Red One (2024)

​"Red One" stars Dwayne Johnson, Chris Evans, Lucy Liu, and J. K. Simmons.  Released on November 15, 2024, the film has a head commander teaming up with a bounty hunter to rescue Santa Claus.

The film is directed by Jake Kasdan, who also directed films such as "Zero Effect", "Bad Teacher", "Sex Tape", and "Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle".  Santa Claus certainly has his hands full regarding the Christmas season.  I'm not just talking about preparing to deliver countless gifts to all the good little boys and girls.  It's also a matter of ensuring that nothing bad happens to good old Saint Nicholas a few days before Christmas.  Thank goodness we got The Rock to help out with that.  We always tend to celebrate Christmas early even though Thanksgiving is just around the corner, whether by setting up the decorations ahead of schedule or watching holiday-related movies.  This year is no different, with Hollywood bringing us another Christmas film that'll likely become our new holiday tradition.  Although, this one seems more action-packed than down-to-earth and light-hearted like one of those after-school holiday television specials.  This latest action-adventure blockbuster has Dwayne Johnson and director Jake Kasdan going from tackling a video game-esque jungle adventure to exploring holiday mythologies in modern times.  With its packed cast and refreshing concept, does it deliver another gift that keeps on giving or make us wish we got a lump of coal for Christmas instead?  Let's head to the North Pole and find out.

The story follows Callum Drift (Johnson), the head commander of the North Pole security team known as the E.L.F.  They're tasked with protecting Santa Claus (Simmons) from any harm as they make the final preparations for Christmas.  Does that include him falling off the roof like in "The Santa Clause"?  However, on the night before Christmas, Callum discovers that Santa has been kidnapped by a mysterious enemy seeking to steal his magic and cancel Christmas for good.  As requested by Zoe Harlow (Liu), the director of a multilateral military organization, Callum reluctantly teams up with Jack O'Malley (Evans), a hacker and bounty hunter from the real world responsible for Santa's capture and is anything but nice.  Callum and Jack must put aside their differences to rescue Santa and save Christmas from permanent cancellation. 

It's unsurprising that whenever Dwayne Johnson is involved in a project, it's an immediate must-see for me.  Regardless of the quality, it's hard to ignore that his charisma has a knack for getting people in their seats.  "Red One" is no different, as he teams up with former Captain America Chris Evans to save Christmas, a bizarre yet intriguing concept that could go in either direction.  But, knowing me, the phrase "Dwayne Johnson saving Christmas" was enough to continue celebrating the holidays earlier than expected.  Of course, as much as I respect Johnson for his commercial appeal and my love for Christmas movies, I still have to find out whether this potential franchise starter has enough joy and merriness to make it a soon-to-be holiday tradition.

If there's one thing "Red One" should get props for, it's the world-building.  The film's rescue mission storyline provided a refreshing and impressively creative take on the holiday mythology lore, having a military organization maintaining the peace between humanity and the mythological creatures.  Of course, you also have a beefed-up Santa, a group of giant reindeer, a modern technological sleigh, and elves that resemble aliens.  Don't ask why.  Some of its world-building elements came from Callum's expositions, with Jack being the audience's perspective.  I always respect filmmakers who offer this sense of imagination and fun in these timeless holiday myths while honoring the spirit of these characters, with "Red One" being no exception.

However, despite its inventive world-building intentions, the critical factor is whether the execution of its direction and story can meet those expectations.  Well, you might as well put me on the naughty list right now because the movie's story didn't make a believer out of me.  With how innovative this modern-mythology combination turned out for this universe, it's a shame that it was overshadowed by the conventionality and mediocrity of its "joyful" plot.  "Red One" is another movie that cares less about being an Oscar-winning masterpiece and more about entertaining its audience.  I mean, why else would you bring Dwayne Johnson, Chris Evans, and J. K. Simmons on board to star in a Christmas blockbuster?  If you're hoping for this to be a groundbreaking sensation for the genre, then you're already setting yourself up to get a lump of coal this year.  However, if you prefer to watch Dwayne Johnson protecting Santa while battling evil snowmen and participating in a slapping contest with Krampus, this movie has that.  For the most part, the film can be idiotically fun with the right mindset.  It's just that everything else struggled to maintain this type of merriment for two hours straight to make it an unforgettable experience.

