Last Christmas

Am I being a grinch? Perhaps for those whose love of Love, Actually cannot be diminished. But as a romantic comedy about personal transformation, Last Christmas wastes the opportunity to cook up something witty and original, and resorts to reheating other movies’ leftovers.

As with the hugely underrated Me Before You, she [Emilia Clarke] lights up every frame, delivering a performance full of chutzpah and charm, melancholic moments, acerbic asides, heartbreak and pure joy.

The pairing of Clarke and Golding proves an impossible hurdle, making even the seemingly simplest moments - an intimate walk, a heartfelt talk - feel badly laboured.

It's a very nice movie, chipper and sweet and homey while still pitched with a modern sensibility. But that's not enough-none of those qualities resonate without a richer sense of soul or purpose, of which Last Christmas is direly devoid.

There are plenty of funny bits. Thompson is a delight and I appreciated the controlled elegance displayed by Yeoh in affording us a rare glimpse of her sense of humour. But the central romance lacks any trace of spontaneity.

A so-so Christmas romance undercut by some baffling choices, musically and narratively. A wasted opportunity.

While it won't be remembered as one of the great Christmas films, Last Christmas delivers enough moments of heart and humour to keep the festive spirit alive.

It's a misfire by just about any measure, but it earns some warm feelings for its determination not to be like anything else currently in circulation.

It's not so much clever, toasty, and affectionate as it is the faux version of those things. It's twee, it's precious, it's forced. And it's light on true romance, maybe because the movie itself is a little too in love with itself.

Sort of digestible in a half-watching-while-drunk-on-eggnog kind of way but this really is a clunky, charmless disappointment.