, with Russell providing high-wattage star power that's impossible to resist. He also has amazing hair and a beard to die for.
Netflix essentially completely reinvent Santa, presenting a more modern, badass take on the icon, without sacrificing any of that festive charm you'd hope for. This one's directed by Clay Kaytis and who better to guide him in this festive fantasy than experienced Home Alone and Harry Potter director Chris Columbus, who produces here?
The film starts out a bit dicey, threatening to be another of those done-to-death found footage films where everything is filmed in shaky handheld camcorders. We get loads of footage of the Pierce family, an unashamedly mawkish bunch who solve all problems with a hug. It all gets very maudlin when we skip forward a few years to Christmas 2018 and realise that dear old Dad (Oliver Hudson) has passed on.
Sweet natured 10-year-old "true believer" in Christmas Kate (Darby Camp) coerces older brother Teddy (Judah Lewis) into sitting up late on Christmas Eve, while she attempts to grab some footage of Santa coming down the chimney.
This is where it gets good. Grainy video footage catches a glimpse of something sneaking around the house and, just when you might worry this is going to be a festive Blair Witch Project or something, the film explodes into a CGI special effects extravaganza as soon as the kids stow away in Santa's sleigh. Startling old St. Nick as his flying machine shoots across the sky, the kids accidentally cause it to crash. These early skybound scenes are truly breathtaking and I feel like they owe a debt to Josh Trank's found footage teens-with-superpowers flick Chronicle which surely must have been an influence. The action here is enormous fun and even a little frightening. The best kids films know how to frighten you just enough.
His sleigh broken and magic gadgets scattered across Chicago, Santa must team up with the kids to get his gear back, get back on track and, yup, Save Christmas. There's car chases, a white knuckle reindeer rally through the city streets and a crazy encounter with Santa's furry, cute, Minions-inspired CGI elves at the North Pole. I especially enjoy Kate's peak inside Santa's magic sack , which here acts as a mystic, swirling portal through space and time to his workshop.
It's a film that's almost relentlessly schmaltzy but puts a big fat smile on my face anyway and most of this is down to Russell. He pulls off some really naff dialogue about Santa's alleged chubbiness being "fake news" and how he stays trim by avoiding "sugar and carbs" but "nobody seems to notice". He even gets to do a big, jolly 'Jailhouse Rock' sequence and sing like Elvis, after Santa gets huckled, drafting in a backing band of crooks and convicts that includes the E Street Band's Steve Van Zandt. Russell does everything with a cocky swagger, a cheeky smirk and with that wonderfully gravelly voice.
This is just a fun piece of entertainment, upgrading Santa for the modern age with a nigh-on perfect mixture of sexiness, toughness, cute and cool. This might not appeal to everyone but for me it's spot on.
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