A trashy vehicle for Hulk Hogan, playing a Scrooge type guy who gets hit on the head and transforms into Santa Claus. Some fun sub-HERCULES style fight scenes are the only thing going for this exceedingly cheap and trashy movie, with lame casting and Hogan mugging his way through a non-part. Expect cheesy humour and Mila Kunis showing up as one of the kids.

I think I saw clips of this on a Channel 5 Christmas movies countdown, I knew it is regarded as a terrible Christmas movie, but being a critic, I was up for seeing why there is all the negativity. Basically, Blake Thorn (Hulk Hogan) is a conceited self-made millionaire who sells bodybuilding supplements and equipment with his picture on them. One day, while recklessly playing paintball, he is chased by police officer Hinkley (Clint Howard) who calls for backup. Blake is chased to a shopping mall; he finds a Santa costume which he puts on and hides. But the police officers notice his disguise and chase him, forcing him to hide down a garbage chute. While there, a large Santa ornament is thrown down the chute, which hits Blake on the head, and he falls into the pile of bags below. He is found by Lenny (Don Stark),the hit to his head has resulted in him suffering amnesia, and Lenny assumes he is the mall Santa. Lenny finds Blake's wallet and realises who he is, and hopes to take advantage of his fortune, so knowing he does not know who he is, he convinces Blake that he is the real Santa Claus. Meanwhile, the evil scientist Ebner Frost (Ed Begley, Jr.) is trying to take over the neighbourhood, and his last targeted building is a local church orphanage. Blake notices the charity fundraising for the orphanage and decides to visit it for himself; it is run by Leslie (Robin Curtis) and Clayton (Garrett Morris). The only children remaining who have not been adopted are Sarah (Mila Kunis),Taylor (Adam Wylie),and Elizabeth (Aria Noelle Curzon). Elizabeth strongly believes in Santa Claus and wrote a letter to him asking for his help in saving the orphanage, so she believes Blake, thinking he is Santa, has answered her letter. While Lenny tries a couple of times to access Blake's fortune, without success, Blake has encounters with Frost's henchmen. Every time the villains show up, Blake is able to defeat them with his great strength and fisticuffs. With the help of the children, Blake discovers a locked metal door which leads to an underground cave containing thousands of magical electric crystals, this is the reason Frost is determined to take over. Eventually, Blake's memory is restored, he realises that the orphanage is where he grew up himself, and that being Santa Claus has made him a better person. Following a chase and further attempts by his henchmen, Frost himself eventually confronts Blake and the orphanage gang. Frost is eventually defeated when one of the electric crystals is removed from the wall and triggers a chain reaction. Everyone is forced to run out, and the overload explosion destroys the cave and causes the orphanage to collapse. In the end, Frost and his cohorts are arrested, and Blake opens up his mansion as a new home for the orphans, and many more children. Also starring Jennifer Paz as Helen Chu, William Newman as Chas, Robert Apisa as Franco, Pierre Dulat as Pierre, Steve Valentine as Dr. Blight, Kai Ephron as Dr. Vial, Diane Robin as Dr. Watt, and Kevin West as Dr. Flint. Hogan is hardly what you'd call an actor, playing an arrogant bonehead with strength (and a bandana and handlebar moustache) obviously comes naturally, Begley Jr. is not a threatening villain, he couldn't even convince in a pantomime, at least Stark gets some mildly amusing moments, and young Kunis is cute. It is a daft story and concept, the crystal element is the most ridiculous part, there was a small part of me that enjoyed how silly it was, but I doubt I would watch it again, an absurd seasonal comedy. Adequate!

Santa with muscles is bad film but it is daft, unpretentious and strangely entertaining if watching around at Christmas. I was ill when I watched this and drugged up with flu meds which might explain why I have not given it a rock bottom rating.

Hulk Hogan plays mean wealthy egoist health food tycoon Blake Thorne who ends up running from the cops after a awry paintball incident and hides out in a shopping mall while disguised as Santa. A head injury leaves him suffering from amnesia, an opportunistic elf convinces Blake that he is the real Santa. Blake starts doing good deeds and takes on a villain who wants to shut down an orphanage for some magic minerals.

The film looks cheap, the story makes little sense such as why does no one recognise this rich tycoon acting as Santa but there is enough slapstick and bad puns to keep the little Hulksters happy.