“Red One” is a holiday sci-fi action comedy, though I don’t particularly think it’s funny… though I don’t particularly think that’s a problem with the movie. This is Amazon-MGM’s big, $250 million holiday extravaganza starring Dwayne Johnson as Cal, the bodyguard and assistant to Santa Claus (“Red”), played by J.K. Simmons. He’s definitely jacked. They work out in the gym quite a bit.
I like Johnson and Simmons together. Frankly, the whole film could’ve been (mainly) about the two of them — on Christmas Eve, or something else. They have good chemistry, and appreciate the points director Jake Kasdan allows them to bring up and make, especially early on and later on, about the state of the world and how people feel about the holidays — not just fighting over gifts but the attitudes people have about this time of year, what Christmas means and what Santa means.
“Red One” succeeds pretty well when it comes to those themes. Where it falls a little short is in some of the character developments and choices, including Chris Evans’ Jack O’Malley, a tracker. Santa has been kidnapped, and Jack has been tasked by Zoe, the head of the E.L.F. (Lucy Liu) and everyone in the North Pole to find him in time for Christmas Eve, to make his around the world journey. Jack is very generic. He has a fractured relationship with his son, which is presented in a bunch of typical scenes. And the bantering and bickering between Evans and The Rock isn’t that strong.
And there are sections of “Red One” that are way too long, including one involving Santa’s brother, Krampus, and a slapping session he and Cal have. But the visuals, tone and perspective are solid. And the music is interesting. Henry Jackman’s score is definitely inspired by “Star Wars”, adding to this unique holiday movie experience (and not nearly to the ‘cringey bad’ levels like I thought it could be).
LCJ GRADE: C+
Running Time: 123 min.