Fatman
Kuvaus:
Johnny DerangoSävellys:
Mondo BoysNäyttelijät:
Mel Gibson, Walton Goggins, Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Chance Hurstfield, Shaun Benson, Paulino Nunes, Deborah Grover, Michelle Lang, Michael Dickson (lisää)Suoratoistopalvelut (3)
Juonikuvaukset(1)
Spoiled, rich kid, 12-year-old, Billy Wenan lives with his ailing grandmother and pines for attention from his absentee father. He rules the house with an iron fist and shows no remorse when being cruel to the hired help. On Christmas morning, after receiving a lump of coal in his stocking, Billy decides to hire a hitman, known only as Skinny Man, to kill Santa. Santa, also known as Chris Cringle, is in the middle of a financial struggle. The rising number of naughty has caused his government subsidy to slide below his current budget. Working along-side his faithful and pragmatic wife, Ruth, together, they fight to keep the lights on in the workshop and the elves employed. Reaching the end of their rope, they're forced to enter a two-month contract with the U.S. military. As Skinny Man makes his way toward Chris, we realize he harbors a twisted personal vendetta of his own. And when their two world's collide, Chris must rise to the occasion to keep the Christman spirit - and himself - alive. (Icon Film Distribution)
(lisää)Arvostelut (5)
Mel Gibson as a badass Santa Claus who is being hunted by serial killer Walton Goggins. Genre-wise, I don't know where I'd put Fatman, the action is only at the end, there are few jokes for a comedy and it’s not suspenseful enough for a thriller, but it's still an interesting and fairly original film with a quirky idea. A spoilt brat from a rich family gets nothing but coal for Christmas and calls his "friend" to tell him that he wishes to murder Santa Claus, and he happily nods at the job, as he too was once abandoned by Santa. The best character in the film is definitely Walton Goggins, who plays the crazed killer absolutely flawlessly and professionally at the same time. He's smart, funny, uncompromising, consistent, and one of the best in his business, he makes the film very entertaining whenever he's on set, but it paces a little less without him. As a one-off with a pre-Christmas atmosphere Fatman serves just fine. Story***, Action***, Humor***, Violence**, Entertainment****, Music**, Visuals***, Atmosphere***, Suspense**. 6/10.
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An excellent idea, but they didn’t make the most of it. The premise, a spoiled kid who puts a hit on Santa for giving him coal in his stocking is all very well, but the result is feeble and the action is at best average. So the best bits are the pieces of bonus information that complete the overall picture. Santa making weapons for the army to be able to feed his elves, his disappointment at the aggressive kids and the fact that he has an Afro-American (or Afro-Canadian) wife. Gibson’s acting is convincing and the frustration his job gives him is infectious. Goggins’ assassin is a typical adult kid who is just interested in his pay packet. A great movie snack, nothing more, nothing less.
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An original idea, definitely, yet I watched Fatman with the fear that Mel Gibson would go the way of Nicolas Cage or Bruce Willis and that it wouldn't be rubbish. And it’s not rubbish! First of all, I'm happy that the Nelms brothers didn't write and film the story in the style of Rodriguez's Machete (although that would have been very easy), but went about it in a different way. And so, surprisingly, the multi-genre Fatman has a really interesting and impressive, but hard to describe atmosphere, and waiting for the mandatory action finale certainly didn't bore me.
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Goggins plays a killer who’s after Mel Gibson’s Santa, and it’s not fun? Fatman has a premise that could be taken in a lot of different funny directions, but it flounders in a boring genre mix that lacks detachment and charisma. There isn’t a single good joke and the potential doesn’t go any further than the interesting idea. The only thing that saves it are the two cool actors (even though I think one of them doesn’t know whether he’s in a comedy or a drama). I demand right now a remake with Bruce Willis as Santa and Nic Cage as a crazy naughty boy.
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When the first news about Fatman came out, I thought it might be a pretty good trip, but the creators should have made it clear at the start if they wanted to go in the direction of a fiendish family comedy or an unorthodox bloody thriller. Nothing in between. After watching it, my fears were confirmed and it ended up right there somewhere in between. At times, this "Christmas western" is quite bleak and wistful and does not shy away from cold acts and bloody murder. In other moments, the movie is too infantile and filled with naive comic book characters (the main bad guy is actually a spoiled little rich brat). The script really does look like it was written by Robert Rodriguez's children. The movie is quite amusing and doesn't drag. Mel Gibson cracks the whip and delivers in an unconventional role and his badass Father Christmas is cool, but the movie is weakened by its unclear mood and the relatively clear and simple story lacking surprises or twists.
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