Combining “Bad Santa” with “Die Hard”—tra-la-la-la-la meets yippee-ki-yay—is such a knockout idea that it’s a shame “Violent Night” isn’t better. “Bad Santa” might be the funniest Christmas movie of all time, and “Die Hard” is one of the few ’80s action flicks that people still talk about.
As Santa, the perma-rumpled “Stranger Things” star David Harbour is loutish, disgusting and therefore just about perfect as he mutters his way through early scenes that establish Father Christmas as a deeply depressed fellow in need of a wide-eyed little girl to rekindle his holiday spirit à la the Grinch.
The lead baddie this time is John Leguizamo, as a criminal mastermind who calls himself Mr. Scrooge and, naturally, has a lifelong antipathy for Christmas. Like all of the noncomic material in the script, his tale turns out to be not very compelling.
The principal pleasure of “Die Hard” was McClane’s ingenuity in finding crafty ways to dispose of the villains and evade counterattacks; in “Violent Night” the soldiers of fortune simply line up to be dutifully executed in turn. Reinforcing the cultural cliché that when in doubt, just add superpowers, Santa turns out to be a munificent Thor: In a previous incarnation he was a hammer-wielding premodern Nordic warrior, though his abilities as he exists today are vaguely defined.
Awesome gore old school vibes.
Watch the original: Scrooged (1988) Comedy about Frank Cross (Bill Murray), a cold-hearted TV executive who is given the chance to change. LifeLesson: “Put a little love in your heart, & the world will be a better place.” —Jackie DeShannon Movie Scene:
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Source: Collider - 🏆 1. / 98 Read more »
Source: Gizmodo - 🏆 556. / 51 Read more »
Source: nypost - 🏆 91. / 67 Read more »
Source: PageSix - 🏆 320. / 59 Read more »
Source: TheAVClub - 🏆 340. / 59 Read more »
Source: billboard - 🏆 112. / 63 Read more »