Get Santa (2014) User Reviews

Nice jolly addition to the holiday genre

[ArchonCinemaReviews · 7/10 · 24 December 2014]

Get Santa is a great new holiday movie with a decidedly British sense of humor about it.

Santa Clause is in big trouble! A few days before Christmas while testing out a new sleigh he crashes it! His head is boggled, his reindeer are on the loose in London so he is stranded – which doesn't bode well for the children on Christmas Day.

Lucky for him, a kid named Tom discovers Santa sleeping in his family's garage. Santa tries to rescue his reindeer from the impound and ends up fingerprinted and locked up. It's okay though, little Tom decides that he and his dad Steve need to help Get Santa outta London and back to the North Pole! Get Santa is a good family movie because it is a comedy for the adults and the children. Putting Kris Kringle in jail is definitely the humor for the adults. The father son duo out on the town helping Santa and saving Christmas is for the kids.

Jim Broadbent is a great Santa for the circumstances of the film. He's jolly and looks the part but there is a twinkle in his eye that suggests Santa is in on the jokes while in prison. The rag tag group of prisoners and parolees that end up helping Mr. Claus are a nice and original change. They are gruff and tough but friendly and you won't find the curmudgeon who learns the meaning of Christmas cliché in Get Santa, thankfully.

Christopher Smith's holiday film is a nice addition to the genre. Get Santa is not completely original nor is it extraordinary but it is sweet without being saccharine and appropriate for kids without seeming lazy.

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Just enjoy!

[inquizitors-845-455978 · 7/10 · 24 December 2016]

Some people take everything so seriously. This is a fun Christmas film that I have witnessed being enjoyed by a large group aged from 4 to 72. It is no classic but is good fun with all the characters to see the good versus bad battle. Just relax with a mince pie and your favourite tipple - or a nice cuppa - and enjoy this harmless festive fun film.

A 9-year-old boy Tom finds Santa Claus in his garden shed after Santa crashes his sleigh. Desperate to return to Lapland in time for Christmas, Santa asks Tom and his dad Steve for help. It's just a few days before Christmas, and his reindeer are found running loose through the streets of London.

Give it a watch. It is harmless fun. Jim Bradbent is a brilliant Santa and adds to his catalogue of very different roles. Rafe Spall is excellent as the dad released from prison trying to help his young son surrounded by cynical people in all guises. Kit Connor is the 9 year old boy who is the star of the movie and is excellent.

Dry humour and Jim Broadbent

[JaynaB · 7/10 · 21 December 2015]

This dry, wry, sometimes snarky Christmas tale touches buttons from the ridiculous to the very human, neatly and surely.

Several standard American holiday tropes - Santa getting lost before the holiday, kids asking for their parents back, elves who need humans to save the day - are turned on their heads in inimitable Brit-film style. Jim Broadbent does Santa very well. There's a 'Bad Santa' element, Keystone-esque cops and prison guards, and some hilarious farting reindeer.

The simple human story of father and son bonding, of dad and step-dad and mom making peace with each other, is strong enough to be convincing. And heart-warming.

Surprisingly better than expected

[italiciser · 7/10 · 26 November 2016]

I only watched this film today, after reading some other posts and reviews on here I was a little apprehensive of whether this film would be any good. I've read some people's thoughts on how this film is better suited and better liked by people who understand dry humour and British comedy and they are absolutely right. This film is British through and through, funded by the BFI and starring an all British cast. As someone who is British, I can tell you if you understand that sort of dry and often off colour humour you will love this film like I did.

