Red One is a cacophony of borrowed ideas and lazy jokes
Each year, movie lovers share a communal hope that a new holiday film will earn a spot among the pantheon of great holiday classics, becoming a new beloved title to watch annually with family and friends. This year, Red One isn’t it. Bloated with ideas borrowed from a wide range of superhero and other Christmas films, and prioritizing action above comedy or the Christmas spirit, Red One is simply a colorful distraction that fails to achieve emotional liftoff.
The plot of Red One is simple and enticing: Santa Claus (J.K. Simmons) is kidnapped and his long-time bodyguard, Cal (Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson) and an elite bounty hunter, Jack (Chris Evans), must work together to save Santa and Christmas. Unfortunately, the filmmakers keep in a messy load of borrowed ideas, nonsensical story cheats, and unexplained world-building elements that take away from an otherwise simple and appealing plotline. Regarding borrowed ideas, if you want to watch a film featuring a hyper-advanced spycraft-styled North Pole operation (see Arthur Christmas), a camouflaging “shield” around a secret world (see Black Panther), or a sentimental Christmas film about a father connecting with his son (see The Santa Clause or many others), there are way better films you can check out. And if you want to watch The Rock battling CGI creatures, you can hit ‘play’ on a majority of the other films in his filmography. The fact is that Red One doesn’t bring anything new to the table, except maybe the idea of a Santa who loves to work out, but even that is an irrelevant detail that goes unexplored. As you’d expect, Red One’s biggest selling point is the humorous, heroic charisma of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Chris Evans. Their chemistry is… fine, but constant tonal shifts in the script keep the actors from fully settling into their characters and having fun with each other. In one moment they’re spewing semi-crass PG-13-appropriate jokes, then in the next moment they’re delivering sentimental dialogue about fatherhood and the magic of Christmas, then another moment later, they’re caught up in a poorly choreographed, effects-laden action sequence. The green screen effects and glossily-rendered environments are embarrassingly bad by 2024’s standards. The film also contains mythical creatures, secret agencies, and strained familial ties. Oh, that reminds me, if you want all that, just watch Hellboy instead, or if you require a touch of the Christmas spirit with your creature-feature, try Krampus.
Nevertheless, Red One will please a pre-teen age group or anyone looking for two hours of mindless distraction. Somewhere hidden within Red One is an R-rated action adventure with hilarious one-liners and charmingly devilish, even nasty, creatures. Also hidden within Red One is a heartfelt family adventure. Some audiences favor holiday films with a lot of winsome mushiness and others prefer something raunchy and adult, but they will find neither option here. Red One makes a few last minute attempts at solidifying emotional character bonds, but they feel unearned and hollow. Unfortunately, Red One can’t decide what type of film it wants to be, so it ultimately resembles a jack of all trades and a master of none. There’s even a polar bear security guard named Agent Garcia in Red One, and the film still can’t figure out how to capitalize on it!
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Red One opens in theaters on Friday, November 15th.
