By Marisa Ferreira
Staff Writer
Netflix’s newest release “Operation Christmas Drop” keeps a light, comedic aspect while maintaining a classic romantic nature along with Christmas spirit.
The film is based off of a beautiful story, adding a fresh reality for viewers. However, the acting was nothing more than average, making the movie unentertaining for some.
Released to Netflix on Nov. 5, “Operation Christmas Drop” is directed by Martin Wood. The cast is composed of Kat Graham as Erica, Alexander Ludwig as Andrew, Virginia Madsen as Bradford, and Janet Kidder as Lieutenant Colonel Blaine.
The romance begins with the main character, Erica getting an assignment to go to a remote island in Guam, in which she is supposed to research and write a report on an airforce base that has gotten discriminated against for their humanitarian mission known as Operation Christmas drop. Along the way, Erica meets captain Andrew Janz who is assigned to escort her around the base and prove to her that the airforce base isn’t exploiting taxpayers’ dollars with their mission.
One of the key elements of the movie is its sense of reality. Operation Christmas Drop is a real event that has occurred each year for the past 70 years at an airforce base in Guam. Their goal of providing other islands in Guam supplies has spread through many generations, increasing the importance of the film. This amazing event creates an excellent storyline for the film. The lovely morals we see the main character Erica learn through this tradition are one of the many amazing contributions to the movie’s genuine plot.
The movie’s greatest strength is arguably the character change we see in Erica. We watch Erica change from a close-minded business woman, unchallenged to make friends, turn into a selfless leader who socially wants to help others. Alongside this character change was Andrew who teaches us not to judge a book by its cover and Lieutenant Colonel Blaine who teaches us that kindness can come a long way. The message comes through clearly throughout the film, providing watchers with much needed inspiration.
The romantic journey is driven by the heat between Erica and Andrew. Andrew’s flirty personality keeps the romance in the plot intriguing, while Erica’s independent defiance pushes and pulls Andrew’s boundaries adding a fresh sense of balance. This adoring relationship keeps the movie interesting and adds a lot to the script.
Despite the numerous strengths of the film, the storyline becomes somewhat cheesy from its unrealistic reality. Many components of the story seem somewhat fake, losing the interest of many viewers who are looking for an experience based on real events. For example, many mannerisms of the air force base seemed very let loose and it seems as if they would let many issues slide compared to in reality it is very strict and not a joking matter.
Additionally, the acting in the movie tended to become somewhat unentertaining. Many lines in the script could have been adjusted to fit the scenes and settings better. Although the plot was intriguing, the script could have fit it better along with a more realistic relationship between Andrew and Erica.
Netflix’s “Operation Christmas Drop” brings viewers a refreshing and entertaining story, but fails to offer an exceptional script. The film additionally adds in a charming sense of Christmas spirit, sending an important message while teaching many people about the unknown poverty in Guam.
Released on Nov. 5,“Operation Christmas Drop”, is available for streaming on Netflix and is unrated.
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