While most films in general serve the purpose of being entertaining, some can serve as being a welcomed surprise along with providing a much needed distraction from current world issues. Some films can be so fun-spirited and enchanting that they succeed in fully transporting audiences to another world temporarily, while giving them a glimpse of one they wish was present. That certainly appears to be the feeling that one gets upon watching Netflix's popular holiday series The Christmas Chronicles. The first Christmas Chronicles ended up being a smash hit with audiences as it provided the nostalgia of watching old-fashioned holiday-themed classics, while presenting them with a new form of Santa Claus that's increasingly becoming an iconic stamp for the character, largely thanks to Kurt Russell's surprisingly brilliant performance and clever casting. What made The Christmas Chronicles so appealing to audiences was the homage it paid to old school Christmas films of the 80's and 90's era in regards to both the films style and form of storytelling. With how much of a hit the first film became with audiences, it wasn't much of a surprise that a sequel to The Christmas Chronicles was announced. The sequel takes place some time after the first movie and places acclaimed Home Alone director Chris Columbus in the directors chair. The newest film not only brings back the main central cast from the first movie, but includes newer additions such as Russell's real-life wife and actress Goldie Hawn in the role of Mr. Claus which builds on her surprise cameo at the end of the first film and Tyrese Gibson from the Fast And Furious franchise. The Christmas Chronicles 2 once again gives audiences another adventure in which the main characters find themselves in a race against time to save Christmas with Kurt Russell's Santa Claus taking the stage once again. Whereas the first one did well with setting up the main characters and introducing the newest version of Kris Kringle, the sequel gives audiences a more in-depth look at the world surrounding the newest Claus family with the results being a film just as fun-spirited, charming, and possessive of the holiday spirit as its predecessor. In a time where audiences are feeling largely void of celebrating the holidays, the newest entry in the Christmas Chronicles series is greatly appreciated with the film managing to take audiences back to their childhood with its noble level of innocence.
Picking up where the first film left off, the plot for The Christmas Chronicles 2 centers around a rogue elf turned human (Played by Julian Dennison) who was banished from Santa's village, ends up devising a plan to cease Christmas forever with him using a true believer in Christmas (Played once again by Darby Camp) to re-enter Santa's inner circle. The plot for The Christmas Chronicles 2 takes all of the key characters that were introduced in the first film, and further develops them while building upon its story with the sequel being much more broader in scope. The first film essentially worked as a remake of 1987's Adventures In Babysitting with the main differences being the plot is centered around Christmas along with the films central character being Santa Claus. Despite the first films story being Christmas-oriented, its main theme was about a pair of siblings struggling to handle the sudden loss of their father while having their faith in Christmas restored through their experience with Santa Claus on Christmas Eve. The story for The Christmas Chronicles 2 continues that theme of dealing with the loss of loved ones as the young pair of siblings Kate and Teddy (Played by Darby Camp and Judah Lewis), face the reality that their mother is moving on from her loss with a new boyfriend she cares a great deal about (Played by Tyrese Gibson). What the second Christmas Chronicles does well is connecting both films together with the story feeling like a true continuation of the first film with the sequel taking everything to the next level in regards to both the adventure and Christmas aspects of the story. If the first Christmas Chronicles felt restrained to some audiences in regards to what it showed regarding the North Pole and Santa's workshop, they'll feel the total opposite with the second as director Chris Columbus brings audiences into Santa's world while showing his relationship with both the elves and Mrs. Claus. The newest Chronicles maintains much of the same style of innocent fun and genuine enthusiasm for Christmas that the first delivered to audiences. Although certain aspects of the film may come across as feeling cringe-inducing to audiences and require a great amount of suspension of disbelief, the overall experience serves as being both an entertaining and heartwarming one with the film giving audiences what's arguably the best portrayal of Santa Claus and his world in years, even if the sequel ultimately loses some of the magic of its predecessor.
