Red One movie review: The Rock and Chris Evans’ Save Santa Claus mission is strictly for kids

Red One movie review: Red One, which did not get a theatrical release in India, is streaming now on Amazon Prime Video. But does the film ring in festive cheer?

Chris Evans and Dwayne Johnson in Red One

Red One

Red One movie story: Callum Drift (Dwayne Johnson), Santa Claus’ (JK Simmons) head of security, is ready to hang up his boots after one last Christmas run with the boss. He’s disillusioned because the naughty list is up by a worrying 20%. But this mission runs into an unexpected complication when Santa, codename Red One, goes missing.

With a dark force threatening to ruin Christmas, Callum’s not only got to save Santa, but the spirit of the festival too. For this, he teams up with a bounty hunter and master tracker, Jack O’Malley (Chris Evans), whose skillset is what got Red One kidnapped.

Red One trailer: The Rock and Chris Evans team up to find Santa Claus 

Red One movie review: Red One, the big Christmas action-comedy starring Dwayne Johnson and Chris Evans in the lead, had skipped an India theatrical outing a month ago, but is now available to stream on Amazon Prime Video. Critics had ripped the film apart when it hit theatres and despite the best efforts to stay away from reviews and spoilers, a few had caught my eye before I finally got to see the film.

I set my expectations really low while watching Red One, which, helped, one could say, because it didn’t feel like the big disaster it was made out to be. It didn’t arouse warm Christmassy feels, but it wasn’t entirely disappointing either. It got me wondering – perhaps I’m not the target demographic. The best bet is that the film could work for children, even if Drift’s big party trick is straight out of Dr Hank Pym’s book.

Dwayne Johnson reunites with Jumanji director Jake Kasdan for Christmas film 

The problem with Red One is not really the plot, which is actually half decent – there’s a villain who wants to imprison everyone on Santa’s naughty list and Santa’s power is what can make it possible. It’s the team that gathered together to bring this to the screen that’s the problem, starting with director Jake Kasdan for making a film that’s not half as engaging as his Jumanji movies.

Dwayne Johnson’s not given anything new to work with; only here, he’s got Evans and not Kevin Hart for company. There’s a lot less chemistry between Johnson and Evans, than the former has with Hart. Evans can play sleazeball to great effect, as he did in Knives Out; he tries it again as Jack O’Malley and even gives it a teensy Jack Sparrow swag. And yet, the character remains remarkably unremarkable. Simmons, as Santa Claus, is a great choice, but he, like the rest of the cast, gets precious little to do.

The biggest misstep, though, was in the choice of antagonist - Kiernan Shipka as the wicked winter witch Gryla. The big baddie here was neither scary nor brought in the laughs – the only two goals a villain in a Christmas movie usually has. Gryla was the least impactful of the lot.

What was Red One supposed to be? A fuzzy Christmas comedy? Well, then, there aren’t enough laughs. And if it was action drama, then, there should have been fight or two more, including with Gryla. It’s sad that a film with this cast has a middling effect at best.

Red One movie verdict: “We work for the kids,” Santa Claus tells Callum Drift in Red One. Suffice to say, the film too is for that demographic.

Share

Cast and Crew

Dwayne Johnson

Actor

Where To Watch