Summary
Operation Christmas Drop will satisfy the season enthusiasts, especially at a time of the year where we may not all be together.
This review of Netflix film Operation Christmas Drop contains no spoilers. The Christmas film came out on November 5, 2020.
The Christmas content begins on Netflix — first up is Operation Christmas Drop which follows a character named Erica Miller; a congressional aide who escapes family Christmas to travel for work to a beachside Air Force base at her boss’s request.
Now, in terms of this character, her whole mantra is to escape Christmas — she refuses to face the reality that her mother has died and the last thing she wants to do is spend Christmas without her. Her job is escapism. Operation Christmas Drop also introduces Captain Andrew Jantz to provide a flavorsome double-edged sword — he loves Christmas and what the base stands for; it provides Christmas drop-offs for those who need it. His cynicism against Erica is evident; he knows she is there to find reasons to defund the facility.
What we essentially have is a schmoozy, half political, half romantic drama where two highly attractive characters feel the tension every time they share a room. This is your typical Christmas movie for the hopeless romantics and the season-lovers.
Operation Christmas Drop relies on the notion of charity; the facility has a requirement to help those in need, but there’s a political need that layers on top that acts as a thematic villain — it’s all about the optics and how the characters find a way to overcome the system. Take out the Air Force comradeship, and you essentially have a generic Christmas plot.
But, it’s Christmas after all, and reviewing this type of film is purely about whether it delivers on the season. It does, and with all its soppiness, hope, romance, and helping others, Operation Christmas Drop will satisfy the season enthusiasts, especially at a time of the year where we may not all be together.
