It's way too long at 171 minutes run time. The result is a lot of silly plot lines. It does, however, close out the last half hour or so with a decent and uplifting story, even if it's a little sappy.
I really wanted this movie to be more about Ellie's loss. They show the same footage twice in the first half hour or so and then they seem to forget that story until it pops up briefly again much later and disappears again.
As I said, they sprinkle juvenile plot lines in through the middle. There is an armed confrontation that is just plain stupid because a real hero would have pulled the trigger. TV heroes aren't allowed to pull the trigger even when threatened. There are other silly things as well.
Natalie Hall is inconsistent. I think she gets bogged down in the grieving widow in the early parts. I've seen Hall in a lot of things and she can seem at times like she is trying too hard to deliver her lines instead of having them come out naturally and this happens a few times later in the movie.
Greg Vaughan is stiff as Ellie's brother. Dylan Bruce is OK, but the chemistry with Hall is mild.
The villains might as well be cardboard, especially Weaver.
The rest of the acting is mixed. JoBeth Williams and Ernest Borgnine are probably the best of the lot with just about everyone else being only fair.
Christmas only peeks out of the shadows for 2/3rds of the movie or so, but then becomes the focus at the end.
I really wanted this movie to be more about Ellie's loss. They show the same footage twice in the first half hour or so and then they seem to forget that story until it pops up briefly again much later and disappears again.
As I said, they sprinkle juvenile plot lines in through the middle. There is an armed confrontation that is just plain stupid because a real hero would have pulled the trigger. TV heroes aren't allowed to pull the trigger even when threatened. There are other silly things as well.
Natalie Hall is inconsistent. I think she gets bogged down in the grieving widow in the early parts. I've seen Hall in a lot of things and she can seem at times like she is trying too hard to deliver her lines instead of having them come out naturally and this happens a few times later in the movie.
Greg Vaughan is stiff as Ellie's brother. Dylan Bruce is OK, but the chemistry with Hall is mild.
The villains might as well be cardboard, especially Weaver.
The rest of the acting is mixed. JoBeth Williams and Ernest Borgnine are probably the best of the lot with just about everyone else being only fair.
Christmas only peeks out of the shadows for 2/3rds of the movie or so, but then becomes the focus at the end.