'Silent Night': Is John Woo's action movie worth watching?

John Woo really leans into visual storytelling in the dialogue-free action movie Silent Night, starring Joel Kinnaman, Catalina Sandino Moreno and Kid Cudi.

Movie: Silent Night
Release date: In theatres Dec. 1
Director: John Woo
Cast: Joel Kinnaman, Catalina Sandino Moreno, Kid Cudi, Harold Torres
Runtime: 104 minutes

What is 'Silent Night' about?

Silent Night begins with a devastating premise. Brian Godlock (Kinnaman) and his wife Saya (Catalina Sandino Moreno) lose their son when he's hit by a stray bullet in gang shootout. With Brian shocked and angry, he decides to run after the cars and gets injured, which results in him losing his voice.

When Brian gets home from the hospital, he communicates with Saya via text messages, but as Brian gets more heated about what happened to his son, wanting revenge and teaching himself how to fight watching YouTube videos, their communication breaks down.

Brian just has one thing on his mind, to kill the people who killed his son, and anyone involved.

Is 'Silent Night' worth watching?

There is something impactful about watching Kinnaman's character look at himself in the mirror, trying to scream and speak, in a film where Woo relies on the sounds and visuals to really tell the story, rather than dialogue.

Additionally, there are certainly some moments in Silent Night that stand out as highlights of Woo's commitment to creating an interesting scene with all the camera tricks you want to see, paired alongside Marco Beltrami's score.

But at other times, the movie feels like you're wading through gunshot sounds, screeching tires, blood and a grieving protagonist's darkness in a way that just lacks impact. It's a movie you likely won't think about too much when you get out of the theatre.

If you were hoping Silent Night could be the next great addition to your action-holiday movie list, alongside Die Hard, this may not be what you're looking for. A Christmas sweater can't really save this one.

Filled with flashbacks to more happier times for Brian and his family, the melodrama just crests over the line into a territory where it feels more like a burden than an emotional connection.

The biggest upset in Silent Night is that every character (supporting characters especially) seems to lean into an overplayed trope. This is particularly true of the gang Brian is following, led by Harold Torres' character, named Playa. Additionally, while the lack of dialogue may be interesting in serving Brian's narrative, it limits the ability for the character Saya to really add anything impactful to the story. She just comes across as a hopeless woman trying to get her husband to be a good guy while they're both grieving the loss of their son.

Could part of the problem be that we were just expecting a massive, triumphant return to American filmmaking from Woo? Quite possibly. But even with Woo's skills, the story just feels dated and drab.