If you're American or are used to that sort of conventional sugary sweet Hollywood style Christmas film then this film will probably be harder to understand. While it does conform to the traditional narrative and plot points many Hollywood Christmas films do (Christmas isn't coming this year, a broken family saves Christmas and ultimately their own issues and relationships - the film after all is made by Warner Brothers and so the film does still hold some of that conventional Hollywood magic) its uniqueness is found in it's darker and often off colour humour that is iconically British. The film not only showcases a perfect blend of Hollywood and British humour with the help of Warner Bros and BFI but the film also has a brilliant cast with some fantastic British actors. I couldn't help but smile when I saw many actors I recognise from other British TV shows or films. Not only Jim Broadbent but Warwick Davis and Matt King who I know better as Super Hans in the very original and hilariously British sitcom Peep Show. Like it or not this film is certainly worth watching at this festive time of year. Now, it's certainly one I think I will watch every year at Christmas. 🙂🎅🎄

Not perfect, but one of the BEST X-mas tales in YEARS

[A_Different_Drummer · 7/10 · 5 January 2017]

Before we start our regularly schedule review, lets crate context.

In the early days of Hollywood, x-mas movies were an oddity. They were in the process of finding themselves. Films like Miracle on 34th Street 1946 and Its a Wonderful Life 1947 (offically an X-mas tale because the story takes place around X-mas) were the exception, not the rule.

Flash forward about 55 years or so and now you find that some countries (like Canada) have actually formed a cottage industry just turning out X-mas movies year after year, good story or bad, entertaining or not, just to feed the "maw" of the system. (Canada has even stooped so low as to remake a B--- version of Miracle on 34th Street 1946 ... apparently spurred on the US' horrific remake of the same film in 1994).

So, therein likes the issue. When X-mas movies become commoditized, it becomes a real challenge that break away from the homogeneous sludge that passes for holiday movies these days.

(Elf 2003 pulled it off -- wonderful and recommended).

This film is not going to win any awards, but it holds the attention and has some really marvellous comedy bits buried here and there. (The "Crazy Jimmy Claus routine is worth the whole movie.) Recommended.

Good family and kids film

[MattBrady099 · 6/10 · 24 December 2014]

Jim Broadbent get's to play Santa twice, lucky man.

The film follows Santa reindeer are found running loose through the streets of London. Meanwhile an astonished 9 year-old Tom (newcomer Kit Connor) discovers Santa (Jim Broadbent) in the garden shed. He has crash-landed while test-driving his new sleigh and enlists Tom and his father Steve (Rafe Spall) to help him get back to Lapland. But what happens when Santa is arrested and thrown into prison?

Just looking at the advertisements for this film I already could guess what kind of film it was going to be, you know the stupid kid humor, poop Jokes and everybody doesn't believe that one or two character in the movie. Well I can say some of those really bad clichés are in the movie, but what really surprise me is how grown up and how well behave the film actually is.

Jim Broadbent once again plays are favorite fat but lovable "Santa Claus", and just like in Arthur Christmas where he played like the forgettable Claus, in this he just played normal good all Santa and his so good at it. The Santa Claus we got in this movie was so caring, so joyful and just the sweetest man you could ever meet and Jim Broadbent perfectly cast in this movie.

The all film itself has it's heart felt moments. It has it's quiet moments and character talking about their problems not like in other kids film where the character's have problems of their own but never get's bought up like ever. This is a good lesson for kids, teaching them about silents and dealing with yours and other peoples problems. It's not like some stupid kids film that only allow on loud, annoying and straight up nails to the skin humor.

It's funny how the son in the movie is actually pretty smart then the father, and the father himself acts like his 14 years old. I don't know why but that always makes me laugh, like the really adult is actually the little boy and the real kid is the adult.

My only problems with the film is some the poop Jokes and the other clichés that I named out at the beginning,they isn't a lot in the film but every time the movie makes a cheap poop Joke I won't lie a rolled me eyes.

Get Santa has to be the biggest surprise of a movie from this year. The movie a good time with you family or children it's better then most of the rubbish kids films out there.

From me to you, Merry Christmas everyone

Good Christmas film

[tr91 · 7/10 · 7 December 2015]

Get Santa is a good Christmas film where a father & son bond while trying to save Santa Claus from prison or Christmas will be ruined. Although its all to do with Christmas, the father & son rebuilding their relationship takes centre stage. The story is good and perfect for a nice easy going film leading up to the big day.

