Directed by Jake Kasdan — Screenplay by Chris Morgan — Story by Hiram Garcia.
In Jake Kasdan’s Red One, not to be confused with the similarly titled Red Notice also starring Dwayne ‘the Rock’ Johnson, we follow Callum Drift (played by Dwayne Johnson), the commander of the so-called E.L.F. (Enforcement Logistics and Fortification), who spends his Christmases as the head of security for, and bodyguard to, Santa Claus (played by J.K. Simmons). However, after Callum has made it clear to his boss that he wants to retire because of how many people are on the naughty list this year, Santa Claus is kidnapped. Desperate to get him back to the North Pole safely, Callum Drift seeks out the black-hat hacker Jack O’Malley (played by Chris Evans) and demands that he helps him to get him back, since O’Malley was reportedly the person who revealed the secret location of Santa’s workshop.
This film, which is almost a Christmas movie universe version of Men in Black, hasn’t got the best word-of-mouth, as many critics have been cynical about it, while behind-the-scenes antics have been reported. Is it the worst movie of the year? No, I really don’t think it is. Is it the worst Christmas movie in a while? Well, no, it isn’t that either. That said, given the enormous $250 million budget, this should look much better (and be a lot better). While I don’t think it’s as bad as some people have suggested, it’s not particularly good or memorable, unfortunately.
Are there decent things about it? Sure, 1) it’s got some really interesting mythological tidbits, 2) the Krampus scenes in the second act are effective and by far the most engaging and best scenes in the entire film, 3) Dwayne Johnson playing Santa’s bodyguard is, sort of, a fun idea (even if the scenes aren’t all particularly good), and 4) the antagonist’s motivations are actually really interesting. Look, I also just think the film would’ve gone down more smoothly with a lot of people if it had been 90 minutes long rather than 123 minutes long.
Because it really is too long. It overstays its welcome with so many unfunny jokes (and comedic reference attempts that fall flat), notably unintentionally funny action scenes, and central characters that aren’t all that effective together. Plus, it doesn’t look particularly great and several of the action scenes, which are often made up mostly of CGI, are filled with weightless destruction and visual noise. It would probably have benefitted the film if they had opted to lean a little bit more into the holiday silliness rather than take so much of this seriously.
The Rock, who gets to have garden gnome-sized Ant-Man esque powers here, is maybe a little bit too dour and disillusioned in his performance to succeed opposite Chris Evans’ level-four-naughty-lister. There’s a part of me that wants to say that Evans, who I always enjoy watching, is going for something in between the vibes of Ryan Reynolds and Ryan Gosling here, but, in any case, the actor best known for playing Captain America doesn’t leave a strong impression here, and, thus, Red One marks yet another disappointing entry in Evans’ post-Knives Out filmography, which also includes Ghosted and The Gray Man.
Look, Red One isn’t as bad as I had feared, but it should be a heck of a lot better given its talented and star-filled cast, as well as its huge production budget. While there are definitely a lot worse options out there, I seriously doubt that it would be a part of my Christmas viewing traditions going forward. But it is a well-intentioned holiday flick that a lot of families will probably have a decent-enough time with (if they opt for something new rather than rewatching genuine Christmas classics this year). If, however, you’re looking for something else that is Christmassy and relatively new or modern, then I think Apple TV+’s Will Ferrell and Ryan Reynolds-led Spirited is a better and more emotionally engaging streaming option. But, at the top of that recent Christmas flicks list, I’d definitely recommend The Night Before, The Holdovers, and Riders of Justice, all three of which are genuinely great films in their respective genres.
4.5 out of 10
– Review Written by Jeffrey Rex Bertelsen.
I'm Jeffrey Rex 