Will admit to not being much of a fan of the first 'A Christmas Prince', which was one of those semi-watchable on-the-fence sort of films with nothing particularly special. Decided to see 'A Christmas Prince: The Royal Wedding' on Netflix as somebody who loves Christmas and many festive films, just in case anybody is wondering why the film was seen in the first place.

'A Christmas Prince: The Royal Wedding' didn't work for me, as a follow up and as a film on its own, and definitely the inferior one of the two. It was not from personal opinion a terrible film with a few good points, but it was at best a mediocre one, with the worst flaws being insultingly bad, that has all the flaws of the first 'A Christmas Prince' while amplifying them and having more on the way. Actually did want to at least sort of enjoy the film, not watching it trying hard to dislike it, have never done that with any film that comes my way with the genuine intent to always be fair.

Starting with 'A Christmas Prince: The Royal Wedding's' good things, the picturesque scenery is lovely as is the outside and inside of the castle which makes one want to stay there. The photography is neither drab or garish, though finesse is not a strong suit. The music is a pleasant listen and is infectious.

Rose McIver gives an appealing lead performance and Alice Krige is the picture of elegance and dignity. The best acting comes from Honor Kneafsey, a bright spot in the first film too, who brings a lot of charm and heart absent elsewhere.

However, the rest of the acting ranges from bland to awful. Ben Lamb is much less comfortable or engaged here, here stiff and going-through-the-motions, while his chemistry with McIver isn't there this time round and completely fails to gel or sparkle. None of the rest of the characters are interesting here, Simon is completely pointless while the villain is both underwritten and cartoonish. Coming off worst are a re-casted Rudy, who is very irritating, and especially the insufferable and quite insulting character of the wedding designer/planner which near-single handedly ruined the film.

The script achieves the not-easy feat of having twice the amount of grating cheese and mawkish schmaltz that the first film was peppered with. The story is muddled from trying to cram in too many story elements, all completely stale and some unnecessary, very thin and padded in some stretches, is littered with predictability and contrivance and the frequent lapses in continuity and credibility-straining gets on the nerves fast.

In summary, mediocre at best but not a waste. 4/10 Bethany Cox

This film pretends to have a plot, but it feels like it's making itself up has goes along. The first film had a fun holiday charm to it, had an interesting plot. But the second film not so much, I feel by watching this the writers didn't know where to go the story, you kind of see that in the movie.



Now the only saving grace here is Rose McIver, cause her charming performance keeps the movie from going down, But Ben Lamb is clearly sleepwalking through this, kind of looks bored and barely awake. And everybody else looks like they rather be doing something else. There is no Christmas charm here, and I have to say please don't make a third one.

My daughter and I loved the first one, so we naturally couldn't wait for the sequel. Did we expect very much? No, it's a cheesy Christmas movie. But we were so disappointed with this.

I can understand replacing actors in a role, but why change the character? The dad was a strong, supportive, loving, and wonderful person. They made him an absolute buffoon in this one. He's ridiculously unlikeable in this!

Also, why did they make her friends so bitter and unsupportive this time?! Her venting to her friends should be met with support, not making her feel guilty since they are either unemployed or hate their jobs.

I could go on and on about the wedding planner and his asinine antics, but I just want to forget this character even exists.

The storyline was a bit of a mess. It's like they sat in the writer's room and decided to throw in every conflict they could think of. It just like felt like it was too much trouble going on.

On a positive note, Amber didn't change. Her heart still leads the way in love of family, and she still rocks her sneakers. The royal family didn't change, and are still very accepting of Amber. The chemistry between Amber and Richard is still tops!

Bottom line, if they would have toned down the antics and kept the characters with their original traits, I think this would have been a lot better.