Dan Says its Alright

 Possibly the most tedious film question ever asked is, "is Die Hard a Christmas movie?" Violent Night says "what if Die Hard WAS a Christmas movie?" Its an excellent mix of two genres. First and foremost it's a (very violent) man in a tight spot action movie but hidden beneath is a traditional Christmas story of people becoming believers and a jaded main character getting their feative mojo back.  The film success is largely down to David Harbour's fantastic turn as a disillusioned St Nick. His ability to project charisma even when appearing tired and fed up carries the day, or in this case, night. He also cleverly avoids the trap of playing Santa too dark, for all his boozing and necessary killing he is still recognisably Father Christmas. The rest of the cast are all decent as well, with John Leguiziamo making a fun villian. Even the child character manages to not be annoying, although some of her dialogue hints that they had originally wanted a younger a

 Wakanda Forever somehow manages to be far too long while simultaneously leaving the world building, plot and some characters underbaked. Given Ryan Coogler is an excellent director and how much experience Marvel has with these films by now its hard to believe real world events haven't played some part in the patchiness. You feel that real world intrusion right from the off, with Shuri, played by (reported anti-vaxxer) Letitia Wright scrambling to devise a cure for her brothers illness. While I'm sure Disney would really not like you to ponder the potential irony of this scene they most definitely do want you to feel the real life loss of Chadwick Boseman and you would need a heart of stone not to be kicked in the feels by images and mentions of the much missed former star. Backing up the emotion are some great performances, particularly a barn storming showing from Angela Barnes who really should have had more screen time. The film is more of an ensemble piece than most Marvel