Christmas is getting a little more muscle this year. Arnold Schwarzenegger is putting on the Santa suit for The Man with the Bag, a new holiday action comedy that pairs him with Alan Ritchson for a Christmas adventure involving a stolen sack, the Naughty List and one very unusual heist.
Yes, Schwarzenegger is Santa Claus. And no, apparently even Santa cannot handle this particular problem by himself.
Arnold Schwarzenegger has a major Christmas problem
The setup for The Man with the Bag starts with something pretty important going missing.
Santa’s magical bag has been stolen.
That is obviously bad news at any time of year, but with Christmas approaching, the clock is very much ticking.
So Santa does something you probably will not find in the traditional Christmas playbook. He turns to his Naughty List and recruits a thief named Vance, played by Alan Ritchson, to help get the bag back.
From there, the movie heads into holiday heist territory.
Vance puts together a group of misfits, while Santa has elves, reindeer and a little Christmas magic on his side.
Not exactly the usual quiet night before Christmas.
Alan Ritchson joins Arnold Schwarzenegger for the heist
Pairing Schwarzenegger with Ritchson makes plenty of sense for a movie that wants to mix Christmas comedy with action.
Ritchson has become very comfortable around fights, chases and people making the mistake of getting in his way. This time, though, he is doing all of that while helping Santa save Christmas.
That’s a pretty good change of scenery.
And The Man with the Bag does not stop with those two.
Awkwafina is also part of the story, playing the rogue elf responsible for creating Santa’s rather large problem in the first place.
The cast also includes Liza Koshy, Kyle Mooney, Jane Krakowski, Ken Jeong, Adrian Martinez and Roger Bart.
That is a lot of comedy firepower surrounding a Christmas heist.
The Man with the Bag mixes action with holiday comedy
Adam Shankman directs the movie from a screenplay by Allan Rice, and the premise certainly gives them plenty to play with.
There is the obvious Christmas movie side of things. Santa, elves, reindeer and the idea that Christmas itself could be in trouble.
Then there is the heist movie.
Santa needs somebody who knows how criminals think, which is apparently where the Naughty List finally becomes useful.
And having Schwarzenegger at the center gives the whole thing another layer. There are plenty of actors audiences might expect to see playing Santa Claus.
He probably was not near the top of many lists.
Which might be exactly why this could be fun.
Arnold Schwarzenegger is ready to save Christmas
Holiday movies usually come with familiar ingredients.
Family. Christmas magic. Somebody learning an important lesson before the credits roll.
The Man with the Bag appears ready to throw a criminal crew and an action star Santa into that mix.
And if Christmas can only be saved by Arnold Schwarzenegger and Alan Ritchson pulling off a heist together, there are certainly worse people to have on the job.
Check out the teaser trailer for The Man with the Bag below.
The Man with the Bag premieres December 2 on Prime Video.
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