User Reviews

I can't believe this movie exists. It's high production, actors are good. Many may say the story is stupid and too straight forwards...but this is a movie, that could've been made in the 80's. People who grew up with movies which don't take themself too serious like "Commando" for example really miss such movies. And i'am not talking about cheaply made C-movies. In the 80's there was an audience for this kind of movies and that's why they were highly quality produced. It's about the fun. And i had fun watching this movie. It's just this kind of flick you tell your friends about "Hey have you seen this crazy movie where Mel Gibson as Santa Clause saves christmas with guns?" And of course they answer with no. And then you tell them: "Well, buckle up, kiddo. You're in for a good time, get the whiskey!".

Nothing more to add. We need more films like that,

Just funny enough not to be too grim or dark, but just straight enough to be tense, and ever so slightly surreal. Acting is pretty good, and the story is a darker version of the normal holiday fare. I found it thoroughly watchable, and really enjoyed the ending.

I watched this movie on Christmas day as my wife likes to watch Christmas movies at that time. I wasn't too thrilled about that idea though, as I was expecting another cheesy holiday movie but Fatman is different. I actually enjoyed it a lot more than I thought I would. It's definitely not a Christmas movie for kids that still believe in Santa Claus. There's a fair amount of violence and killings so not sure if kids want to see that if you want to keep them in the Christmas spirit. But for adults it's entertaining. Mel Gibson, once a decent actor, played in a lot of bad movies lately, at the point where I was wondering if he forgot how to act. But in Fatman he got it together again with a decent performance playing Santa Claus. Walton Goggins always seems play mean characters and he's good at it so no reason to change that. The whole cast did a good job making Fatman a different Christmas movie than we're used to. It changes from the eternal Home Alone franchise they push down our throat every year over and over again.

"Fatman" is one of those little independent films that entertains in a surprise like manner as it does have an interesting story with well known actors and it is joy. Set during the "Christmas" season a 12 year old boy receives nothing so he decides it's the big red suited man's fault and he hires a ruthless and crazy hitman(the fine wonderful Walton Goggins) to hunt Mr. Claus down and kill him. As a subplot and on the side as a wild card like story is Chris(in a fine turn from Mel Gibson) a real life Santa who makes a living meeting kids needs. Only Chris is down on his luck and broke, however when he takes up partnership with the U.S. military things change. This film becomes an action like thriller with the two central characters ending up crossing paths overall this picture is underrated give it a watch as the entertaining moments and fun dark action and laughs keep on giving!

After Kurt Russels more family friendly Santa outing, we get mel Gibson in a more mature Santa outing. Way more mature, though I reckon there are still some lines that are not entirely crossed ... or at least they seem smoothed over. And that is one thing that I really sort of dreaded in this movie. Because while it seems like a mean Santa (Bad Santa, Kill Santa) outing, there are things or lines the movie does not cross. Pulling punches if you want to call it that.

Having said all that, the actors do an amazing job. Walton Goggins for example is quite restraint. While I wasn't sure if that was the right way to go (over the top would have also been an apt or even better choice), his soft and calm demeanor might play more into some other viewers expectations. The jokes are dry, the pace is slow .. there is nothing fancy about this outing and ... re-imagening of the myth that surrounds Santa Clause. Not more apparent than in the commercial aspect and contracts Santa is obeying by ... While I imagined this to be way more fun, it still can entertain, if you let it

Every Santa Claus movie I have seen is a pretty faithful take from the traditional story, even Will Ferrell's "Elf." But this Mel Gibson movie breaks all the Santa rules, it is like nothing I have ever seen.

The key plot point is a 12-yr-old boy who is not very nice at all, and when he receives a box of coal for Christmas he steals one of his grandmother's checks and hires a hit man to find Santa and take him out. Yes, assassinate him.

Walton Goggins is a superb actor and he is really good as the hit man. First off it isn't very easy to find where Santa and his workshop are. Once there the carnage starts, but Kris Kringle is a tough old guy.

It is a jolt to your system to see this type of movie about Santa, after watching it I admire what the filmmakers did but overall I can't give it really high marks, just a bit too strange.

