To preface, Home Alone, the original, and the sequel (Home Alone 2), all hold a special place in everyone’s hearts. These movies represent Christmas, happiness, and all bring a feeling of nostalgia. These feelings bring everyone together around Christmas time to relive the timeless classic. In the original Home Alone movie, a boy named Kevin McCallister was left “home alone” during Christmas as his family went on vacation. While at home he faced a team of burglars, he thwarted their attacks by creating and executing clever booby traps. While doing so Kevin learns the importance of family and realized how lucky he truly was. 

In the new movie Home Sweet Home Alone, released on Disney+ in November 2021, the same exact plot exists as that of the original. A boy named Max is left home alone by his family, is attacked by thieves, plants booby traps to stop the thieves, succeeds, and then realizes the importance of family. 

To dive a bit deeper into the plot of the movie, Max and his Mother are English. Although this is a different touch than the original movie series, it does not add much to the film itself. In my opinion, it is a useless directional choice. Other critiques for this move are the unnecessary telling of the thieves’ backstory, too many people are involved in both sides of the conflict, and by the end of the movie, Max and the thieves become companions! Another point to add, there is no rising action for the climax, the main plot seems to just happen. The main characters such as Max, his mother, and the thieves are overall bothersome and although intended to be comedic, it was not funny. The film does not bring back that holiday season nostalgia as the original series did. 

The harsh criticism in this article may seem excessive but when compared with its IMDB score of 3.6/10, and rotten tomato score of 16%, it makes sense. Also, the fact that watching the movie felt like a chore adds to the criticism.