Violent Night was an absolute blast. And a pretty interesting look at class warfare between the wealthy and even more wealthy. David Harbour, much like Mel Gibson in Fatman, is a fed up Santa Claus. One who is tired of kids who don’t really want anything more than cash and video games and don’t appreciate the holidays anymore. He starts the film by getting drunk in a bar in England and throwing up on the bartender as she watches in awe as he flies away in his sleigh.
Harbour is perfect in this part. Actually, he’s downright fantastic. the viciousness that you saw in some of his early work, such as The Equalizer and A Walk Among the Tombstones is there, but balances out with the edgy softness he displays often as Hopper when it comes to children.
This example of Santa Claus was once a warrior that’s over 1100 years old; a fascinating take that isn’t explored very deeply by director Tommy Wirkola, but nonetheless Santa brings that former part of his history's hammer, the aptly named Skull Crusher, into the fight with you got it, terrorists.
But wait these aren’t exactly terrorists. These are thieves led by a hilarious John Leguizamo, who just happens to hate Christmas, and some turncoats that are stealing already stolen money from an extremely wealthy family on Christmas Eve during a holiday party in their palatial estate. Violence breaks out when Santa Claus, still rough and tumble, but has the vulnerability that comes with rustiness, decides to intervene in a very Die Hard like manner. This mansion may as well be Nakatomi Plaza.
Hey! It's good to see Beverly D’Angelo return to the screen.
The fight choreography as well as the humor is definitely in abundance here, as is the gore you need to be prepared for. As a matter of fact Violent Night comes off as a nifty combination of Die Hard 2 and Home Alone, just caked in claret.
Before you blow this off as another holiday film drenched in violence to reach out to a certain audience, explore the relationship between Harbour and the little girl, Trudy, stuck in the middle of all this. It’s legitimately touching and has enough weight to it to make this work as a Christmas film, despite the bloodshed.
Especially when the little girl brings Home Alone into it against a couple of the punk thugs. In my opinion, that segment is far more entertaining than the Macaulay Culkin film that inspired the sequence. Actually, early on, Trudy does her Culkin impression, showing a parents' reaction that most of us adults have to that particular piece of holiday cinema. Irritation.
Fatman And Violent Night would make a great double feature, and I may consider doing that sometime soon. Move over Lethal Weapon and Die Hard. You got a pair of action flicks that are moving into your territory for the holidays.
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