The Christmas Chronicles
Netflix | Release Date (Streaming): November 22, 2018 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
52
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 10 Critic Reviews
Positive:
2
Mixed:
5
Negative:
3
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
75
Entertainment WeeklyDana SchwartzNov 20, 2018
What kind of Grinch would I be to berate a new cheesy holiday movie about two siblings going on a Christmas-related adventure in which, I repeat, Kurt Russell plays a hot Santa? Make some cocoa for the family, and spike yours if you have to, but remember what the holiday is about: watching mediocre, predictable movies with the people you love. Read full review
70
Los Angeles TimesGary GoldsteinNov 20, 2018
Russell, he of the shaggy mane and those twinkly, crinkly eyes, digs into the classic role with a sleighful of energy, humor and gusto, deftly making the character his own with guidance from Matt Lieberman’s inventive, myth-bending script. His performance is a gas. Read full review
60
The TelegraphRobbie CollinNov 21, 2018
The whole thing is out-and-out tinsel-dunked tat, but oddly honourable with it – the Christmas spirit might be just a few steps up from bathtub grade, but it still packs a kick. Read full review
60
EmpireDan JolinNov 19, 2018
It’s as predictable as an Advent calendar, but thanks to Kurt Russell’s grizzly charms, The Christmas Chronicles at least gives us one of the movies’ best Santas yet. Read full review
58
The A.V. ClubCharles BramescoNov 20, 2018
Close inspection reveals that The Christmas Chronicles suffers from the same acute condition as one of Freddy’s or Jason’s lesser vehicles. The film doesn’t know how to get out of its own way and foreground what’s working, namely the dynamo of screen presence placed more prominently in the advertising than the feature itself. Read full review
50
ConsequenceClint WorthingtonNov 19, 2018
The Christmas Chronicles is a passable enough lark, and may well be on the upper end of the spectrum when it comes to modern cinematic Christmas fare. Read full review
50
Slant MagazineDerek SmithNov 16, 2018
The film Despite its weird flourishes, the film succumbs to the tropes and emotional contrivances of the family melodrama at its core. Read full review
38
RogerEbert.comNell MinowNov 21, 2018
The Christmas Chronicles keeps getting in its own way with a patched-together story, raggedy tone, thinly imagined characters, and weak humor (Santa explains that he doesn’t really say, “Ho Ho Ho” — that’s fake news). Read full review
30
VarietyCourtney HowardNov 15, 2018
With its saccharine score, saturated cinematography, and trite platitudes, the film is formulaic and forgettable except for Russell’s performance as the lovable legend. Read full review
20
The GuardianStephen SnartNov 21, 2018
Between the atrocious green-screen work, the blatant stock footage helicopter shots of city skylines and painfully obvious Toronto-for-America locations, you would be forgiven for thinking this movie was made in 1992. Read full review
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