As effective as the film manages to be in delivering family-friendly holiday fun, much of the films success goes to its main cast that manages to be its brightest star. The main ensemble once again brings a lot of energy, enthusiasm, and heart to their roles with Kurt Russell making the case with audiences once again that he's this generations definitive Santa Claus, as well as being one of the strongest ones on film thus far. Russell is simply perfect for the role and unequivocally becomes his character to near perfection where if there wasn't any previous versions of Santa to compare on film, his would automatically be deemed the definitive portrayal thanks to his skillful style of method acting. His performance feels appropriately fit for the type of family-oriented story The Christmas Chronicles 2 aspires to be with his presence as Santa being commanding. Second to his performance is Goldie Hawn as Mrs. Claus with her character receiving a more significant role in the sequel compared to the first film. Like Russell, Hawn is perfect in her role as Santa's wife with the two being stunning together on the big screen (It also helps that they're both a couple in reality). In addition to Russell and Hawn's marvelous performances, the acting from the young cast proves to be strong with Darby Camp reprising her role as Kate Pierce once again and being equally impressive as the young girl who previously aided Santa Claus in the last movie, and is now working with him once again to save Christmas. Camp does great with her role as she manages to convince audiences of her characters dilemma with her hesitance to embrace her mother's new boyfriend due to still getting over her father's death being both believable and realistic, along with her also being a true believer in Christmas. Jahzir Bruno equally impresses as Pierces mom's boyfriend's son Jack Booker, who takes the place of Teddy in this adventure with him sharing the same type of energy and enthusiasm for believing in Christmas, as well as participating in the fight to save it. Both Camp and Bruno deliver equally convincing performances while sharing natural chemistry as potential siblings. They manage to convey the required amount of imagination, wonder, and emotions for their roles with Camp's work being more impressive given her character arc. Julian Dennison does well as Belsnickel, an elf adopted by Santa Claus who goes rogue and ends up being the films main antagonist. Dennison hammers up his part while creating a character that's viewed as being largely sympathetic. The rest of the cast delivers solid performances despite having smaller roles with Kimberly Williams-Paisley and Judah Lewis both shining once again as Kate's mother Claire and brother Teddy Pierce, with the latter having a much smaller role this time in exchange for Jack's character joining Kate in her adventure with Santa. Tyrese Gibson ends up being a noteworthy addition to the main cast as Claire's new boyfriend Bob Booker, who finds winning over Claire's daughter Kate to be challenging with her still overcoming her father's death. Overall, the cast for The Christmas Chronicles 2 is appealing and makes for a terrific ensemble, that manages to be both charming as well as bringing large doses of energy to their parts. They manage to give the film the cheesy yet effective Christmas spirit the story demands, while making the plot come across as being believable in fantasy terms. It helps greatly that both Russell and Hawn are a real-life pair as they make for the ideal Mr. and Mrs. Claus with Camp and Booker working great alongside them. Much of the reason the newest Christmas Chronicles film works is because of the effort the cast puts into bringing the story to the big screen as the film ultimately wouldn't be as successful nor as effective without them.
Directed by Chris Columbus who helmed Home Alone 1,2, Bicentennial Man, Harry Potters: The Sorcerers Stone and Chamber Of Secrets, Columbus has proven with his filmography to be more than capable of bringing fantastical stories to the big screen, while creating a magical atmosphere that gives a warm enchanting feel to them. He's also shown that he can create worlds that are dazzling to watch visually with the North Pole shown in Christmas Chronicles 2, proving to be no exception in continuing that trend. Columbus gives audiences the genuine feeling of Christmas with his work in bringing the North Pole to life, as well as Santa's workshop. Both the costume and set designs are well-designed and wonderfully detailed, giving audiences the illusion that they're actually at the North Pole with these characters. The films gorgeous cinematography drives home that feeling with the score serving as being both cheerful and heartwarming in giving audiences the holiday feel of the films setting. As far as directing goes, Columbus takes the world that Clay Kaytis established and builds upon it while remaining consistent in regards to the playful tone of the first one. Columbus creates an experience for the family that feels rich in its visual presentation, while also feeling like an upgrade in comparison to the first on a technical note. The latter could be contributed to the fact that Netflix gave the sequel a larger budget to work off with the films CGI effects also marking a noteworthy improvement over the first films, which ended up being one of the formers main glaring flaws. If there's any fault that can be found with Columbus directing, it's his tendency to rely heavily on CGI rather than utilizing practical effects. Given that the film is aimed at young audiences, that issue with the film can ultimately be overlooked as Columbus does such a good job of bringing the world of the North Pole to the big screen in a fashion that not only feels grand but mystical.