Thanks to the recent "Jumanji" movies, Jake Kasdan proved he could handle an action-adventure blockbuster with a refreshing twist outside his adult-rated comedies.  Was he a perfect director for these types of films?  Not really, but he had a few merits in his vision to deliver some jolliness into the humor and action.  So, I was a bit disappointed to see that Kasdan's direction for "Red One" failed to match the similar heights as the video game mishaps in "Jumanji".  It's certainly not as awful as "Sex Tape", as Kasdan did attempt to inject some holly jolly fun into its action sequences and heartfelt moments.  But when you take the charisma and comedy into consideration, Kasdan's direction weighed the film down, making me go from ho-ho-ho to ho-ho-oh-no.  I wouldn't say I was completely bored of the movie since it had a couple of chuckles from its unintentionally goofy moments.  However, as something that wants to be the next "Jumanji" in terms of its tone, the movie didn't have the proper qualities to accomplish this mission.

The screenplay was also one of the issues I had with "Red One".  The script was written by Chris Morgan, who's famous for his involvement with the "Fast & Furious" franchise, which Johnson was also involved in.  This collaboration makes sense since this film felt like an alternate universe where Luke Hobbs is rescuing Santa Claus instead of apprehending Dominic Toretto.  But regardless of how well these two worked together on the action-packed franchise, they couldn't crack the code for "Red One" story-wise.  The script follows the by-the-numbers mismatched-partners action comedy storyline we're familiar with but without the charisma and surprises backing it up.  Even most of the humor from the chemistry between Johnson and Evans didn't provide much perkiness in its deliverance and dialogue.  The only redeeming factor that gave its subpar and formulaic plot life was its themes involving finding the goodness within the naughty, mainly regarding Callum and Jack's personal issues.

As mentioned earlier, Dwayne Johnson usually has the charismatic touch needed to attract his audience, including me.  Sure, his performance in his filmography has the same type of personality: tough, skilled, commanding, and a big softie to boot.  However, he always finds a way to bring a smile to my face regardless of whether a movie he's in is good.  His role in "Red One" is no different, as his performance as Callum Drift was serviceable for his appeal and nothing else.  Chris Evans also did all right regarding his role as Jack O'Malley, but not enough to push him out of his post-MCU funk, which is again due to his lackluster chemistry with Johnson.  I wonder if having the polar bear agent, Garcia, voiced by Reinaldo Faberlle, join the duo would make a difference in their chemistry.  The only bright spots of the cast would be J. K. Simmons as Santa and even Kristofer Hivju as Krampus.  Unsurprisingly, Simmons delivered plenty of jolliness and spark into good old Saint Nicholas, which he's always done in his other recent roles.  Hivju was also a joy to watch, especially during the Krampusschlap sequence, and the prosthetic makeup worked incredibly well for the anti-Santa.

Finally, we have the film's visuals.  The visual effects were commendable for its world-building, including the North Pole, and the practical effects were pretty decent for some of the movie's mythological creatures.  However, when they're put into motion, that appeal wore off faster than Santa's hip new sleigh.  The CGI effects looked hideously muddled when combined with the dark lighting and the unnatural, fast-paced movements of the characters.  As a result, they made some of its action scenes appear either murky or unintentionally goofy.  However, I will admit that one of its scenes made me laugh due to how ridiculous the CGI looked when put into motion.

Overall, "Red One" is a big-budget Christmas blockbuster whose visual numbness and conventional shortcomings fail to add more merriness to its joyfully inventive concept.  With the right mindset, it can be a mildly amusing, family-friendly action-adventure packed with stockings of wonder and sentimental heart.  Unfortunately, those expecting anything beyond that would be treated with a hum-drum and fundamental piece of blockbuster commercialism that's anything but jolly.  I managed to find some enjoyment in its cast, action, and world-building, but that's about it.  Regarding Jake Kasdan's subpar direction, trope-heavy screenplay, and mediocre CGI effects, the film is a holiday cinematic gift that's best left inside Santa's sack.  While I may see this as another tolerable option to watch during the holiday tradition, I don't see it becoming the new Christmas classic worth being merry for.

C-