Last Updated on November 15, 2024 by Stephinie Heitman
Red One is a 2024 Holiday comedy Movie directed by Jake Kasdan and written by Chris Morgan, and Hiram Garcia. The film stars Dwayne Johnson, Chris Evans, and Lucy Liu with a runtime of 2 hours and 3 minutes, theatre released on November 15, 2024.
The Story
Picture a scenario where Santa is not only a happy bearded man from the North Pole with a sack full of gifts but also the commander of an advanced military-like Christmas operation. That’s the world of Red One. In the middle of everything, viewers meet Callum Drift (Dwayne Johnson), who is in charge of the security of the North Pole. Business-minded Callum treats the job with utmost responsibility, managing their workshops up to the security of the sleigh where Santa resides. But he’s also tired—Christmas isn’t as magical as it used to be, and his belief in the holiday spirit is fading.
Santa, played by J.K. Simmons, is everything you’d expect him to be: fierce, happy, and determined to bring joy to both herself and the rest of the cast during the Christmas event. Yet, things begin to drastically change as he is abducted by a vicious witch named Gryla (Kiernan Shipka) who has other ideas for the Christmas season in mind.
This is where Jack O’Malley, played by Chris Evans, steps in, as he is a professional tracker and bounty hunter who makes sure that the task gets done, though he himself is a nonbeliever in the existence of Santa Claus. Right, it is shown that in a world where Santa exists and runs an operation with the government’s knowledge, Jack will still require proof. This causes some funny and embarrassing scenes where Callum tries to persuade him to join the group.
Then one day, they meet up and set off on an adventure to rescue Santa and the Christmas spirit. On the way, they come across all sorts of challenges ranging from magical booby traps to the fiendish plans of Gryla. What could have been a thrilling holiday adventure is lost in plot and details making it hard to follow and possibly one of the worst movies ever made. For instance, excessive time is spent describing how some of Santa’s tools function or why the North Pole resembles a clandestine headquarters. Rather than making things magical and mysterious, all this explaining just distills the adventure into the dreariness of a commercial venture.
The plot of the movie is all over the place. Instead of offering an awesome moment or entertaining fight scenes, it seems as if it is just a number of loosed concepts strung together. Dwayne Johnson and Chris Evans are expected to make fun of each other and then become partners, but there is no chemistry, sparring partners look bored as if they are acting in the early draft of the script.
One major problem lies in the protagonist – Dwayne Johnson himself. In almost every scene, there seems to be that urge to be the macho man, the hero people should emulate.
This makes the movie feel less like a Christmas story and more like a commercial for Dwayne Johnson as if he’s constantly asking the audience, “Why don’t you love me?” He even sneaks in product placement for his brand of alcohol—yes, in a Christmas movie supposedly for families! There’s also a bizarre moment where Santa and Callum meet at the gym and admire how strong and muscular they are. That might work in another movie but in a Christmas story? It just feels out of place.
Compare Johnson to someone like Arnold Schwarzenegger, who was also known for playing tough action heroes. Even at his worst, Arnold wasn’t afraid to laugh at himself or be part of a joke. Audiences loved him because he didn’t take himself too seriously. Dwayne Johnson, on the other hand, acts like he’s above being part of the joke, which makes his character less fun to watch.
A Christmas Movie with Weird Messages
Another thing that is quite peculiar about this Red One is the fact that its theme is highly militaristic. Santa Clause rides in a sleigh pulled by fighter jets and is guarded by a top-secret organization that is indubitably modeled after the CIA. This agency even sends a team of soldiers to capture Chris Evans’ character, invading his house and physically assaulting him during the interrogation—while the scene is supposedly meant to be comic. Such scenes are quite vulgar, and their inclusion in a film that is supposedly for a family seems quite off.
There are also some still prevalent and rather bizarre notions about gender. As with most films, there are no complex female characters: women in the movie are either witches, like the main antagonist Gryla, or domesticated housewives like the cartoonish Mrs. Claus, who spends her time baking cookies. These jokes are not just lame but are also cruel and make everyone feel awkward.
Is there anything good about it?’
Honestly, not much. It is very unimpressive when it comes to the action sequences, and the special effects seem rather low quality. The only positive character note is a dash of vitality injected into the movie by Kristofer Hivju. Despite its star-studded cast and the reputation of its director, even he cannot prevent the film from being a total disappointment.
Final Thoughts
Red One tries to be a big, exciting Christmas movie, but it completely misses what makes holiday stories special: heart and sincerity. But what we have here are cold jokes, ill-conceived physical conflicts, and a heavy-handed sermon about the value of people.
So if you are planning to catch a movie this Christmas, avoid Red One. Watching this would be even worse than finding a lump of coal in your Christmas stocking.
Red One 2024 Parents Guide Age Rating
Red One is rated PG-13 by the Motion Picture Rating (MPA) for action, some violence, and language.
Violence: Contains brief scenes of physical aggression, for example, fights a scene of soldiers entering a character’s house and brutally beating him (comedy), and magical traps.
Language: As for the intensity of the language used, there are instances of profanity, but nothing is very vulgar.
Sexual Content: The bodies are not naked, but a few scenes of embarrassment and this is quite vulgar. For instance, in a scene in which Santa and Callum flex their muscles while in a gym.
Alcohol Use: Product placement of Dwayne Johnson’s alcohol brand is evident, which might not be suitable for a family movie.
Overall: The movie is filled with a lot of action which may be appealing to children but has elements of violence and some mature content caution which may not be very suitable particularly for young children because it is a holly movie. However, parents need to use it with care depending on the sensitivity of the child to these elements.
