As with most of Netflix's original Christmas offerings, you'll already know whether or not you want to see The Christmas Chronicles 2.
Over the past few years, Netflix has been challenging the likes of Hallmark with its own range of festive offerings. They're the type of movies where you know exactly what you're going to get and you watch them precisely because of that, so the varying quality doesn't actually matter.
The Christmas Chronicles, released in 2018, was just such a movie, but it was elevated by the charismatic star power of Kurt Russell as the kind of loveable Santa Claus you wish you met in a grotto when you were younger. It ended with promise of further adventures, this time with Goldie Hawn along for the ride as Mrs Claus.
That welcome sequel is now on Netflix, and fans of the first movie will be pleased to find it delivers more of the same – for better and for worse.
Picking up two years after the original, Kate (Darby Camp) is now a cynical teenager, unhappy with her mother's new relationship with Bob (Tyrese Gibson) and with spending Christmas in Cancun. She decides to run away, but is unaware that Bob's son Jack (The Witches star Jahzir Bruno) tagged along for the ride.
Due to the efforts of magical troublemaker Belsnickel (Julian Dennison, having a blast), Kate and Jack unexpectedly find themselves in the North Pole. Kate soon finds herself in another adventure to save Christmas when Belsnickel threatens the very future of the North Pole.
What to Read Next
If it sounds familiar, that's because The Christmas Chronicles 2 is. It's another tale of two children helping Santa Claus to save Christmas, just with an added villain in the mix, and as dark as things seem to get, you know that by the end, everything will be fine. It's Christmas after all.
Fortunately, writer-director Chris Columbus adds some fun twists into the mix, including a time travel adventure (that features a musical number with Darlene Love, because of course) that proves to be the sequel's stand-out sequence.
The storyline also calls for plenty more shenanigans from the wonderful elves that frequently stole the show in the first movie, guaranteed to provide laughs for viewers of all ages. (Although quite whether we needed another 'Who Let the Dogs Out' sequence in a movie is questionable.)
It's a shame that for most of the fun, Mrs Claus is stuck back at the North Pole with the weaker subplot. Like the gags in the movie about Santa taking credit for Mrs Claus's work at the North Pole, there's no doubt that Kurt Russell remains the lead star of the movie, despite the bigger role for Goldie Hawn.
It could have added a fresher edge to have Mrs Claus be the one on the Christmas-saving adventure, with Santa left in the North Pole to tend over the reindeer and the maniacal elves.
If you were being a being a proper Grinch, you could say that the sequel is overlong for what it is, and feels longer due to the overfamiliar storyline. While its attempts at emotion don't quite land the way it wants them too as they tread along the same line as the first movie, which also handled them better.
However, it's Christmas (or near to, anyway) and The Christmas Chronicles 2 delivers where it counts with undemanding festive fun and Kurt Russell remaining one of the best on-screen Santas around. You're left with a warm glow and you'd be happy to see more from the chronicles if Netflix brings Santa back.
Ho ho ho.
The Christmas Chronicles 2 is available to watch now on Netflix.
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Movies Editor, Digital Spy Ian has more than 10 years of movies journalism experience as a writer and editor. Starting out as an intern at trade bible Screen International, he was promoted to report and analyse UK box-office results, as well as carving his own niche with horror movies, attending genre festivals around the world. After moving to Digital Spy, initially as a TV writer, he was nominated for New Digital Talent of the Year at the PPA Digital Awards. He became Movies Editor in 2019, in which role he has interviewed 100s of stars, including Chris Hemsworth, Florence Pugh, Keanu Reeves, Idris Elba and Olivia Colman, become a human encyclopedia for Marvel and appeared as an expert guest on BBC News and on-stage at MCM Comic-Con. Where he can, he continues to push his horror agenda – whether his editor likes it or not.
