With the lead-up to Christmas, the season of Kevin McCallister planting booby traps for unsuspecting burglars is in full swing. There aren't many Christmas movies as fun as the first two Home Alone movies, but the same can't be said for its many sequels, which have led to an abundance of hot takes from Redditors.

Whether it's claiming the originals are bad or that the sequels are great, many Redditors are typically not in line with the general consensus about Home Alone. And there's one user who argues that it's not even a Christmas movie.

UPDATE: 2022/12/12 12:24 EST BY STEPHEN BARKER

The Home Alone franchise will be on heavy rotation in many households right now given that the holiday season is in full swing, but it also won't be watched once in the homes of a few cynics. While the first two films in the series are considered Christmas classics, not everyone sees it that way, and many Redditors have voiced some rather concerning opinions. And now a year has passed since the release of Home Sweet Home Alone, that's given Redditors enough time to reflect on the critically slammed sixth installment of the franchise.

Kevin Is A Bratty Narcissist

Wirt2004 finds it hard to watch the first two Home Alone movies because of how impossible it is to relate to Kevin. The Redditor argues, "I can't sympathize with Kevin at all. He is a bratty narcissist who only thinks about himself and gets mad when things don't go his way."

Kevin acts like all kids that age, and acting like an unlikable spoiled brat at the beginning is an intentional creative choice, otherwise, his character development wouldn't have the same impact on viewers if he was likable from the very beginning. And if the user thought Kevin was so unlikable that they couldn't enjoy the movie, they might want to stay away from Home Sweet Home Alone.

Max Is The Villain In Home Sweet Home Alone

FearlessSushi001 argues that Pam and Jeff aren't the villains of Home Sweet Home Alone at all, and the real villain is Max. The Redditor posits, "I felt so bad for the 'bad guys' who are in fact loving parents that fell into desperate financial situation and wanted to get back their belongings from the rich kid."

However, as well-intentioned, likable, and innocent as Pam and Jeff might come across, especially compared to the wet bandits, they're still trying to break into a house they know has a child home alone. And even though they have children of their own and know how traumatizing it'd be for Max to have two grown adults break into his house, they still do it anyway. It's understandable that Max went into panic mode, even if he didn't seem to be panicking all that much.

Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius Did It Better

Olivebranch99 thinks Home Alone is overrated and compares it negatively to Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius of all movies. But while it sounds like a random pull, there's a valid reason why. The Redditor repeats all the arguments he's heard about why the movie's good, noting, "'But you see... he hated his family at first but he misses them and realizes how much he actually needs them. That's character growth!' The Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius movie executed that better."

The 2001 animated movie does have a lot of parallels with the holiday classic, such as a boy with a high IQ creating all sorts of wild inventions, and while it's certainly overlooked, the realization that the character needs his family after all is done much better in Home Alone.

It's Mean-Spirited

There's no denying how much violence is in the Home Alone series, and some parents might be hesitant to show the film to their children considering that it might give them some inventive ideas. However, that isn't why ChargeOk1245 thinks the film is mean-spirited, but because of the way Kevin is treated. The Redditor comments, "I’ve never liked Home Alone and always found it kind of mean-spirited with how his family treated him and then the robbers. It’s never been an enjoyable watch for me."

It is strange how his family, including his parents, aren't all that kind in the first act of the first movie, but that could be chalked up to the stress of the holiday season or the fact that Kevin is frustratingly picky. But that's just one part of a movie that is otherwise full of Christmas cheer, and there are much more mean-spirited Christmas movies out there.

It's Basically A Live-Action Tom & Jerry

Boringaccountant23 has extremely blunt thoughts on the original Home Alone movie, explaining, "It's a movie for dumb people. It's basically Tom and Jerry in live-action." Tom and Jerry is undoubtedly similar to Home Alone in that it's about a character protecting his home in unrealistically violent ways, but that's as far as the similarities go.

Simply comparing the movie to the cartoon is ignoring a lot of what makes Home Alone such a perfect festive movie. There's more to Home Alone than just the ten-minute show-stopper traps sequence, as it's full of colorful characters, an original story, and it's heartwarming in a way that Tom and Jerry certainly isn't.

Home Alone 2: Lost In New York Is Better Than The Original

When it comes to any movie series, it's always rare when the sequel betters its predecessor. But between The Dark Knight, Shrek 2, and all the Toy Story sequels, it is possible. And Post_calzone7, thinks Home Alone 2: Lost In New York should be added to that list.

The user thinks it's mostly down to the location, as they argue, "who cares about him eating ice cream in a boring house in suburban Chicago?" And while Home Alone 2 is fun, and New York becomes one giant sandbox for Kevin, it repeats all the same jokes of the original. Not only that, but Home Alone 2 isn't exactly the first sequel to take the story to New York.

Kevin Is A Sadist

Aintnohollybeck thinks that Kevin is a sadist based on the way he behaves. The Redditor claims that the character wasn't creating all those traps for self-defense, but because "Kevin is a manipulative sadist who thrives on other people's pain and suffering."

