- Critical Dissonance: The audience scores notably skew much more mixed-to-positive than the strictly negative critical reaction. While critics were more likely to call the film passionless, generic and overly self-serious, audiences tended to lean toward calling it charming and simple fun, with the premise being played straight being seen as refreshing compared to many recent films treating their premises with irony. Although this is a minority opinion.
- Memetic Mutation:
- "I was thinking... Holy shit Red One on this screen with this technology... It's gonna be game over." Explanation
- "There's a Gryla on the loose?" Explanation
- "A LEVEL 4 NAUGHTY LISTER?!"Explanation
- Moral Event Horizon: Gryla decides to kill Cal, even though it does nothing to benefit her plan.
- Older Than They Think: One of the main points of discussion regarding the film was the casting of J. K. Simmons as Santa Claus. Simmons has already played the Christmas figure in a voice role in the 2019 animated film Klaus. Although those who knew this believe Simmons is more suited to voice the character than actually physically play him.
- One-Scene Wonder: The Headless Horseman (complete with a fire-breathing horse and separate pumpkin head) is only around for a few seconds but is extremely memorable.
- Questionable Casting: Not any single case, but some reviews noted that the combination of Dwayne Johnson and Chris Evans as the heroes and Kiernan Shipka as the villain hobbled the film out of the gate, because no one wants to root for two big, brawny guys to beat up a tiny young woman. And apparently the crew even knew how off-putting the imagery would be, as there isn’t any kind of climatic fight against Gryla and she’s defeated by other means.
- Signature Scene: The scene of Santa and his team delivering presents feels like it could have been drawn out over a whole movie of its own and, like the movie as a whole or hate it, some fans consider it the highlight of the film, with at least one YouTube commenter calling it "one of my favorite moments across Christmas movies."
- They Copied It, So It Sucks!:
- A common criticism of the movie is that it's basically a Christmas-themed version of Men in Black (1997), with a very similar plot, character archetypes, and setting. It doesn't help a number of other movies have also already used a very similar setup, like Hellboy (2004), R.I.P.D., The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, and Wild Wild West (an experienced by-the-book veteran and an inexperienced wild-card rookie have to go on some wild adventure with futuristic technology or mystical elements), making the story feel very cliché at this point.
- The film has been accused of ripping off Arthur Christmas due to its similar tone of An Ass-Kicking Christmas and setting of Santa's workshop being treated like an elaborate government agency.
- They Wasted a Perfectly Good Character:
- Garcia, the giant bipedal polar bear guy. He’s one of the coolest-looking characters in the movie, has an interesting dynamic with both Cal and Jack, and is prominently featured in both the trailers and the poster. He appears mainly in the first act and briefly towards the end. That’s it. His screentime actually barely reaches 5 minutes.
- Gryla's sons and fellow shapeshifters are interchangeable, easily-defeated, never stand up to their abusive mother, and neither mention nor get mentioned by their father or stepfather Krampus.
- Uncertain Audience: A common criticism of the film is that it has a premise of “saving Christmas” that appears to gear to young children while at the same time frequently being too vulgar in its language and humor for such families. As such it appears to only truly appeal to diehard fans of Dwayne Johnson, the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and the like.
- Visual Effects of Awesome: A movie about Santa Claus kidnapped is, by this point a standard trope in of itself, and from the trailers, people did not believe the film would be good. While it was critically panned for being boring and cliché-filled, appreciation was given to its admittedly good effects. Especially in a time where big action blockbusters have become notorious for poorly done CGI, i.e, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness or The Flash (2023). Special mention goes to Krampus, who looks Thanos-level realistic and believable during the scenes in his castle.
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/YMMV/RedOne
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