Fatman - Blu-ray Review

[Michael Scott]

Fatman



Movie:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score:


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Movie
Revenge is something that haunts the mind of most humans, but according to the Klingons it’s a dish best served cold. In this “Christmas” action flick, writers/directors Eshom and Ian Nelms take that a bit “literally”. Instead of just making an action movie around Christmas, or a movie about St. Nick as the master of all things present related, the duo decide to make this a full blown action movie over a kid’s revenge on Santa Claus. Yes, you read that right. A precious (and overly spoiled) 12 year old named Billy Wenan (Chance Hurstfield) has a bit of a crisis when he comes in second in a school science fair. Using his adoptive Grandmother’s vast wealth to hire a hitman (Walton Goggins), Billy exacts his revenge on the 1st prize winner, only to receive a lump of coal in his stocking due to his misdeeds.

Enraged at his “gift”, Billy decides to hire said same hitman to complete an impossible mission. Go kill Santa Clause himself. The hitman (only credited in the film as “the skinny man”) has had a sordid affair with Santa over the years himself, also being a bit of a bad boy and not getting the presents that he so desperately wanted as a child, so he decides to take Billy’s money and hunt down father Christmas. As absurd as that sounds, it’s actually not so far fetched in the story. You see, Chris Kringle (Mel Gibson) is an ex special forces commando who has contracted with the government for decades to keep Christmas alive as a stimulus effort for the United States. With all the Christmas Spending the United States gets a massive economic boost, and Chris and his wife Ruth (Marianne Jean-Baptiste) get to keep their business going. The thing is, business has been bad the last few years due to a spike in naughty children, and the poor guy is forced to take a government project creating weapons with his elves in order to keep the lights on.

Thus the battle is born. Poor Chris is beleaguered by his debts, and the skinny hitman is coming for Christmas this year and he’s bringing a whole lot of weaponry with him. However, Mr. Kringle isn’t exactly a fat and jolly guy like the stories tell. He’s battle hardened after having spent a lifetime being shot at by “normies” who get a shock when he lands on their roof to deliver said presents, and his a host of his own weaponry as good old Chris is kind of a gun nut. Whether you’ve been naughty or nice, you come knocking on Santa’s door with an M4 carbine rifle, and the jolly fat man is liable to pop your head off with a .45 as much as give you a present.

Fatman is a HILARIOUSLY fun concept at heart. Santa is a real life human being, and some kid wants him killed for putting coal in his stocking. What should have ensued was a glorious gun battle filled with Mel Gibson making wise cracks and plenty of good natured laughter. What we got was a 50/50 result from those expectations. Mel Gibson is by FAR the best part of the movie (with Walton Goggins coming in at a close second) as the man can’t seem to turn in a bad performance. Even though he’s been out of the spotlight due to being blacklisted by Hollywood Elites, Gibson is still firing on all cylinders and just having a blast with the role of a off Santa. However, the movie is incredibly light on action, with the final 10 minutes having 90% of said action in it. The rest is spent on unnecessary exposition and a slow and steady build up to the final confrontation between the hitman and Chris. As such, it looses quite a bit of the fun the movie has to offer, and while I certainly laughed at some of the crazier stuff, just didn’t deliver on the laughs either.

I will give the film credit for playing the supernatural close to the vest. The film likes to tease the audience with whether Chris Kringle is just a man, or ACTUALLY the mythical Santa Clause of old. Are his “elves” really elves? Or just small workers he has? Is Santa actually immortal who can see into a kid’s soul and see who’s naught or nice? Or is he just a businessman. Luckily the film doesn’t come out right and say it, but it hints at both directions with enough clues that the final 3 minutes of the movie is a deliciously dark treat to watch (yes, that ending was one of the best parts of the whole movie). The “too long, didn’t read” summary of this review is, “great concept, great acting by Gibson and Goggins, but sadly the execution was a bit off”.




Rating:

Rated R for bloody violence, and language




Video:

Paramount’s Blu-ray disc is clean, precise, and digitally crisp at all times. The snow covered landscape of the North Pole (or whatever is meant to simulate the North Pole) is brilliantly white at times, with the gun battle at the end of the flick showcasing stunning daylight details, such as Gibson’s craggy face, or the individual splinters on the stacked firewood that they shoot across. Facial detail even in the underground lair of “Santa” is still well defined and nuanced enough, and colors pop at every corner. The elves green and red outfits really do catch the eye, and the above ground daylight shots are nothing short of breathtaking. I did notice a little digital noise in the darker underground scenes, but nothing too obtrusive or wild that would cause anyone concern, plus the typical color banding that happens in darkness on Blu-rays (again, nothing too wild)






Audio:

The 5.1 DTS-HD MA track is just as excellent as the video, allowing for a spacious sound stage that makes use of quite a lot of winter and factory based surround noises to blend in. The crunch of footsteps on the fresh snow is sharp and clean to the ear, and the underground factory where the elves work hustles and bustles with the cacophony of busy work noises. Vocals are located up front where they should be, but the bass really stands out as adding some much needed low end when things get moving. Gunshots sound powerful and weighty, especially that old colt wheel gun that Chris uses in his face off with the skinny hitman. Great mix.





Extras:

• Audio Commentary with actor Mel Gibson, Directors Eshom Nelms and Ian Nelms, Producer Michelle Lang, and Cinematographer Johnny Derango
• Deleted and Extended Scenes
• Storyboard to Film Comparison with Director's Commentary

Final Score: ​

Fatman was a fun movie for sure. It got a lot of critical hate from others in my community of reviewers, but I actually enjoyed it for what it was. Gibson is still a powerhouse in his own right and he really sells the movie as the grizzled and hardened old geezer Clause. Goggins was great but a little tamed down from his normal over the top antics, and I personally felt the movie would have benefited if Goggins had been let loose to really play the field. Either way, fun enough movie, despite the flaws, and Paramount’s Blu-ray is more than good for collector’s. Solidly Fun Watch.


Technical Specifications:

Starring: Mel Gibson, Walton Goggins, Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Chance Hurstfield, Robert Bockstael, Michael Dyson
Directed by: Eshom Nelms, Ian Nelms
Written by: Eshom Nelms, Ian Nelms
Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1 AVC
Audio: English: DTS-HD MA 5.1
Subtitles: English, English SDH, Spanish
Studio: Paramount
Rated: R
Runtime: 100 minutes
Blu-Ray Release January 26th, 2021

Recommendation: Solidly Fun Watch

 

[Sonnie]

lol ... wow! I have to say it looks like a cool movie, and it gave me a good chuckle at how someone could come up with a "real" action movie about the "real" Santa.

Yes... I believe in Santa, but I don't celebrate Christmas.

 

[Michael Scott]

lol ... wow! I have to say it looks like a cool movie, and it gave me a good chuckle at how someone could come up with a "real" action movie about the "real" Santa.

Yes... I believe in Santa, but I don't celebrate Christmas.

It's actually rather funny the way they tongue and cheek making him an action hero. Mel Gibson is just plain having FUN with this role and it shows

 

[tripplej]

Thanks for the review. Will check it out.