My wife and I watched it at home on DVD from our public library.

Reading the premise of this movie I already knew I was going into something that was quite different. The cast also had some pretty reputable actors in it and I thought to myself why not give this movie A try? Well I'm not sure what I thought I'd expect but it definitely wasn't that.

First off the film is EXTREMELY draggy I got so bored and caught myself looking at my phone several times wondering when anything was going to happen. Secondly while listed this movie is listed as action comedy it lacked in both in my opinion. The action came in finally at the last 15 minutes of the movie and as for the comedy I diddn't crack smirk not even once.

On the positive side the reason I gave any stars at all was due to the acting which I thought everyone did a pretty good job overall. Also I thought the visuals for a B-movie weren't to bad. Other then that this is just one extremely bizzare fantasy film that I personally just couldn't recommend to anyone.

I don't know what this movie was supposed to be. It is not a comedy, because it simply isn't funny. I can't recall a single time that i even exhaled the air through my nose a bit louder, let alone laugh during watching it. It isn't an action movie, because the action scenes are sparse and, more importantly, amateurishly done. You're more likely to laugh at the action scenes (and not in a good way) than at the "funny" lines. It isn't a thriller, because the story is undeveloped and, despite the movie having an interesting premise, the actual plot is quite bland. They missed every opportunity to make the story interesting and compelling. Throughout the movie I kept expecting it to get better, but it just never did.

This definitely is a different kind of Christmas movie, but different doesn't necessarily mean better nor even good enough. One final note - despite people who keep calling this movie Tarantino-esque, it is nothing like it, so you'll be even more disappointed if you watch it expecting some kind of Tarantino vibes.

I had put this on my watchlist the moment I saw the trailer. Although it wasn't exactly what I was expecting, it is a fairly decent movie and did make me laugh out loud a few times.

Mel Gibson does a great job as Santa, as does Walter Goggins as the hitman with a personal vendetta, and Chance Hurstfield plays his role well enough that you despise his character. The acting overall was pretty good.

If I have any complaints is that there were certain parts of the storyline that made no sense other than to prolong the action. I mean Santa getting subsidized by the US government? And surely Santa had more powers than he used. And by no means do I want to come across as racist, but come on, a black actress playing Mrs. Kringle? If it changed the story in any way I could overlook it, but they just race swapped her to dot some I's and cross some T's on an equality form.

All in all the movie could have been better, but I still enjoyed it, though it ended quite abruptly.

Recommended for a few chuckles.

Honestly wasn't sure what to make if this movie . It is stuck between violence and comedy ( and not that funny ) . It's a odd ball film which tries and fails to merge Christmas comedy with a Santa Rambo .

I like Mel Gibson , I appreciate his love for blood and gore in films but this is just a very odd combination .

Chris Cringle a.k.a. Santa Claus, as played as screen icon Mel Gibson, is not really "fat" as the title would imply, but Mel makes the character a badass. However, Chris has incurred the wrath of a thoroughly repugnant devil-child. Billy Wenan (Chance Hurstfield) is a rich 12 year old child whose nasty actions have motivated Chris to gift the kid with a lump of coal. But the kid retaliates by calling upon his favorite hitman (the great character actor Walton Goggins), and hiring him to assassinate Chris!

"Fatman" was, for this viewer, an ingeniously twisted little tale that works hard to be edgy, and delivers some good dark comedy. Of course, it's far from being for all tastes, especially as we see that Billy is ready and willing to torture a schoolmate when she wins a science fair first prize that he feels should have been his. Fairly grim (but not overwhelmingly so), and very violent, the film also delivers some unexpected poignancy as Chris bemoans the state of the world today - and the bad attitudes of its children. Chris himself has fallen on such hard times that he enters into a temporary partnership with the U. S. military, where the elves will be making product other than toys.

Mel is in fine form, and he and the wonderful Marianne Jean-Baptiste make for a rather endearing Mr. And Mrs. Claus. Goggins is superb as the icy-cold, super-efficient hired killer who has his own reasons for wanting to bump off St. Nick. (One amusing character trait is that "Skinny Man"s' pet of choice is a hamster.) Young Hurstfield is very, very good at creating a child character so despicable that you hate him from the word go.