There are plenty of familiar actors from British TV Shows/films in this film such as Matt King (Peep Show), Jodie Whittaker (Broachurch), Nonso Anozie (Cass), Stephen Graham (This is England), Warwick Davis & Rafe Spall. Santa Claus was played by Jim Broadbent.

The story progresses at a nice pace and there is quite a few decent laughs along the way. It's certainly not a film I would watch every year but for a first time viewing it was plenty good enough. The humour of course has a very British feel to it and the locations used were also good. The soundtrack over certain parts of the film made it even funnier. Although parts of it are a little cliché, the ending is very heartwarming.

Overall a good Christmas film. 7/10.

If you happen to have a strange phobia of flatulent reindeer's then please avoid the film at all costs ;)

Funny and moving in equal measure.

[doggie231 · 9/10 · 13 December 2014]

So refreshing to see an intelligent children's film. Hilariously funny but also very moving. A film that shows even broken families can settle their differences over Xmas. My eight year old and his friend have been quoting lines of dialogue all week. The scene when Santa reveals the history of all the prisoners is so brilliantly written, my wife cried. I also loved the sequence when Santa becomes "street" in prison. I never thought I would ever see a Christmas movie featuring Straight Outta Compton by NWA. The kid actor was also really good. I read a review that said the fart reindeer fart scene was cheap. It's no cheaper than the fart scene in Blazing Saddles which is a classic. Not only that but the whole cinema was laughing and unless I'm mistake, this film was made for children.

Merry Christmas Cheer

[Fudge-3 · 7/10 · 20 November 2018]

Father Christmas has lost control of his new sleigh on its first test drive. Santa, the reindeer and the sleigh are scattered all over London with only two days to Christmas. Tom, whose father has just got out of prison, finds Santa in the shed at the bottom of his garden.

Chris Broadbent is superb as Santa. The rest of the cast does a good job. Though while she's Dr Who I keep expecting Jody Whitaker to whip out her sonic screwdriver. The production is pretty good while scenery and CGI are variable; Elf City is great but the flying sequences are so-so.

It works as a comedy, a gentle adventure and as an uplifting Christmas story. It is child safe but just for your information: in Europe The North Pole and Lapland are interchangeable as Santa's home. Also the northern lights are definitely something to do with Santa.

I like: The way that Christmas letters are redirected to wherever Santa is. The way the rendeer communicate. The squirrel.

Fun Little Surprise

[matthewssilverhammer · 5/10 · 31 December 2017]

Get Santa is a mess. However, despite some questionable character decisions (GO SEE YOUR PAROLE OFFICER!) and the fantasy elements being a bit boring, it's a sincere and often really fun mess. Funny, bright, well-directed and comfortably familiar, it fits in nicely with fantasy-meets-reality family Christmas films like Elf and Santa Clause. Nothing transcendent, but certainly a worthy addition to the holiday canon.

Great movie with a difference

[piste-cruiser · 10/10 · 17 November 2017]

Nine year old Tom discovers Santa and persuades his sceptical dad to help him get back to Lapland. Jim Broabent is very entertaining as the naive and bewildered Father Christmas.

This is refreshingly British and a great addition to my annual must see festive films. One of the best Christmas movies ever made.

It is also way superior to over-rated schmaltz such as 'critics favourite' White Christmas (1954). Personally I had more fun watching paint dry.

Charming

[eaglespiritnews-56943 · 7/10 · 13 November 2018]

Very cute movie even for Grams!! I was hooked from the beginning. Personally I think the title could have been a bit catchier. My grandson has tried to get me to watch this movie for a few years now. I just thought it was some sort of twist on a holiday gangster movie using Santa as the culprit. ** my discovery? -->> NOT AT All !! Finally in November 2018 I watched it for the first time. And it was really cute. Santa in fact, continues to reinforce various characters throughout the movie, as well as the screen viewers believability in the magic of Christmas. It's a must see for just about any Christmas movie buff. Except I will have to say that it's not really suitable for younger children, probably 7yrs old and under.

