Operation Christmas

I'm beginning to think that Marc Blucas is a bit type-cast, playing another soldier here and it's a shame, because those fatigues do nothing for his fine physique.

This one isn't quite as fun as "Holiday For Heroes" covering more of the serious element of army life and those left behind. I have to admit that I cried again at the end.

One of the things I don't understand is why these soldiers all need so much support. How badly are they paid that they can't even afford a Christmas tree? I would have thought the US would have treated "Their Boys" and girls much better than that as they all mean so much apparently?

The cast is all very good, the young lad is a cutey, but the little girl is just cringey and precocious.

It's a nice story, very similar to others, but it has a bit more heart wrenching than most.

I'll start off with saying that I really liked this film. It was obviously shot in the summer, which made all of the snow (other than the glacier scene) a little comical. The unending sunshine is also only possible in the summer in the Pacific Northwest. It's all stuff we can overlook.

The idea of meeting someone whom puts themselves in danger for the greater good is a theme used throughout the years, and for good reason. It's an underlying theme of Christmas as well. Tricia Helfer knocked her role out of the park in this film, and I'd have never found this film had it not been for her mentioning it on Twitter.

The military stuff was entirely annoying as a veteran, but I understand that most writers have only a cursory knowledge of the military when doing their writing. Firefighters say the same thing when watching firefighting movies. Writers are rarely experts in their subject matter. I'd like to have seen active duty military there to advise on dress & appearance. I'd also wished that deployments were more accurately depicted, but this isn't a film about the military. It's a film about giving, and what it means to come together as a community for Christmas. One has to understand that distinction. I, as a veteran, understand that. They did a great job with this film once you get past nit-picking, and I'll watch it every Christmas from here on out.

I rate it a good but not great movie. The lead actress and actor were OK in their roles but did not quite make it superb. The story especially at the beginning had some surprise in it, but then faded a little when the "Operation Christmas" got started. The issue of separation of husband and wife for these military Ranger Units was brought out and this brought about the main struggle for the lead actress. The movie did not pull off this struggle in a compelling way, but the ending was well done. The little girl in "A Heavenly Christmas" was also in this movie and pulled an emotional "I love you" which added to the drama. I would say the movie was more of a drama than romance. It passed the doze test (no one fell asleep) and I would probably not watch it again.

It was a great story that accurately captured the apprehension and stress that military families face, something that non-military families will never understand nor completely appreciate. Hats off to the writer and to Hallmark for presenting this in such a compelling manner.

That said, it was downright insulting to see the total lack of attention paid to the actual details of any and all things military. The total ignorance of anything related to military uniforms, in particular, was beyond irritating and took away from an otherwise heartwarming story. Shame on everyone involved.

Hallmark are very variable when it comes to their output, especially their Christmas films, the best being very good and the worst being absolutely awful. While they tend to follow one formula and use it frequently with not much variation, there are times where they have a more mature story with more serious themes meaning that they are very capable with doing things differently to usual. That is the case with their military-themed Christmas films.

'Operation Christmas' is one of those films, and although 'Christmas Homecoming' and 'Holiday for Heroes' represent the military with more respect and accuracy (so if anybody prefers those films that's fair enough), when it comes to the performances, the lead chemistry and the emotion 'Operation Christmas' is the best faring of the three in my view. Though it is actually overall quality-wise a close call. While it is far from perfect and not my definition of a great film, it is proof that Hallmark should not be immediately written off and compares favourably when it comes to ranking their work.

Is 'Operation Christmas' flawless? No. It is a bit of a slow starter, with the film taking a while to get going in terms of pace (some sluggish moments here) and story progression (quite uneventful and predictable to begin with).

The portrayal of the military in 'Christmas Homecoming' and 'Holiday for Heroes' was also more realistic and human, it's somewhat too over-idealised here. The dialogue could have flowed better early on.

Conversely, Tricia Helfer is a likeable and heartfelt leading lady. Although Marc Blucas was a little better in 'Holiday for Heroes', the subtlety he has in his performance matches Helfer beautifully. Their chemistry actually felt warm and genuine, and the way it blossoms when it develops is not too sudden or feels too long to get there. Lisa Durupt and Gabrielle Rose sparkle in their supporting roles, particularly Durupt who has the most personality of the cast.

Furthermore, 'Operation Christmas' is a pleasant looking film with the scenery standing out in particular, while the soundtrack matches the spirit of the holiday and the film's themes very well. The script is neither too corny or over-serious, and doesn't come over as muddled tonally. Really liked its sincerity and heart. The story is very heart-warming and moving, its good intentions too admirable. The characters didn't come over as caricatures or one-dimensional, but instead came over as not too perfect or overly flawed real people.

Summarising, good if not great. 7/10.