Christmas Movie Challenge: A Christmas Carol (2009)

One man, 52 Christmas movies, one must be watched every week or the challenge is lost. Welcome to The Christmas Movie Challenge.

Robert Zemeckis has a lot to answer for, on the one hand he directed the Back to the Future trilogy, the masterful What Lies Beneath, Who Framed Roger Rabbit  and Romancing the Stone to name but a few.

Then, we get the Zemeckis of late who has been exclusively making motion performance CGI movies. Personally I find this brand of motion performance woeful, the cold dead eyed robot from the future look that all the characters have, does little to bring any warmth to these movies.

This classic Dickens tale is well worn, so it takes a lot of effort to put a fresh spin on this story. Sadly even Jim Carrey’s rubber-faced antics can’t lift this from being just above average. Carrey plays several version of Scrooge as well as two of the ghost who visit him.

The movie isn’t without some charm, the special effects are impressive, the supporting cast include a Princess Bride reunion with Robin Wright and Cary Elwes, with Gary Oldman, Bob Hoskins and Colin Firth all are welcome additions but the creepy dead eyed characters they play feel out of place in a Disney production.

Impressive CGI and a glossy look are all well and good, but it’s not all about the wrapping up it’s about what’s inside the box.

Good casting aside, the movie simply doesn’t work as well as it thinks it does. If you’re looking for a clever reworking of A Christmas Carol, check out 2010′s Doctor Who take on A Christmas Carol, it’s 60 minutes has a flying shark, Michael Gambon, true love and Katherine Jenkins sings a song, what more could you want!