Throughout my whole Lifetime Christmas film completest quest undertaken namely late 2019 and still ongoing, an interesting quest but very mixed one, there was never the mentality of expecting a classic or the film in question to be flawless. Something that was never managed with Lifetime's output. There was always the expectation of seeing a film where one can see at least some effort rather than merely cash-in level. One could see that with most of Lifetime's output but not all.
Lifetime's 2020 Christmas output was very variable, with not many terrible ones but none properly great at the same time. 'Santa's Squad' left me a bit mixed and is neither one of the best or worst films from the batch. A middling effort if anything. 'Santa's Squad' is another one of those films that leaves one unsure whether to continue or not initially, but on the most part gets better if given a chance and not bailed out on no matter how large the temptation is.
'Santa's Squad' doesn't start off great, it is a slow starter and has some painfully awkward dialogue, a lack of energy and acting that doesn't seem particularly assured or engaged (Aaron Ashmore for example is ill at ease at first). The conflict could have done with more tension and didn't need to try so hard, the conflict in the final quarter or so is on the forced side. The music is too constant, too cheaply recorded and it was like it was scored for something else entirely.
Really did wish that the central relationship featured more in the story, the chemistry is a genuine one but the relationship itself is underused and doesn't get enough time to grow. Not much new is done with a tried and tested formula, so there is a lot of prematurely foreseeable predictability and everything is resolved too neatly and for agreed one of the lamest reasons one can think of.
As said though, 'Santa's Squad' does improve in a lot of areas. The acting on the whole is pretty good, with Rebecca Dalton a warm, charming presence in her role. Ashmore does become more comfortable the more his character grows and his chemistry with Dalton is sweet, just wish there was more of the relationship itself in the story. The children are likeable and have a charming rapport with Dalton.
Visually, it looks nice in particularly the scenery. The film is generally light-hearted, charming and heart-warming once it gets going and the dialogue on the whole is a lot better in the second half, it flows more naturally and isn't as corny while occasionally still forced.
Concluding, not great but watchable. 5/10.
Lifetime's 2020 Christmas output was very variable, with not many terrible ones but none properly great at the same time. 'Santa's Squad' left me a bit mixed and is neither one of the best or worst films from the batch. A middling effort if anything. 'Santa's Squad' is another one of those films that leaves one unsure whether to continue or not initially, but on the most part gets better if given a chance and not bailed out on no matter how large the temptation is.
'Santa's Squad' doesn't start off great, it is a slow starter and has some painfully awkward dialogue, a lack of energy and acting that doesn't seem particularly assured or engaged (Aaron Ashmore for example is ill at ease at first). The conflict could have done with more tension and didn't need to try so hard, the conflict in the final quarter or so is on the forced side. The music is too constant, too cheaply recorded and it was like it was scored for something else entirely.
Really did wish that the central relationship featured more in the story, the chemistry is a genuine one but the relationship itself is underused and doesn't get enough time to grow. Not much new is done with a tried and tested formula, so there is a lot of prematurely foreseeable predictability and everything is resolved too neatly and for agreed one of the lamest reasons one can think of.
As said though, 'Santa's Squad' does improve in a lot of areas. The acting on the whole is pretty good, with Rebecca Dalton a warm, charming presence in her role. Ashmore does become more comfortable the more his character grows and his chemistry with Dalton is sweet, just wish there was more of the relationship itself in the story. The children are likeable and have a charming rapport with Dalton.
Visually, it looks nice in particularly the scenery. The film is generally light-hearted, charming and heart-warming once it gets going and the dialogue on the whole is a lot better in the second half, it flows more naturally and isn't as corny while occasionally still forced.
Concluding, not great but watchable. 5/10.