Red One Review: Directed by Jake Kasdan, Red One follows Callum Drift (Dwayne Johnson), the North Pole’s Head of Security, who must team up with the world’s most infamous hacker and bounty hunter (Chris Evans) in a globe-trotting, action-packed mission to save Christmas after Santa Claus (J.K. Simmons), code-named: Red One, is kidnapped by a mystical entity.
This film had been in development for quite some time and while it was initially set to be a streaming-only release on Amazon Prime it actually got the chance to debut on the big screen first and bring forth some early Christmas action before December arrives. It had the looks and style of the usual Dwayne Johnson flicks from its marketing but there was something about the premise that had me interested in giving it a shot, which is why I chose to see an early screening of it last night. It’s not the kind of film I expected to see an early screening of but I was glad I went to it because I personally felt that this film was a good time.
Despite some glaring issues with its narrative and effects, Red One surprisingly manages to deliver some solid entertainment as well as inventive world-building, making for a fun Christmas flick. It’s not a film that everyone may like but I think there will be some individuals and families that may have a soft spot for it for various reasons. It’s outrageously silly in both style and tone yet it embraces every aspect of it, from its setting to the cast that commits to the fun yet inventive absurdity of this film.
Dwayne Johnson delivers a straight man performance as Callum Drift and does a great job playing the role of Santa’s ultimate bodyguard in such a serious manner that it comes off as absolutely hilarious. He does play his usual gig of being the badass action hero of the story, much like in some of his other films, but there is a charm that he does bring to this film and his character does manage to have a somewhat compelling arc that has some good messages behind it.
Joining him is Jack O’Malley played by Chris Evans, who is no stranger to action or comedy, and ends up being quite a good pairing with Dwayne Johnson in terms of chemistry. Chris delivers a decent performance but Jack as a character is rather generic in terms of his story arc and background. When he gets paired up with Johnson’s Callum I feel the character becomes far more entertaining mostly due to how energetic the two of them are together on screen. It’s an odd pairing for sure but it is one that I felt worked well even when going down the buddy cop duo route.
Lucy Liu wonderfully plays the role of Zoe Harlow, Director of MORA (Mythological Oversight and Restoration Authority). She’s the kind of character who says a lot of silly things in a serious manner and yet manages to keep a straight face, making for a fun character of her own that does delivers laughs both intentional and unintentional.
Grýla, a witch ogress from Icelandic folklore, serves as the main villain of the film, and while she is given a decent performance by Kiernan Shipka she is rather basic as a villain. Her motives for kidnapping Santa are certainly interesting and fun as they make use of the mythology behind her character but we barely get much of her on-screen as most of her nefarious deeds are done by her minions, resulting in a villain who isn’t the best but passable for this kind of film.
Two characters ended up being absolute gems in this film due to their respective performances by their cast members as well as the writing, making them one of the biggest reasons to give this film a watch. First, there is J.K. Simmons as Santa who is of course the perfect casting choice for such an iconic figure. Despite not having as much screen time he manages to make his mark in this film with both heart and humor, giving us a very genuine portrayal of Santa that I think everyone could feel connected to. He easily has some of the best acted moments of the film as well as a really fun montage sequence that I’ll admit made me feel immense joy watching and kept a smile on my face.
The other spotlight stealer of this film is Kristofer Hivju as Krampus. Yes you read that right, Krampus is in this film, and not only does he look amazing thanks to impressive practical effects and makeup but he’s given a hilarious and intimidating performance by the highly underrated Kristofer Hivju. Like Simmons as Santa, Hivju delivers some of the best scenes of the film, delivering immense charm and a bit of demented humor that managed to get the biggest laughs out of me. He had much more energy and impact compared to Grýla and it made me wish he could have been the villain instead, especially since he has some good motives of his own and comes off as legitimately menacing as well as funny.
The film’s narrative is straightforward and is unfortunately dragged down by some generic elements that have already been seen in other Christmas films of the past but what makes up for it is the entertainment factor and the world building. This film is mostly focused on delivering a good time and for the most part that is exactly what it does as I never felt bored at any point.
I also found the world-building to be fun and unique as it takes a very different approach to Christmas lore. It explores mythological beings and forgotten legends by expanding on the mythos of the familiar stories people of various cultures have shared during the holiday season and offering interesting perspectives on various creatures of folklore like Krampus. Had the film leaned more into this creative element over the generic elements I think I would have liked this it a lot more.
I will admit though there are actually some heartfelt messages and themes that this film does deliver in a genuine manner. For instance, there is this very interesting conversation between Callum and Santa near the beginning of the film that I found to be really well-written and highly relevant in terms of the state of the world, the loss of childhood innocence in adults, and faith in humanity. These themes only get lightly touched upon a few times throughout the film but it only felt strong and meaningful in this beginning scene and I wish the film could have explored it more.
When it comes to the film’s action it is enjoyable but some of it gets hampered down by poor effects. The practical effects and sets are excellent and even some of the CGI creatures and realms look good but there are a number of other CGI effects, especially during the action, that look either unpolished or poorly crafted in general. One particular effect involving shrinking and enlarging of a certain character looked extremely rough and was hard to watch in execution. If the MCU Ant-Man films could master shrinking action sequences then I don’t see why no one else could too. Aside from these rough visuals, other parts of the film do look nice thanks to some solid cinematography and some great effects work for some of the landscapes like the North Pole complex, which looks vibrant and beautiful.
The film has a soundtrack of popular Christmas songs as one would expect but there is actually a really solid score for this film composed by Henry Jackman. His music gave energy to the film’s action and thrills, and matched with the overall holiday theme of the film when it needed to.
Red One is far from being a perfect film but I don’t think it is a massive disaster as some people have said. This film delivers some inventive takes on holiday lore and harmless fun that makes it a decent Christmas flick for anyone to watch. I’m going to give Red One a B- = 80.
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