Santa and his elves? Check. Reindeer and a shiny sleigh? Check. Christmas music? Check. Technically, Red One, which was released on Nov. 15, checks all the boxes to become a beloved Christmas movie, but in reality, it fell short of that achievement. It was an entertaining watch and kept the audience’s attention, but it won’t be getting added to any list of holiday classics.
The movie follows what happens when Red One, a.k.a. Santa (played by J. K. Simmons), is kidnapped right before Christmas. Callum Drift, the head of North Pole security, is then forced to team up with the world’s most notorious tracker, Jack O’Malley, to find Santa and save the holiday before it’s too late.
Dwayne Johnson played Callum, a main character who had a lot of potential to be interesting, but Johnson acted much the same as he does in all of his movies. There are many films where we see Johnson typecast as the rugged, hot-shot loner who learns to be a team player and save the day in the end. While this does fit the style of the security commander he was playing, it would have been refreshing to see Johnson use more creativity with the role and develop Callum’s character further. His portrayal of the character felt too familiar, and his humor and actions were often very predictable. On the other hand, Chris Evans, who played O’Malley the infamous tracker, did a better job of bringing excitement into his role. His part wasn’t written much more creatively than Johnson’s, but he pulled off a better performance.
The film put a big emphasis on the idea of Santa’s naughty and nice lists, and the need for more good in the world. However, the attempt to combine an action-packed, secret mission adventure with a heartwarming theme about the true meaning of Christmas didn’t quite work out on the screen. In some parts, the message was presented in such a shockingly ridiculous way that it was laughable. Whether it was intended by the producers or not, much of the movie’s humor came from serious aspects that instead turned out funny.
One part of the movie that did manage to capture audiences’ attention was all of the magical technology used by Santa’s team. The head of security could strengthen his punches or shrink down to elf size in the blink of an eye using his high-tech arm band. Miniature Hot Wheels were enlarged into life-sized sports cars with just the press of a few buttons. The North Pole workers seemed to have a fancy piece of impossible technology for any need they had, and it was exciting to see how they would handle each new challenge with a different device or magic trick.
Although the quality of Red One was disappointing and underwhelming, it still had an action-packed energy. It may not be up there with Elf or Home Alone, but it passes as a fun watch for the holiday season.
