Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Easy to follow
- Violence
- Brutal
- sardonic
- grim
- irreverent
- alternative christmas viewing
- dark movie night
What critics said
Critics generally found the premise audacious and occasionally entertaining, but judged the execution tonally uneven, plodding, and less incisive than its dark Christmas concept promised.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Chris is presented as a rowdy, unorthodox Santa fighting to keep his declining business alive.
Billy’s receipt of coal motivates him to hire a hit man to kill Santa.
The Santa Claus legend is merged with hitman thriller mechanics, action combat, and dark comedy.
Chris’s declining operation and practical struggle to survive give the North Pole setting an unusually hard-edged register.
Films like Fatman, and why
Bad Santa
dark holiday comedy that subverts familiar christmas mythology with violent, irreverent humor
Unforgiven
bleak, stylized action film built around a morally compromised protagonist and harsh violence
The Ice Harvest
genre collision combining christmas sentiment, criminal pursuit, and grimly comic violence
Seven Psychopaths
offbeat action comedy with ruthless antagonists, eccentric characters, and cynical humor
Movie Details
- Directors
- Ian Nelms, Eshom Nelms
- Release Date
- 2020-10-19
- Runtime
- 100 min
- Rating
- 5.6 / 10 (993)
Cast
- Mel Gibson
- Walton Goggins
- Marianne Jean-Baptiste
- Chance Hurstfield
- Susanne Sutchy
- Robert Bockstael
- Michael Dyson
- Deborah Grover
- Ellison Grier Butler
- Eric Woolfe
Where to watch in United States
- Rent
- Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, Plex, MovieMe
- Buy
- Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Fatman about?
- A battle-worn Santa Claus confronts a contract killer hired by a vindictive child in a grimly comic Christmas action fantasy.
- What is Fatman like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Fatman as measured, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as easy to follow.
- Is Fatman violent?
- Yes. Ember rates the violence in Fatman as brutal.
- What did critics think of Fatman?
- Critics generally found the premise audacious and occasionally entertaining, but judged the execution tonally uneven, plodding, and less incisive than its dark Christmas concept promised.
- Which films are like Fatman?
- Films with a similar feel include Bad Santa, Unforgiven, The Ice Harvest, and Seven Psychopaths.
- How long is Fatman?
- Fatman runs 100 minutes.
- Where can I watch Fatman?
- In United States, Fatman is available to rent or buy from Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, Plex, MovieMe.
