Red One
review by Bobby Blakey

I love a good holiday film but bring in an action comedy and you have potential for a new holiday classic. The latest from Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story and the new Jumanji films director Jake Kasdan has him reteaming with Dwayne Johnson for Red One along with Chris Evans, Lucy Liu, Kiernan Shipka, Bonnie Hunt, Kristofer Hivju, Nick Kroll, Wesley Kimmel and J.K. Simmons. Could this action comedy become a new holiday hit, or will it fail to save the Christmas spirit?
Red One follows the North Pole's Head of Security who must team up with the world’s most infamous bounty hunter in a globe-trotting, action-packed mission to save Christmas after Santa Claus – Code Name: RED ONE – is kidnapped.
Being a fan of the cast involved and the love of some fun directions I was excited to check out this film in hopes that it was just going to be a fun time, and it is just that, but not without its issues. There are some pacing issues where it drags on at times and some of the chemistry falls flat, but somehow it manages to find its way back on track enough for it to still be a fun film for the family.
Where it really worked for me is the world building and creative ways they deal with Santa and the North pole. Any film taking on this subject does their own thing, but the addition of the more fantasy elements like trolls, battle polar bears, rough and tough snowmen and Krampus himself made for a lot more engaging world to play in. They put a lot of thought into every detail complete with how Santa delivers all the presents on Christmas Eve that was a lot of fun. With a film this heavy with CGI it all has to be on point and while most of it worked, there are some that were kind of cheese and just felt out of place.
I loved Simmons in this version of Santa, but he doesn’t get a ton of screen time since the whole plot is that he is kidnapped. When he is on screen, he is full of his usual charm and it is great to see him as such a light hearted character as opposed to the harder edged ones he usually plays. It was also fun seeing Evans get to play the every man as opposed to the muscle bound superhero we all know and love. He gets to get in on the action, but of them all he seems to have the most fun with the role.
Johnson does fine here and seems to be enjoying the role, but since his character Drift is so serious it kind of loses connection throughout the film with the other characters. Now that is kind of the point of his arc so not the issue, but it comes off more of just Johnson being Johnson than much else until the final act of the film. He is not bad in the movie as a fan, I still enjoyed watching him do his thing, but I would have loved to see him get to cut loose like we know he can in a more lighthearted moment at least once.
In the end the story is fine but predictable and it’s one those films that I think will find an audience most likely consisting of the younger crowd which is totally fine. In a sea of sappy Christmas films and hard to get through holiday kids programming it is a welcome addition to the genre and still some fun to be had.
Decide for yourself and check out Red One in theaters now.