Red One (2024)
Red One is a gargantuan special
effects toy that you wind up and watch it go, and it's mildly entertaining on
that level.
This Christmas fantasy involves the
kidnapping of Santa Claus (J.K. Simmons) on Christmas Eve, and it's the task of
his loyal bodyguard, Callum Drift (Dwayne Johnson), to rescue him. Before the
incident, Drift gave his notice to Santa, saying that he was retiring because
he sees too much rotten behavior in people and has lost belief in the goodness
that Christmas should bring. However, once St. Nick is kidnapped by Grýla the Winter
Witch (Kierman Shipka), Drift is forced into action and has to reluctantly work
with black-hat hacker Jack O'Malley (Chris Evans) to locate Santa.
Red One isn't a comedy, or at
least it's just not that funny. Sure, there are occasional laughs, but it plays
more like an action fantasy, and, yes, it tends to take itself too seriously.
It would have benefited greatly with a more comedic tone. Instead, we get too
many generic action scenes that are drowning in digital effects.
Still, even with all this, Red One
somehow manages to be watchable. Johnson, formerly "The Rock," actually
delivers a really good performance, and it's because of him that the movie
holds together. Evans' character is a deadbeat dad and him attempting a
relationship with his son (Wesley Kimmel) works without being schmaltzy. As for
Simmons, he projects a genuine warmness as Santa. And speaking of Santa, the
screenplay by Chris Morgan, based on a story by Hiram Garcia, does work in some
clever ideas involving the Santa Claus lore.
Red One is a serviceable holiday
movie.
