Warning: No elves were harmed in the making of this movie.

“Fatman” is one of those movies that reminded me: even if a movie has poor reviews and, unfortunately, stars Mel Gibson, it might still be worth watching. For the record, my watching this movie was a fluke. I was in the same room as my Dad when he turned it on, and I didn’t leave. Twenty minutes later, and I was hooked.

The premise of “Fatman” is an odd one. In the world of “Fatman,” Santa Claus, or Chris Cringle, is a very real person who runs a toy-making enterprise and magically delivers toys to all the world’s children in a single night. However, despite his impact on the world, Chris himself is barely able to keep the lights on. Charity doesn’t pay the bills, and with the world’s population of nice kids steadily shrinking, the US Government is cutting back on its subsidies.

Chris carries the weight of the world on his shoulders, but the steady, loving presence of Mrs. Claus helps to keep him grounded. Together, they make the unwelcome decision to accept a contract to build weapons (I believe drones, specifically) for the US military to help keep their operation going. Meanwhile, an evil but brilliant naughty child is furious over his receipt of coal on Christmas morning, and so he hires a hitman with his own Santa-related beef to murder Santa Claus.

It’s a ludicrous concept that’s played mostly straight. While I wouldn’t describe it as a “ha-ha” funny, the idea of the world casually acknowledging Santa’s presence while also exploiting him just a teensy bit is strangely hilarious.

The movie worked because it features several impressive performances. I am not a Mel Gibson fan by any means. I think a lot of his work is a silly, patriarchal fantasy, and as a human being, he makes my skin crawl. But damn it, the man can act. His portrayal of the aged, rough, golden-hearted Chris Cringle captivated me, and the last scene, in which he confronts the movie’s antagonist, was so menacing I got chills.

The chemistry he shares with Ruth Cringle, played by Marianne Jean-Baptiste, also made this a satisfying watch. He may be Chris Cringle, but she’s the woman who makes him Santa Claus. Her quiet strength and clear, level-headed perspective make her more than an equal match for Chris. She’s the kind of woman who can bake like a champ, wrangle reindeer, and run a business empire, all before the rest of us wake up in the morning. Jean-Baptiste has been working steadily in film and television for over 30 years now, but I realized I haven’t seen much of her work, something I plan to remedy soon (probably by watching “Boxing Day“).

Unsurprisingly, the film’s hitman, played by Walter Goggins, is a scene stealer. The hitman is mad that Santa couldn’t fix his unhappy childhood and is all too willing to venture north to get his revenge. I also have a soft spot for deranged, murderous weirdos (like Javier Bardin in “No Country for Old Men“), and it delighted me to see the hitman’s weird fixation with his pet hamster, who accompanied him everywhere.

Credit also has to go to Chance Hurstfield, the rich, sociopathic “naughty” boy who drugs his grandma’s milk with fentanyl, commits check fraud, and threatens anyone in his way. Look, being a child actor is a rough job, and Hurstfield could have easily overplayed his role. But Hurstfield balanced the line between “precocious scamp” and “amoral monster,” making him very fun to watch. Despite Hurstfield’s young age, he moved through this movie with a quiet, self-assured confidence that only comes from being smarter and richer than everyone else. In another movie, this kid would have made for an incredible supervillain.

These performances, combined with the delightfully straightforward setting, make for a unique viewing experience. The scene of the elf foreman in the cafeteria casually dressing down the US military while eating frosted cake and sugary punch was also a highlight. I’m not saying “Fatman” deserves a sequel, but if it has a spin-off film about the elves, I’d be down to watch it.

If I were to hazard a guess as to why this movie wasn’t well-received, it’s because the genre is confusing. It’s a black comedy, an R-rated action-thriller, a western, and a Christmas movie, which can be off-putting to some. I may need some time to ponder this, but I can’t readily think of anything I would have changed to make this movie better. Brightening the colors would have made the setting feel tonally dissonant, as would shoe-horning in additional jokes. My hottest take is that today’s youth are not turning into monsters in need of a Bad-Santa-ing (or a Krampus-ing), but that opinion didn’t stop me from liking the movie.

Although if I were forced to make a change, I may have included an additional scene of the elves putting the hurt on people who cross them. They seem like the type who can hold their own in a fight.

My criteria for a “good” movie may not be the same as those of other movie fans, but when I’m watching a movie, I tend to ask myself two questions: “Is this what the creators intended?” and “Do I enjoy watching this?”

I believe the creators of “Fatman,” Eshom Nelms and Ian Nelms, made exactly the kind of movie they wanted. And thanks to the lead actors’ performances, especially Marianne Jean-Baptiste, I had a good time watching this. “Fatman” moves at a brisk pace and features some creative world-building that made me want to learn more about this version of Santa. Given this movie’s timeline, I think it’s also fair to put it in the category of “Chrismastide” movies, or movies you can watch between December 26th and January 6th. I’m not sure who the intended audience was for “Fatman,” but if you enjoy offbeat Christmas movies or if you think naughty kids deserve to have their asses kicked, you’ll probably like this one.