Fatman Review

November 26, 2020 at 4:12am
By Jason Stettner

This is a rather interesting take on Santa Claus, and definitely a surprising one as well. It essentially follows a more washed up, down on his luck and not loving the state of things type of Old Saint Nick. This bundle of joy is played by Mel Gibson who actually does a really good job of portraying the iconic holiday figure. There’s a certain level of terror, and jolly within the performance.

Opposing him is the somewhat messed up and broken hitman called the Skinny Man that is played by the articulate Walton Goggins. There’s also a spoiled kid in the mix, and some other side characters. It’s not the direction I would have expected for this situation, but it works out well enough and tells a fairly conclusive type of setup. You’re basically following Santa as he deals with the government and some contracts that would allow him to continue doing what he does.

This sends the character somewhat spiraling, as he sees the darkened state of the world over time. It does provide what I suppose is a truly gritty take on Santa, and perhaps somewhat of a grounded one at the same time. Anyways, it’s a fairly straight forward narrative where there’s a build-up and clash. It’s not too in-depth, and has some decent action to it.

The performances were fine, I really didn’t have any issues with them. I suppose both leads did their parts well, though I would have liked to see some deeper calculating moments with Goggins. At the same time, I like the twisted attitude and somewhat funny moments he provided along the way.

A threatening individual, that definitely knew how to eliminate some targets effectively. It’s certainly a darker twist on the holiday season. It can get rather violent, but does take its time getting to the real meat of the action. I suppose the setup is somewhat important in this situation however, as there aren’t too many players involved with this deadly situation.

The Conclusion

Fatman provides about what you would expect if you’ve heard the just of what this is, with a surprisingly well done Santa Claus performance from Mel Gibson and ultimately just one striking final battle. It takes its time to get there, but does provide some interesting moments along the way. It’s neat how certain situations lead towards that final confrontation, and the strange government influence on the work that Santa does.

If you’re wanting to see a somewhat badass Claus go up against a hitman in a fairly bloody sort of situation, then you’ll be pleased. It’s mostly fine, nothing too wildly exciting yet at the same time a surprise. It definitely did what I hadn’t expected it to, with some more depth than I had initially anticipated. It’s an interesting situation, and perhaps a memorable one for how odd the whole concept is for it.

Fatman Review at Home with Streamed Viewing
Screening Provided by VVS Films

Rating Overall: 5.8