Written by Matt Lieberman who penned the first film, he does a solid job of keeping both stories consist while focusing on the evolution of the characters as well as the story. Both stories work well as being a two part arc revolving around the preservation of Christmas with Santa and his young companions in a race against time to rescue the holiday season. The sequel continues many of the first films themes pertaining to the maintaining of the spirit of Christmas as well as the loss, anger, and grief over the death of a parent, the holding onto memories of the past, and ultimately choosing to move forward. The sequel does a good job of continuing the arc of the Pierce family in regards to coping with the loss of their husband/father and attempting to move past it with Kate's mother Claire dating her new boyfriend, whom Kate is not yet ready to fully embrace as a stepfather, nor Jack as a step brother. Despite the first two movies being Christmas themed stories, the core of both deals with the concept of loss and grieving while regaining one's holiday spirit again. What makes the storyline for The Christmas Chronicles 2 work as well as the first one, is the fact that it carries a great deal of heart like its predecessor. The stories are very much about the main characters losing hope and later regaining it through their majestical adventures with Santa Claus. The sequel seizes the opportunity to explore Kurt Russell's Santa's backstory while introducing Mrs. Claus into the mix. Both main characters are written so well that the audiences connects with as well as empathize with the Claus loneliness in regards to not having children visit the North Pole in a long time, and being overjoyed at having both Kate and Jack over. The backstory of Belsnickel is well-handled, though feels a bit cliched as well as predictable as audiences know he will turn noble again by the films end due to it being a Christmas movie. As a whole, the script for The Christmas Chronicles 2 works with its main issues being that the film tends to fall victim at times to the basic conventions of a holiday-themed film, which ultimately can make it feel predictable. While this doesn't fully ruin the experience of watching the film nor make it a poorly written one, it ultimately robs it of some of the spontaneousness and magic that the first film possessed. The script also suffers from feeling like it wants to juggle multiple plot devices and character arcs at once, which can make it feel a bit overstuffed as well as being overly ambitious. Despite these criticisms, Lieberman gets the job done and effectively drives home the films key message regarding the importance of family and keeping the spirit of Christmas alive and well.
With a film like The Christmas Chronicles 2, one finds themself both asking the question of whether the film succeeds in giving them the feeling of the Christmas season, along with answering whether they find themselves caring about the characters as well as the story. For the most part, the second film succeeds in living up to the first while providing audiences with the much desired holiday spirit that's largely been lacking thus far with Covid-19 cases surging across the nation. The second Christmas Chronicles isn't a perfect film by any stretch of the margin and ultimately falls short of the surprise quality of the original, but it does a reasonably solid job of keeping both the story and tone consistent with the first film. The film is as fun and enchanting as it ultimately comes across as being largely due to both the charisma and talent of its main stars, as well as the sentimental touch that director Chris Columbus tends to place on his films almost like a signature stamp. The addition of Goldie Hawn as Russell's on-screen wife is a real treat that adds magic to the film with their remarkable chemistry. The sequel is bigger, more exciting, and heartfelt than the last outing despite the latter being a better crafted picture. Those who enjoyed the first Christmas Chronicles will find a similar style or feeling of enjoyment with the sequel as it maintains the same fun-natured and holiday theme as the previous outing. The story works at it's maximum potential if one doesn't take it too seriously and just allows the film to take them for another exciting yet thrilling ride in Santa's sled. The Christmas Chronicles 2 is the cheerful holiday film that audiences desperately need with them once again finding themselves believing in Kurt Russell's Santa Claus, as well as Mrs. Claus workshop (Those who've seen the film will get that reference). Both actors and on-screen couple work so well together in the film, that audiences look forward to their next adventure outing as Mr. and Mr. Claus down the road with much enthusiasm as they'll be sold on them as the being the perfect holiday duo for the Christmas season.
Final Verdict: For Kurt Russell fans as well as fans of The Christmas Chronicles, The Christmas Chronicles 2 is a genuinely satisfying sequel to the first film with the overall experience being enjoyable if one doesn't take its plot too seriously.
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