In general, whatever problems the movie has are made up for by the entertaining story that provides an off-the-beaten path experience for those viewers who may be tired of "feel good" fare.

Eight out of 10.

I kinda enjoyed this one. Dark, funny and plodded along like a spaghetti western of old.

The idea of Santa having a hit put out on him by a disgruntled, corrupt, psychopathic child is interesting - and given that Mel Gibson had signed on I figured it was worth a shot. What Fatman is though, is hard to describe: Fatman portrays adult themes, profanity, and violence mixed with adolescent dialog and plots. You have an (alcoholic) Santa character vacillating between compassionate and psychopathic. You have fantasy concepts mixed with attempts at "realism/grittiness" and the standard injection of "woke" themes (Mrs. Cringle is Black?) that left me wondering who the heck this movie is supposed to be for? Adults? No - Writing is simplistic and bland. Children? No - too much profanity, violence, and adult themes. People who consider themselves "edgy"? Maybe(?).

At the end of it all, my overwhelming impression was "What WAS that!?"

Really weird movie, but also really good- mainlh becuase of how weird it is. This is one of those movies that as your watching it you don't really believe it's even real. I feel like it could of been a tad better, needed a little more of a christmans feeling- but and i never thought id say this, mel gibson makes a good santa, gona be weird next time i watch him in something like lethal weapon or braveheart.

Absolutely the most unusual xmas movie I have ever seen :)

A little slow to begin with and not perhaps as much action or humour as I would have liked (or the trailer suggests it may have) but an entertaining xmas jaunt for all the family (as long as they are over 15 and have a touch of evil about them!!!).

Gibson is sooo perfect for the role!

If you like your xmas movies to be a little off centre, then this is for you :)

Merry Christmas...

Interesting premise that didn't quite land because this movie couldn't decide what it wanted to be.

It is watchable though.

Fatman was a watchable christmas story told in a little different way ,so if you are not fan of a sweet and cheesy Holiday films then this one may to be one for you.Gibson was fun to watch as a cranky tired of life Santa and he sold his character in a fun and good way.Goggins was also good as assassin and he was maybe only real character in a film except Gibson one.Story wasnt nothing brilliant but it had some fun moments in it that worked for me.Parts with kid who hired assassin were weaker parts but i can ignore that.Fatman was a solid Christmas based film in a different way

Fatman is one of those films that makes you think it's going to get better but doesn't. After an intriguing-enough start, it fizzles out in plot (I mean, I like a good irreverent comedy, but this sure didn't cut it), the action doesn't exactly instill interest and a decent ensemble is left to fend for themselves given the lackluster screenplay. Tackled right, Fatman could have been disgraced actor Mel Gibson's comeback flick (by no means, endorsing what he did or his attitude). He plays a Santa that isn't cheery, spreading smiles and distributing wrapped presents around the world. This version of Chris Cringle is often drunk, bruised, and totally devoid of the Christmas spirit. Quite certainly, what keeps him going is the resilience shown by his wife Ruth (played by Marianne Jean-Baptiste), with whom he shares believable chemistry.

An angry kid orders a hit on Santa: this is Fatman's one-liner. While that may sound pretty enticing on paper, it doesn't hold your interest for 95 minutes as the treatment is a tad formulaic. The showdown between Santa (apparently, a mind-reader) and the assassin (played to generic effect by Walton Goggins) is restricted to the film's final 15 minutes or so, and it gets over so quickly that you forget what went down, along with the rest of the film. The scenes solely featuring Gibson and Jean-Baptiste are probably the only thing worth salvaging here. And oh, the one time I chuckled was when an army man learns how Santa's elves operate and refers to it as "a hell of a way to run a crew".

Chris Cringle (Mel Gibson) is wary of the world which has become more naughty. With fewer good children, he has delivered fewer presents and the US government has cut its subsidy. He's forced to take work from the military. Meanwhile, bad boy killer Jonathan "Skinny Man".

It is far too violent for children.

It is too stupid for adults.

