It's so nice to see one of these films that concentrates on the forces element, rather than the trite little references thrown in here and there in other ones.

I actually cried at the end, because it was easy to get behind the cause and I'm not usually one to get soppy about the forces, because I believe that they have chosen their job as have the tinker and the tailor, but you can really see here how important these celebrations are to those left at home and how important the homecomings are for both parties.

Marc Blucas is natural and lovely again and the female lead (Moley, moley, moley) is not one of the annoying ones.

A great cast all around really and a lovely story delivered appropriately and with style.

I enjoyed this movie. To be fair, I like romance movies with soldiers and/or veterans. I also like Mark Blucas. I don't know Melissa Claire Egan and it is usually the female lead that I gravitate towards, but not here. However, she and Blucas had great chemistry. Their relationship was the hook in this movie and for me that is what makes a good rom/con - screen time developing the leads' relationship.

I like that Blucas can play reserved without being cold. I think he was just right. He was a normally lonely soldier who was brought out by Egan's Audrey. Maybe I attached too much weight to his early portrayal because the lonely and reserve image kind of fell apart with the way he connected with the hockey kids, but I still think that image can apply to his experience with women.

One thing that always bothers me a little, but I give it some leeway in rom/cons, especially Hallmark, is how neatly everything wraps up. It is cliche with soldier-at-Christmas movies that everyone makes it home for Christmas. That trope was stretched as far as could be in this one. It still spawned a few tears. The story is pretty simple and obvious.

I couldn't help but think of Operation Christmas as I watched this. Blucas played much the same role in that too. As much as I liked this one, Op Xmas set the standard in my mind for this type of movie.

Sir, merry Christmas, Sir.

Another Hallmark Christmas movie, yes Sir indeed.

I had the opportunity to sit down here in 2021 and watch the 2019 Hallmark Christmas movie titled "Holiday for Heroes". Sure, I hadn't even heard about it prior to watching it. But then again, prior to 2021 then my Christmas movie needs were fulfilled by just watching "National Lampoons Christmas Vacation". But this year I went all in, and dove into a Christmas movie frenzy, watching as many as I possibly can. And thus it came to be that I stumbled upon the 2019 "Holiday for Heroes".

I have to say that writers Todd Messegee, Lisa Nanni-Messegee and Andrea Gyertson Nasfell actually managed to put together a wholesome and entertaining storyline for this movie, and giving director Claire Niederpruem something solid to work with. How so? Well, sure with this being a Hallmark Christmas movie you have the traditional and archetypical Christmas cheese, but actually it was toned down and "Holiday for Heroes" turned out to be more than just your average Hallmark Christmas movie.

The aspect with the soldiers and the care-packages to those in the armed forces abroad was actually nice. Sure, I am not an American, so I am not well-traversed in the customs and such of the American army and their relatives, but I certainly found this to be a nice touch to the movie. It added more than just your stereotypical girl dislikes boy, but having to work together towards a common goal and falls in love, type of Christmas movie.

"Holiday for Heroes" does have a good cast, and lead actress Melissa Claire Egan and lead actor Marc Blucas actually carried the movie quite well, and they had good on-screen chemistry together.

If you want a Christmas movie with a bit more contents to it than your average sugar-coated romance, then give "Holiday for Heroes" a chance. For me, this is not going to become a Christmas classic, but it certainly was watchable.

I am rating "Holiday for Heroes" a six out of ten stars.