Movies with Isaiah: David Harbour is perfect as Santa in 'Violent Night'

During my formative childhood years, I was afforded many opportunities of viewing classic martial arts to exciting action-adventure cinematic stories. Cinema in the '80s and '90s exposed me to Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jean Claude Van Damme, Sylvester Stallone, Chuck Norris, Brandon Lee and many more. Their films shaped and molded my entire childhood.

I have memories of myself and several friends attempting to recreate certain scenes, reciting memorable one-liners or failing in an attempt to "build sets" that mirrored our imaginations. This past Sunday afternoon, after viewing "Violent Night," I will state that I have found another favorite action-adventure film that I rank up there, with "Terminator 2: Judgment Day" remaining at the top of the list.

Upon watching the trailer for "Violent Night," my interest awakened to the prospect of witnessing a sincere return to the traditional elements of over-the-top, ridiculous, exciting forms of cinema that returned me to the years of watching these types of films during my childhood. In actuality, the trailer itself was misleading to a certain extent. Director Tommy Wirkola, working with producer David Leitch, took the magical story of Santa Claus, flipping it upside down, adding their own flavor to the mythology, creating a surprising, heartwarming piece of art that I found myself wanting to continue after it ended. Anyone who is familiar with Leitch knows he directed "Hobbs and Shaw," "Atomic Blonde," "Deadpool 2" and "Bullet Train." His work has brought about the return of traditional sequences that have revitalized the action genre in my opinion.

Leitch has also been behind producing the John Wick film series and recently the underrated film titled "Nobody." Seeing his name attached to any project these days is an absolute guarantee the viewer is in for a cinematic treat of exciting proportions. I find that his work gives me a true sense of satisfaction.

"Violent Night" stars David Harbour, John Leguizamo and Beverly D'Angelo in our modern-day "Die Hard" combined with 'Home Alone" feature. Its story is centered on Christmas with Santa Claus completing his magical journey to bring happiness to children around the world. Unexpectedly he's caught in the middle of an organized heist. He's moved by his sentimental nature into restoring the meaning of Christmas upon these villainous mercenaries. It's important to keep the details intentionally vague since this is a required viewing for those who embrace these types of films.

Harbour without a doubt as Santa Claus is absolutely perfect. He captured the pure magical essence to a point that I cannot visualize anyone else in the role. For me, even at the age of 41, any imagery or story associated with him remains near and dear to my heart. I've always loved the visual representation of Santa Claus delivering presents, eating cookies and drinking milk and feeding his reindeer carrots. All of it is very beautiful and special to me. I loved how Harbour brought to life how I always visualized Santa Claus. With a story of this nature, he combines the warmth, charm, humor and determination aspect with unique ease.

Another element I appreciated about this film is how they added special flavor to the backstory of Santa Claus. It's another reason I found myself agreeing with other critics that there needs to be a prequel or a sequel immediately. Preferably a prequel exploring his past that would create a cinematic treat, making it another required viewing. Words cannot articulate how much fun I had with this film. It has everything that I loved about the action genre in general. How it took me back to those childhood years is a feeling that cannot be replicated artificially. "Violent Night" organically created that magical experience that made the viewing all the more worth watching.

Wirkola made this story work in a manner that shouldn't even have been remotely possible. Any other director attempting this direction would most likely find their outing somewhere in the bargain bin immediately. I loved how they embraced concepts of "'Die Hard" and "Home Alone" by making direct references to them without shame.

"Violent Night" is so ridiculously over the top, violent, exciting and charming that if John Wick, John McClane or even Kevin McCallister showed up at any point during the film, it wouldn't feel out of place in the slightest. That's how great and refreshing it was to actually have a story like this rely more on traditional cinematic perspectives rather than creating anything meaningless. At the core of "Violent Night," there is a heartwarming story of the relationship between Santa Claus and character Trudy Lightstone presenting a surprising amount of sincere emotion. It worked on every single level.

Let me state that this is in no way a family film under any circumstances. There's a lot of profanity, violence, blood and carnage that aren't appropriate for children. Despite it being centered on Christmas and family tradition, there is no need for children to watch this. Other than that important bit of information, allow me to say that this film is another reason why the theater experience is absolutely necessary. I cannot stress enough how much I loved "Violent Night." At the risk of sounding repetitious, I view this piece of cinema as the best action film of 2022 as we're nearing the end of the year.

In closing, I grant "Violent Night" a rousing 10/10 and two thumbs up. Please go watch it. I don't believe you'll be disappointed.

Isaiah Ridley works at Beacon Cinemas in Sumter. To watch his movie reviews online, find him @Izzy's Cinematic Escape on YouTube.