REVIEW: “Operation Christmas Drop” is A Great Kick-Off to the Holiday Season

For almost 70 years, the U.S. Air Force has been conducting the longest-running humanitarian airlift in the world titled, Operation Christmas Drop. Each December, the Andersen Air Force Base in Guam, along with other bases in the Pacific, deliver packages of goods to approximately 56 islands in the Pacific. These packages include school supplies, medical supplies, and other necessities unavailable to those who live on these islands. To celebrate the annual tradition, Netflix has used the drop as the inspiration for its new Holiday movie, Operation Christmas Drop.

The story follows Erica Miller (Kat Graham), a congressional aide who is sent to Guam to investigate the local Air Force Base’s annual, “Operation Christmas Drop”. She is tasked with investigating whether or not the Air Force Base located on the island is using military expenses to pay for the goods and for the equipment and supplies needed for the drop itself. It is on the island where Erica meets Captain Andrew Jantz (Alexander Ludwig), the good looking, sweet talking Captain, who is one of the heads of the drop. As the film progresses, Erica finds herself struggling to keep her priorities and wits about her while dealing with the Captain. As she falls more and more for him, Erica must decide what’s really important to her during this holiday season.

One of the best parts about this film was how original the story felt and how it felt different than most romantic holiday flicks. The story didn’t just focus on the blooming love between the two leads, but it also focused on the joy this Air Force Base brings to people all over the Pacific and how important the drop is for the people living on those islands. Operation Christmas Drop is an amazing tradition that should be talked about more and I think this movie will have a lot of people wondering how they too can take part in future holiday drops.

Graham and Ludwig performances are exactly what you are looking for in a lead couple for a Holiday movie. Not only are they both extremely good looking, but their performances have just the right amount of holiday cheese in them. Sometimes with Holiday movies, the cheesiness from the acting and/or story is too overwhelming and it distracts from the actual story, but that is not the case with this movie. This couple will have you swooning until the very end

There is no lack of Holiday spirit in this movie. Sure it doesn’t feature the snow or sleighrides, but it does remind you that the Holidays are a time of giving. Graham and Ludwig’s chemistry paired with a remarkable story creates the perfect Holiday movie to kick off your Holiday season.

Grade: A