Fatman

There may never be another Merry Christmas ever again. On December 23rd, 2020, I watched the Christmas action movie Fatman, directed by Eshom Nelms and Ian Nelms and starring Mel Gibson, Walton Goggins, and Marianne Jean-Baptiste. It takes place at the North Pole in the modern day and is rated R.

Santa Claus has turned bitter over the current state of the world and how the increase of naughty children has affected his progress. Because of this, he is hired to help the military by making weapons for them. Meanwhile, an extremely naughty young boy named Billy Wenan becomes irritated when he receives coal for Christmas, so he decides to get even with Santa by hiring a hitman to kill him. The hitman slowly but surely makes his way to the North Pole, leaving a growing body count as he goes. Will Santa ever become his true self again? Will the hitman succeed in his job to take the Fatman’s head?

From the moment I saw the trailer for this movie, I was excited for what I was going to watch. Despite receiving negative reviews, it did not disappoint for me. It is a very different kind of Christmas movie. There are so many Christmas movies that want you to feel very cheery and in the spirit of Christmas. While I definitely appreciate those movies and praise them for their intentions, it is interesting to instead see a Christmas movie meant to make you feel in suspense. As the movie goes on, we feel all the tension as the hitman gets closer to encountering Santa.

The characters are well written and the actors who play them do a good job in those roles. Mel Gibson’s performance as Santa Claus is what stands out the most. We are so used to seeing a jolly and innocent Santa, but here we instead get an awesome, hardened Santa. He is such a cool take on the character and has some cool quotes. Walton Goggins’ performance as the hitman is a fun villain role, as we are entertained watching him go around hunting down the legendary Christmas figure himself. There was also a great performance given from Chance Hurstfield as Billy Wenan. He is a psychotic child who will do anything to get what he wants, regardless of how much he hurts others in the process. He is a detestable character that you are sure to hate, but the quality of the performance is hard to deny.

There are certainly flaws to the movie, but its impact as a great and unique Christmas film will be felt by those who liked it, despite the negative reviews. Watch it and remember: He knows when you are sleeping, he knows when you’re awake, he knows when you’re out to get him, so watch out for goodness sake.