Nativity 2: Danger in the Manger! (2012)

Too much of everything

It's hard to see any effort in the film. There's no comedy to speak of, no real drama and, worst of all.

Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

This time around from the first to the the second film this one had chemistry between the two leads. Tennant hit this and left it with a great feel good film. The storyline was lovely it created a feel good feeling where you could see the talent had fun filming it.

I'm in the minority when I say that I enjoyed this movie solely for the performances by the cast members. I tried not to be too alarmed by the illogical plot twists and let it mar my entertainment.The film opens with primary school teacher, Donald Peterson and his very pregnant wife getting ready to spend their first Christmas away from Donald's partisan father played with cold hauteur by Ian McNeice.David Tennant has the unenviable task of playing the dual roles of the mild mannered, bewildered Donald as well as his cold, calculating twin brother Roderick and it is an absolute treat to watch such a hilariously camp performance. The plot rapidly moves into suspension of disbelief especially whenever Mr Poppy (Marc Wooton) appears on screen. Mr Poppy is still reeling from the departure of Mr Maddens (played by Martin Freeman) during the events of the last film, and now has his heart set on winning top prize for St Bernadette's Primary school at "A Song for Christmas", a nationwide school competition. to this end, he takes the entire class and a hapless Donald on a road trip across the Welsh countryside. Picking up an unknown baby and a donkey furthers adds to the surrealism.Side plots include Mr Shakespeare(Jason Watkins) of the rival school Oakmoor determined to cheat his way to winning and Roderick Peterson coolly surveying the other groups and 'tweaking' his choir at the last minute to win at any cost. The best one liners come from the competition's MC, Angel Mathews a retired diva of the day played with sharp wit by Jessica Hynes. The movie comes to its predictable conclusion soon enough though that is not what Donald Peterson refers to as "his best Christmas yet". That is left to the finale with the birth of his sons and the rather touching semi reconciliation scene between the twin brothers.What I found surprising about the movie was that even with a predictable plot, it was the earnest performances from adult and child alike that set it apart. At no point did I feel that the adults were being ironic when improvising their lines. The story was silly, charming and unexpectedly touching at times. I would definitely recommend this as guilty viewing pleasure for Christmas, preferably well tanked up on the holiday spirit of your choice.

Not normally one for writing film reviews but having just watched this with the kids felt compelled to defend it (to a certain extent).The key word is KIDS film.Mine are 3 and 6 and they both sat laughing the whole way through and immediately wanted it on again when it finished.That,in my book,is a good enough measure of a children's film rather than expecting it to have lots of subtle gags that adults would appreciate.Having said that,being that I'm a bit silly natured myself,I found it amusing enough in places to keep me watching alongside them without wishing for the end too much.The story line is beyond ridiculous but if you're after a good hearted film to get you in the Christmas mood with your kids you could do worse.

I saw this on Wednesday on a slightly sceptical note,having seen the Daily Mail's review for it but as I really liked the first one,I was willing to give it a go. Fortunately for me,the tickets were free so the only thing I wasted was time. Just as a summary, it was bad. How bad? Well,my sister had to revert to texting on her mobile,something she'd never do at a film. First of all,let me say the good things about this film. The first 20 minutes are fairly entertaining, the performances are decent enough and the songs aren't half bad albeit the fact that most of them are forgettable. Where this lacks is the charm and how much it drags. I hate films that drag and you end up questioning how long is the said film exactly. The last film to do that to me was Diary of a Wimpy Kid 2:Rodrick Rules. As for the charm aspect,there is little to no charm. Remember the little ginger kid and the one with the hat? Yeah,they're still in it but they've grown up slightly and have been replaced by a three year old and a chubby kid wearing a donkey outfit. And the ending drags and is also really predictable. So that's my review. Would I recommend it? Probably not but if you have little kids with you and have seen everything else, go see it. If not,there's plenty of newly released dvds to choose from. Just rent them and buy some popcorn.