OK For Primary School Children

[hounds_star · 4/10 · 12 December 2014]

This is yet another pretty obvious 'Santa in need of help' storyline with some lazy writing. I think primary school kids will enjoy it, especially the fart and poo scenes but I found it all rather weak with nowhere near enough funny scenes. I also thought the violent episode in the prison gym jarred. It was inappropriate and totally unnecessary - not least the 'jolly' music that was played over this fight. A sack over an unsuspecting prison guard would have sufficed, who could then have been gagged. Maybe they thought it would be funny - but it really wasn't. Sadly, despite some good cast members, not much in this film was.

Fun to Watch

[Christmas-Reviewer · 7/10 · 25 February 2017]

BEWARE OF BOGUS REVIEWS. SOME REVIEWERS HAVE ONLY ONE REVIEW. WHEN ITS A POSITIVE REVIEW THAT TELLS ME THEY WERE INVOLVED WITH THE PRODUCTION. IF ITS A NEGATIVE REVIEW THEN THEY MIGHT HAVE A GRUDGE AGAINST THAT PRODUCTION. NOW I HAVE REVIEWED OVER 200 Christmas MOVIES. I HAVE NO AGENDA. I AM FARE ABOUT THESE FILMS.

In this film A 9-year-old boy Tom (Kit Connor) finds Santa Claus (Jim Broadbent) in his garden shed after Santa crashes his sleigh. Desperate to return to Lapland in time for Christmas, Santa asks Tom and his dad Steve (Rafe Spall) for help. It's just a few days before Christmas, and his reindeer are found running loose through the streets of London.

This film is well made. The acting is fine and the story is family safe and adults will not be bored. If you are looking to something that is not a "Hallmark" Christmas movie then seek this out. It is worth buying.

Fun for the whole family

[TreasureHunterGirl · 7/10 · 28 November 2020]

This is a fun little father/son team up story with everything you want from a Christmas movie, plus a little more. It's got Santa, elves, reindeers, snow, magic, a great message, humour the whole family can enjoy, a parolee, and even a car chase.

The cast is great from Rafe Spall and Kit Connor as the father and son duo to Jim Broadbent as Santa, plus loveable groups of prisoners and elves.

What I liked about this movie was it made me laugh the whole way through yet also had some touching moments that didn't turn too corny. It's very family friendly and suitable for all ages.

ho ho ho

[shaun_lime · 7/10 · 8 December 2019]

I'm not a big Christmas film fan but I'm surprised ive only just got around watching this one because it sure made me giggle and it's got a lovely message and great cast.

Children will love it. Adults may not.

[elainehewitt65 · 6/10 · 28 December 2014]

The children I took to see this film are in the age range of 4 to 10 years old. They all thoroughly enjoyed it.

The story unfolds with Santa crashing his sleigh in Richmond Park, London. He consequently hides in a garden shed whilst his reindeer end up in Battersea Dog's Home. The little boy whose shed Santa occupies finds Santa and then sets out to recover the sleigh along with the reindeer with the help of his father (who takes some convincing that Santa is actually Santa).

I personally didn't think it was up there in the top Christmas movies. I recall there was a reference to killing swans which didn't make any sense whatsoever and was completely unrelated to the story. There was some mild violence in there as well which I don't think goes together well with Santa and good will at Christmas.

Children will enjoy this on a superficial level but adults who see things a little deeper may be left with a feeling of "what was that all about?"

Give me "Elf" any day.

Best Christmas of the decade!!!!!

[willandcharlenebrown · 10/10 · 3 January 2021]

What a gem of a find!!!! Thanks Netflix for adding this this year in the U.S.A.!!!!!!! What a treat and well produced! It's like Harry Potter meets Santa!!!!!! Also thanks Britain for giving us such a great Christmas movie

Great crimbo movie.

[ashleyfitches · 7/10 · 8 December 2021]

I really found this movie entertaining at times because this movie was just an all round mess (in a good way). I think this movie was just family fun and that's what it was it's something for the whole family to watch together at Christmas. Something not to be taken seriously with slapstick comedy, I did think about not watching it completely but it was a surprise that I enjoyed it. I would recommend to watch with the family especially to relax after having your Christmas dinner.

