Red One Movie Review
Nathan Swank
November 15th, 2024
Santa has been kidnapped! The only hope to rescue St. Nick (codename RED ONE) is North Pole’s head of security and trusty bodyguard, Callum Drift (Dwayne Johnson). Drift has to recruit a selfish, rude, renowned bounty hunter who also happens to be a level 4 naughty lister, Jack O’Malley (Chris Evans) to help track down super buff Santa Claus (J.K. Simmons) and save Christmas. Can we take a moment to appreciate what strong movie names Drift and O’Malley are? They deserve another life in some sort of buddy pair-up series or maybe even a sequel.
I’m pretty insane when it comes to decorating the house for Christmas. I’ve got a fairly extensive Christmas village along with 5 Christmas trees in the house. Personally, I think Christmas music should be a year round radio station. So, yeah I think it’s safe to say I love Christmas. All this to say, I’ve got a soft spot for Christmas movies. So when I saw that a family friendly PG-13 action Christmas movie starring kid-recognizable faces such as Captain America and Dr. Bravestone from JUMANJI (and Maui from MOANA), I was pretty stoked. RED ONE mostly delivers on that middle ground amusement movie that I think the whole family can enjoy this holiday season.
Is RED ONE for kids? Yes, but with stipulations. Firstly, my eight and ten year old kids loved RED ONE. The film is rated PG-13 due to some inappropriate language, which even the real Santa who was at our screening told our kids he didn’t approve of (I agreed with him, it was unnecessary), physical bloodless violence like most superhero movies, and some scary images similar to GHOSTBUSTERS. RED ONE has Krampus and the Christmas Witch who both deliver some unsettling imagery. But I think that type of edge is what helps make the film more exciting for the kids depending on the individual.
The set pieces are terrific, with great visuals and humorous gags. The action is a lot of fun with the exception of the pacing lulls or easy jokes during transitions between the big action sequences. The design of Krampus and his party home is an eye-catching feast of material and a beach destined snowman battle probably has the best fighting choreography and laugh combination in the film. But perhaps the best part is the imagination and explanation on just how Santa is able to deliver all the presents to every boy and girl across the globe in one single night. I believe it!
I didn’t love RED ONE. Some of the fighting was hard to follow, the jokes don’t always land, and there’s a whole lukewarm, low energy vibe while simultaneously trying super hard to have oodles of energy. But none of that really matters when my kids absolutely did love RED ONE. Add to the fact, the film is generally entertaining and is more than serviceable for a visually pleasing, family action-oriented, Christmas world-building film for the holiday season.
[fbcomments]
