Fatman is a new Christmas-themed action movie that’s available for rent on streaming. It tells the gritty tale of how a twelve year old rich kid, disappointed by the piece of coal he receives for Christmas, puts a hit out on The Fatman (aka Santa Clause aka Chris Cringle aka Mel Gibson(!)). Walton Goggins plays the hitman dispatched to do the deed… a man with his own axe to grind with the jolly old elf.
You are either immediately sold on the premise or it ain’t for you. If the idea appeals to you and maybe you saw the trailer, you might give this movie a look. I was in that boat; I found the tone and direction of the trailer to be very funny. But the people who cut that trailer were selling a slightly different movie. Instead of the “taking-this-seriously but tongue-in-cheek” tone of the trailer, the actual movie is a deadly serious movie about a ruthless assassin stalking his target… who just happens to be Santa Clause.
It’s a small difference in tone, to be sure, but the actual movie is only passingly attempting to be funny, relying on the basic premise alone to make you chuckle. It’s otherwise playing a serious assassin vs. target suspense thriller… but it’s largely not a very good version of that. So it’s neither directly funny enough nor a good version of what it’s otherwise trying to be.
I found this film rather lifeless, sparse, and all concept, no execution (except for a pretty decent final act showdown – that was ok). The movie was trying very hard to pull off its trick but it ultimately failed by not finding the right tone or rising to a good enough level of competence. Too bad. I had hopes.
Score: 70