Very Disappointing

[barry-steers-193-957577 · 4/10 · 23 December 2014]

Despite having read some of the below par reviews of Get Santa I decided to watch this anyway but sadly the reviewers were right. This movie hits very wrong notes with the spirit and nature of the man that is Santa Claus and the overall feeling of this movie is rather unsavoury and not particularly child friendly in some of it's content.For the first hour of the movie it was rather a bleak gritty affair and even when the CGI kicked in and the 'magic' happened it was very underwhelming and so out of place with the vibe of the film so far. I kept wondering when the tone would become more upbeat instead of this grey, negative affair. Imagine Father Christmas landing in Albert Square of Eastenders and you will get an idea of the general downtrodden nature of the film. The ending in particular annoyed me for it's suddenness with so many loose ends just hanging.Out of all the fantasy Christmas movies I've seen this is by far the most unappealing one to date. Jim Broadbent plays a good Santa but sadly he is lost in this ill conceived movie. It fails primarily as a magical Christmas movie but also as a family movie. A waste of some talented actors and a missed opportunity for potentially a great Christmas movie. The reviewer stating this movie as "Funny and moving in equal measure" were either part of the production company or someone who watched a completely different film. "Hilariously funny" really, when? You see, Elf was a funny movie but comparing this to Elf is like comparing under 9's Sunday soccer to the Premier League.

Best of British

[suepalmer1957 · 10/10 · 19 December 2021]

Ignore the moaners - this film is a delight! Great cast and storyline. Just right. We loved it because it was not offensive but very funny. Stephen Graham is just wonderful. He couldn't make a poor film if he tried. Just watch it and enjoy the fantasy.

Enjoyable kids Christmas movie

[CrazyArty · 6/10 · 18 December 2021]

Santa's sleigh crashes in the UK and he gets sent to prison for trying to free his reindeer. A man and his son must free him to save Christmas.

Stars Rafe Spall and Jim Broadbent. This is a kids film but Spall and Broadbent do a good job. Both are very likeable and Broadbent has some funny moments as Santa.

Enjoyable kids Christmas movie.

Christmas movie with a nasty sense of humour

[Vartiainen · 2/10 · 5 January 2019]

So, a convict is released just before Christmas after spending years in jail. He vows to leave crime behind and make up for his son for the years he has missed. And then Santa Claus looks him up after having crashed his new high tech sled. Because surely this is a man with the qualifications needed to save Christmas. No one else will suffice.

I sort of get it. It's trying that British humour thing where events are given a darker twist, which is supposed to elicit a laugh. And usually I'm a fan of that. But not during Christmas. This is a mean-spirited, depressing holiday romp, full of nasty individuals who only learn their lessons because it's a Christmas film and that's what they're supposed to do.

Plus there are defecation jokes. By reindeer. Notice the plural. One would be bad enough, but they keep coming back to it. Again. And again. And again, until you want to scream.

As for the acting... it's fine. I honestly think Jim Broadbent would make a fine Santa Claus in a more lighthearted film. Here he's horribly out of place, given the dark and twisted mood of the narrative. In fact, his gullible, wide-eyed demeanor only makes the rest of the film seem all the more depressing in contrast.

Quite honestly, if this wasn't a Christmas film, I'd probably be a lot more accepting of it. But it is. During Christmas I don't even want to think about the concept of cynicism. And this film is drenched in it. Avoid at all cost.

This wouldn't get made today!

[mankind-photo · 6/10 · 16 December 2019]

This film demonstrates just how much the world has changed. I couldn't believe it was made so recently. I won't say more except my youngest son loved it.