Perhaps there is a straight-to-DVD market for this sort of thing.

Or maybe the 'inclusive' aspects are part of Gibson's penance.

Fatman has too little meat on it.

Before I read the synopsis & watched the trailer, I thought this was another low budget "bad santa" story. I was wrong.

An interesting take on the "Chris Cringle" story with a great message from the most bad-ass Santa I've seen.

A great cast, a few comedic pops, short Christmas vibes, cussing & bloodshed.

Not action packed. More storytelling based. Good on a lazy boy in Gold Class.

Loosely based on the all-time classic Christmas legend , here we have an offbeat Santa Claus competently performed by elderly Mel Gibson . This is an adult , engrossing and entertaining picture containing fun , violence and amusement enough . At the beginning of the film Chris Kringle (Mel Gibson) is listening to the radio, he hears about two kids throwing a bowling ball off an overpass onto the freeway, causing a major traffic accident. The rowdy, unorthodox Santa Claus living with his wife Ruth (Marianne Jean-Baptiste) is taking on difficulties to save his declining business. Meanwhile, Billy (Chance Hurstfield) , a ruthless , evil 12 year old, hires a hit man to kill Santa after receiving a lump of coal in his stocking. You know the man !. You know the legend. But you don't know the real story. Tis the season to get even !. This holiday season, you don't want to be on his hit list !. You better watch out !.

This agreeable picture contains powerful and haunting images , entertainment and amusement . Beautiful scenery , colorful cinematography by cameraman Johnny Derango , atttractive musical score by Mondo Boys , spirited adventure and a breathtaking climax at an impressi duel lift this story . It is a genuine as well as imaginative tale written and directed with professionality , fairness and imagination , though some scenes are far-from-snappy . If you like Mel Gibson , you'll enjoy this light-weight thriller/comedy , in which he stars Santa joining forces with his toy manufacturers to vanquish an extremely cunning contract killer who who uses a high precision rifle to kill him. This is one of the many movies starring Santa Claus, most of them are characterized by the traditional Santa, the good bearded Oldman who delivers presents to children, such as: ¨Santa Claus: The Movie¨ (1985) and those played by Tim Allen as ¨The Santa Clause¨ (1994) , ¨The Santa Clause 2 : The Escape Clause¨ (2002) , ¨Santa Clause 3¨ (2006) , while others on one side negative dealing with an usually disguised Santa who commits evil deeds and murders, such as ¨Silent Night, Bloody Night¨ , ¨Silent Night, Bloody Night 2: Revival¨ , ¨Silent Night, Bloody Night 3¨ and ¨Dont Open Till Christmas¨ , "Violent night" , "Christmas Bloody Christmas", "Christmas Horror Story" . Interpretations are pretty well , Mel Gibson is nice as always , as the outlandish Santa Claus , enjoyable Marianne Jean-Baptiste as his wife Ruth , while Chance Hurstfield is terrific as the neglected and precocious little boy as well as Walter Goggins as the relentless and avenging killer for hire.

The motion picture was finely written/directed by Ian Nelms and Eshom Nelms and it was fairly successful at the box office but not too much .The Nelms Brothers always write and direct together and have made multiple award-winning short and feature films. In 2013, their film 'Lost on Purpose' won numerous festival awards including Best Film, Best Directors and Best Actress for Jane Kaczmarek. In 2015, they debuted 'Waffle Street,' which went on to win Woodstock Film Festival's Inaugural Carpe Diem Award for Best Film as well as Best Narrative Film at the Hollywood Film Festival. The latest feature film by the Nelms Bros., 'Small Town Crime,' stars John Hawkes, Anthony Anderson, Academy Award Winner Octavia Spencer. The Nelms Bros. Also produce several projects together and, most recently, Eshom and Ian executive produced the series "Everyone is Doing Great," created by their longtime collaborator James Lafferty. Additionally, the Nelms Brothers are attached to direct the thriller, 'Capture,' for Thunder Road. Rating : 6.5/10, the pic will appeal to Mel Gibson enthusiasts .

So sorry i wasted time on this. i don't do reviews but this deserves a review - AVOID AT ALL COST!