by Shane Conto
Does Netflix have a new Christmas franchise on their hands? With the release of The Christmas Chronicles Part Two, they just may! The first The Christmas Chronicles caught the Netflix community by storm and turned out to be a fun and thoroughly enjoyable experience. But what must be done to get a sequel done? Make it bigger of course! Where the first film focused on a very specific occurrence with a modest scale, the sequel brings in a big scale adventure that goes across the globe (and into different times). More effects driven and focusing a lot more on the magical world of Santa, The Christmas Chronicles Part Two brings plenty to the table. But the question is…are all of those things cinematically appetizing?
The directors chair has a big change moving into this new film as veteran director of the early entries in the Home Alone franchise, Chris Columbus, takes the reins.
Columbus has shown that he can make grand scale fantasies with the first two Harry Potter films. But does Netflix give him everything he needs to make the large-scale effects-driven adventure work? Not consistently at least. There are definitely moments that feel artificial due to an over reliance on CGI. The production design is quite impressive though. The North Pole is vibrant and fun…even if the design of the elves might be slightly off-putting (at least to me). As I mentioned multiple times so far, the film has a much larger scale than the first film but it sure drags at points. There is so much plot going on with more characters and set pieces that it feels bloated. Did this film need to be a full two hours? No, it did not. But Columbus is able to create a fun and heartwarming tone that at least makes it easier to swallow and digest everything.
Speaking of bloat, the screenplay does try to do so much.
Looking at the main characters from the first film first, Kate is a lot less likable with the route the film takes her. She was the shining light in the first film and now she is a grumpy teen for a chunk of the film. But Darby Camp is certainly charming once again in her performance. This would have been more disappointing if it wasn’t for the film completely writing her brother out of the narrative because…he has a girlfriend. How original? There are a few new additions like Jack, Kate’s potential step sibling, who is a nice kid and has a nice arc in the film. But then there is Julian Dennison’s Belsnickel. This impish little elf is pretty bland as a character with a not so impactful motivation. Does his story lead to some nice moments towards the end? Yeah…but in general he feels like a waste of Dennison’s talents. But the real MVP is Kurt Russell’s Santa who is the coolest Santa around. The musical moments of Christmas cheer he leads is another highlight like the first. Santa also has some of the best lines which Russell delivers with delight. Goldie Hawn (Russell’s real-life partner) plays a charming Mrs. Claus who gets some tender moments with Jack along the way.
The story is definitely bloated compared to the first and more complicated.
What made the first film so smooth and easy to appreciate is its simple premise that was ripe for heartwarming moments. This film tries really hard to world build, introduce new family dynamics, and deliver a larger-scale fantasy adventure. Some of these aspects fall a little short (here’s looking at you, new family dynamics, which really only make up around 10 minutes of the runtime). The world building is fun, but it does bloat the script and drags the pace at times. So much is trying to be accomplished that the film can barely dig deeper than the surface on most of them. There is also the large maguffin focused plot…because who doesn’t love some maguffins?
But does The Christmas Chronicles Part Two set Netflix up moving forward to have their own Christmas adventure saga (like The Santa Clause)?
That is an interest comparison since The Santa Clause 2 hits some of the same progressions as this film. The Christmas Chronicles may be a sweeter and simpler film that overall works better but that doesn’t mean you won’t have fun with this Christmas sequel. Netflix might have found a winner in the coolest Santa Claus on the cinematic screen.
Grade C+