Every year, there’s typically a few holiday movies released to get us excited for Christmas. Lately, some have taken different approaches in a creative way like Violent Night, Spirited, and Candy Cane Lane. Red One pairs Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson (Callum Drift) and Chris Evans (Jack O’ Malley) on a mission to save Santa Claus (played by J.K Simmons) after he is suddenly kidnapped by Gryla (Kiernan Shipka).
I’ve long thought Simmons was born to play J. Jonah Jameson in the Spider-Man flicks, but I could have been wrong as he is the perfect Santa Claus. He exhibits charisma, charm, and a great amount of warmth that is different from previous actors who have donned the red suit. The clock is ticking as Drift must find Saint Nick and bring him back to the North Pole before it’s time to set out to deliver presents. He enlists the help of O’Malley as he is the world’s most notorious bounty hunter and can track down any and everything. Lucy Liu plays Zoe, Callum’s director, and aids the duo along their path to save Christmas.
While it is a Christmas movie, there are several layers to unpack with a heartwarming message within its core. O’Malley has a son that he has been quite distant and unavailable for. As an avid gambler leading a rough around the edges lifestyle, he felt it best to allow the young boy to take on his mother’s new husband as a father figure. As the film goes on, he begins to see the importance of being present regardless if he thinks he’s a good fit as a dad.
It’s important to note that Red One knows exactly what it is and doesn’t try to be more than that. Does it have wild moments and characters? Yes. Are there aspects of the film that could have been left out entirely as it didn’t contribute much to the story? Yes. Going into this film, you have to know you’re in for a fun ride full of holiday themes with an entertaining cast, and that is exactly what a Christmas movie is. Did they check off all the boxes without being a duplicate of previous films? Yes.
One thing that worked really well is the amount of hilarious comedic moments, and, as a personal fan of Evans, I was quite surprised to see how funny he can be. This is one of the first times we’ve seen him in a role that portrays him as up to no good and somewhat sleazy, which adds to the “deadbeat” dad storyline.
We need more roles like this for Evans. He shined in the film, when ironically it is Johnson who is heavily marketed as the main focal point. This type of character isn’t super new to Evans as he tapped into his funny side years ago in Losers, Fantastic Four, and What Your Number?
Johnson has some moments himself as well as he has just resigned at the commencement of the film as Santa’s right-hand man. We go the whole film without knowing why until the very end when it is revealed, and it is a bittersweet moment.
There are some things that didn’t work but ultimately don’t take away from the joyfulness of Red One. For starters, some of the moments that include Saint Nick’s brother, Krampus (Kristofer Hivju), are a bit drawn out and could have been concluded. It’s a solid addition to the story seeing how that is a legit nod to Santa actually having a brother.
Shipka as Gryla is a terrifying villain who plays like Scarlet Witch but with a Christmas agenda. There’s a moment when she embodies Ted (Nick Kroll), and it was an unbearably drawn-out cringe moment that I truthfully couldn’t wait to be over.
The last piece that didn’t work is the chemistry between Evans and his son, Dylan (played by Wesley Kimmel). I couldn’t place my finger on what the true issue was, whether it was Evans not coming off as a dad or if the kid being as old as he was didn’t translate, but regardless, it was a missed unfortunately.
Watching this play out in IMAX was a thrilling treat, especially given the fact that at its initial announcement, the film was supposed to be released on Amazon’s Prime Video streaming platform (I’m still curious about that switch up because the press run has been a lot and quite exciting to watch). One thing is for certain: this film isn’t for critics, it’s for the audience to enjoy especially the kiddos. Red One will be one of those entries on Rotten Tomatoes where the audience score will shine while it potentially gets torn up on Tomatometer.
Regardless, it’s truly a blast of a film with its funny moments, holiday cheer, and over-the-top action sequences that make it fun for the whole family. It’s the perfect film to take the out-of-town fam bam to when they come in for Thanksgiving to get everyone excited for Christmas.
Red One will be released in theaters November 15, 2024.