Get Santa

[jboothmillard · 7/10 · 28 December 2020]

I had wanted to see this Christmas movie for some time, I remembered it for the actor playing Santa, I saw it had a good cast, and it was rated well by critics, so I'm glad I finally got to watch it, from writer and director Christopher Smith (Creep, Severance, Triangle, Black Death). Basically, a few days before Christmas, Steve Anderson (Rafe Spall), a former getaway driver, has been released on parole from prison. His parole officer, Ruth (Joanna Scanlan), informs him that if he ever misses an appointment, he will violate his parole and be sent back to prison. Meanwhile, the news has been reporting reindeer wandering the streets of London. Steve is surprised when his son, Tom (Kit Connor), calls him claiming that he has found Santa Claus (Jim Broadbent) in the shed. Steve comes home, Santa mentions a time when Steve saw a shooting star when he was a child, but he mismisses him as a madman. Santa leaves the shed and tries to retrieve his reindeer from police lock-up but is caught and is sent to prison. The next morning, Steve appears for his first scheduled day with Tom, but Tom refuses to go anywhere unless they go to see Santa in prison. Santa instructs Steve on how to find his reindeer, and his crashed sleigh. In return, Steve gives him a mobile phone and provides him tips for surviving in prison. While in Santa, Santa becomes acquainted with fellow prisoners, including cellmate Barber (Stephen Graham), Knuckles (Nonso Anozie) who wants him to be Father Christmas for an upcoming prison party, and dwarf inmate Sally (Warwick Davis), who Santa assumes is an elf. Steve finds the field where the reindeer have been taken, with Tom establishing that the leader is Dasher, as Dasher communicates through flatulence. They are able to find the sleigh, but when Steve calls Santa to update him, he accidentally releases all of the magic dust the sleigh needs to fly. Santa informs him that he will find help if they go to Hermey's Tower in Suffolk. Despite this trip meaning that Steve will miss his parole hearing, he is determined to make his son happy, by helping Santa. Eventually, after some delays, they are able to reach Hermey's Tower, but are unable to work out what to do next. Back at the prison, Santa manages to convince the other prisoners of his identity when they see letters hit the window addressed to Santa, followed by Santa recounting presents he left for the prisoners when they were children. Ruth comes to prison to report Steve has missed his parole hearing, she also identifies Santa as 'Harry Mitchell', who was arrested while trying to climb down a chimney over twenty years and escaped. However, the prisoners begin to acknowledge the truth when an emergency news report reveals that children in Australia have woken up with no presents. Santa is transferred to solitary, while Steve contemplates giving up. But Tom translates a clue in a book they found and work out how to open Hermey's Tower, which is a giant post box to pick up Santa's letter, and when a passageway opens, they are transported to Lapland. Travelling through the letter-tunnel, Steve and Tom reach Elf City, where Steve convinces the elves to let him use an old sleigh to rescue Santa from prison. Reaching the prison, they use magic to enlarge a small chimney so that Steve and Tom can enter the prison. At the same time, Santa is about to be transferred to solitary, but with the help of Sally, he breaks out through a tunnel. They eventually reunite with Steve and Tom, while Allison (Jodie Whittaker), Tom's mother, arrives at the prison looking for Tom. When the police discover the car, Allison is forced to go along with the request to take them to a park. Santa buys them time by using a gun loaded with reindeer droppings as a distraction for the police. They reach the park where Oswald the squirrel has released and reassembled the sleigh and the reindeer. Santa invites Sally to accompany him, just before the police and Ruth arrive. She initially dismisses that Santa would ask for Steve's help, but Santa commends him because he never stops trying, says that adults can make mistakes, and that people need to believe in the magic of Christmas. With that, Santa takes off in the sleigh and departs for his night's work, wishing them all a Merry Christmas and thanking Steve and Tom for their help, expressing faith that the police will let him off after seeing the truth. Also starring Ewen Bremner as PC Finkerton, Peep Show's Matt King as Brian, Jon Snow as himself, and Susanna Reid as herself. Broadbent is most amusing as the big man with the beard, Spall is likeable as the ex-con who wants to make himself better for his son, and there is welcome support from British talents like Davis and Graham. It is simple enough story, Santa is wrongly imprisoned shortly before Christmas and his new friends help him to make sure children across the world will be happy, it is well written and funny, with occasional slapstick and screwball elements, this will delight kids and adults alike, a fun family seasonal comedy. Very good!