I’m pretty damn sure I lost brain cells watching Operation Christmas Drop. I haven’t seen something this lazy and terrible in quite some time. I guess this is one of Netflix’s first attempts at Hallmark type crap, but honestly this film was worse than a lot of the schlock that Hallmark runs. There isn’t a shred of authenticity to any part of this, nothing is cute or sweet, nothing is funny, and there isn’t even a good sense of Christmas spirit. I honestly have no clue how anyone finds joy or entertainment in something that is as phony and lifeless as this.
Not gonna lie, I was expecting a decent performance out of Alexander Ludwig because I remember him being really good in The Hunger Games. Unfortunately, here he just can’t deliver his lines without coming across as super cheesy. Now to be fair, it’s not just him; no one here can deliver a good performance. It’s not completely their faults because the script is so terrible that I would be surprised if anyone could be good in Operation Christmas Drop.
Kat Graham is also pretty bad, even downright cringe-worthy in several scenes. She has this super fake/forced cheery demeanor that seems like she’s spoofing this type of stuff… but she’s not. And oh how very sad I was to see Academy Award nominated Virginia Madsen in this… even she can’t give us a worthy performance. Someone give Virginia Madsen better roles… this was just sad! The rest of the cast is as bad or worse with everyone putting on this way over the top cheery fake persona… ick.
The dialogue in this film is the blandest most embarrassing stuff you could imagine. The “funny” pieces of dialogue are characters delivering lines while making a facial reaction that indicates what they’re saying is supposed to be funny, followed by people around them laughing in a very obviously forced way. It’s just flat out uncomfortable.
Of course, there is a budding romance between the two leads and yes, that too is handled in the cheesiest way possible. It’s impossible for there to be any real onscreen chemistry between Ludwig and Graham because the dialogue they share is so dull and lifeless. Then there are several community scenes that are meant to be cute and charming but they’re just not! Like I’ve said, everything in this is so forced and fake that it’s impossible to feel anything but utter boredom.
You might be wondering if there’s at least some Christmas spirit to be found amongst this load of crap. Well, let me answer that for you… there is zero. The entire film is set on a tropical island and most of the scenes don’t have any holiday vibe to them at all. There are only a few scenes with some minor Christmas decorations and that’s about it. This film can’t even get Christmas right which is sad given that the word is in the title.
Oh and to top things off, there’s a random CGI gecko in the room the girl is staying in… don’t ask me why. Even the gecko is awful… really obvious fake computer effects. I have one singular positive thing to say about Operation Christmas Drop and that thing is that Mr. Alexander Ludwig sure is looking fine these days.
Other than Mr. Ludwig’s good looks, this film is complete and utter garbage. AVOID AT ALL COSTS!
A look at a record setting thriller
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