There have been plenty of dark fan theories about Home Alone and the future of kid's life, and one of the most fascinating is that Kevin McCallister is the Jigsaw killer. It isn't hard to imagine him turning into a murderer who creates intricate death traps considering how he acts in the first two movies. Given the fact that Harry had an iron strike his head and Marv had his headset on fire, the two should have been killed several times over.

Kevin's Mother And Father Aren't Good Parents

RallyPigeon points their finger at the McCallisters, saying that "there is a special place in hell for them putting the kids in coach class on an international flight while the parents sit in first class." It's hilarious that the Redditor makes the accusation that the McCallisters are bad parents because they put their kids in coach, not because they lost the same child twice.

There's an argument to be made that the Redditor is right on the money, as the parents, especially the father, don't seem to care about Kevin as much as the other children. But though they do lose him in both movies, they clearly care so much for him, as his mother put herself through the wringer to make it back to him on both accounts.

Home Alone Is A Bad Movie

Parenting skills and violent behavior aside, 4otie7 straight-up thinks Home Alone is a bad movie. The user believes the fault lies with the acting, saying that "McCauley [sic] Culkin is a bad actor and the delivery of his lines make me cringe."

Child actors should be held to a lower standard, as nobody's expecting a Daniel Day-Lewis caliber performance from Macaulay Culkin. And for the type of movie that it is, he's totally serviceable and it's impossible to imagine any other child in the now-iconic role. The general reception of the non-Culkin sequels is proof of that.

Home Alone Is Not A Christmas Movie

One of the biggest ever movie debates is whether or not Die Hard is a Christmas movie, and it's obvious which camp this deleted user sides with, as they don't even think Home Alone fits into the genre. The Reddit user claims that nothing in the movie is about the season, and instead, "the story just happens around Christmas."

However, if Christmas was removed from the movie, it just wouldn't work. The wet bandits are robbing every house because families are away for the holiday, it is the reddest and greenest movie ever made, and at the end of the day, it's all about the family coming together.

Home Alone 3 Is The Best In The Series

Though many people think Lost In New York is almost as good as the original, the same can't be said for Home Alone 3. Some would argue that it shouldn't even be called Home Alone 3, as it focuses on a completely different family. But Hilarykc7 comes to the film's defense, saying that "the traps are more elaborate, the plot is more interesting, and the actors are more believable."

In fairness, while Home Alone has the best traps, that's all in the final 10 minutes, whereas there's a lot more time spent on the contraptions in the third movie. But in terms of the film being more believable, as it follows a child in possession of a missile-cloning microchip and in a battle with international criminals, it requires at least a little bit of suspension of disbelief.

All Five Movies Are Good

Though even the third movie has a fanbase, as small as that may be, there's no denying that Home Alone 4 and Home Alone 5 are far removed from the originals in terms of quality. They are both direct-to-TV with none of the original cast returning.

But JamesLovesTV is one of the very few who loves the fourth and fifth movies, exclaiming "I thoroughly enjoy every single Home Alone movie." They don't go into detail about what they love about the late sequels, but they do single out the fifth film as being the best of them. Fascinatingly enough, the movie actually stars Malcolm McDowell, who is the one saving grace of the movie.

Home Sweet Home Alone Is Heartwarming

The sixth and latest movie in the series, Home Sweet Home Alone, has been completely lambasted by critics and general audiences. The 2021 film has an abysmal 18% on Rotten Tomatoes and a 3.5 on IMDb. But Kotin94 thinks the movie was hilarious and heartwarming.

The Reddit user defends the negatively received movie by saying that they thought "most of the jokes were chuckle-worthy and the traps are fun. The last segment did warm my heart with some Christmas cheer." While there are some funny characters in Home Sweet Home Alone, it doesn't quite reach the schmaltzy but lovely ending of the first two movies.

Skyfall Steals From Home Alone

When it comes to the third James Bond movie led by Daniel Craig, Skyfall, the film was clearly influenced by The Dark Knight. The villain had a similar plan to the Joker in that he intentionally got captured, but there's another movie that Frakkintoaster thinks the 007 film was influenced by.

The Redditor argues that "Skyfall was just The Dark Knight crossed with Home Alone." It's actually a hilarious and astute observation, as Bond plants booby traps all over his childhood home in the final act of the movie, just like Kevin in the first two movies.

Kevin Went Too Far With The Pizza Guy

The first Home Alone made fans laugh so hard they cried, and there are even so many iconic moments outside of the final battle between Kevin and the Wet Bandits. One of those moments was when Kevin made the pizza delivery driver believe he was about to be gunned down by a machine gun-wielding gangster.

However, it isn't loved by everyone, as matias2028 thought it was one of the times Kevin went too far. They explain that "the pizza guy seemed like a nice person and I don't think it was necessary." But if anything, it was just good-natured joshing, and it was so funny that the gag was repeated in Lost In New York too.

NEXT: 12 Best Christmas Movies On Amazon Prime Video