3.5 out of 5 stars.
Going into “Red One,” I assumed that it would be terribly cheesy and nothing more than another stereotypical Christmas movie with one nice guy and one naughty guy. The trope of someone on the naughty list discovering their Christmas spirit has been in nearly every Christmas movie, with “Elf” and “The Santa Clause” showcasing that plotline at its peak.
Since then, it’s begun to feel tired as movies such as “Spirited” (a fairly disappointing movie for a theater kid like me) and “Noelle” (a surprisingly fun but overly cliche film) came out with nothing new to offer. That’s where “Red One” is different.
“Red One” opens with Jack O’Malley (Chris Evans) as a kid trying to prove to his cousins that Santa isn’t real. As an adult, he works as a contractor to the highest bidder — lying, hacking, cheating and stealing his way to the top. He’s renowned for being able to find anyone and eventually tracks down Santa without realizing it, selling his location to an unknown buyer.
Callum Drift (Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson) is Santa’s right-hand man and head of his security staff. Drift has worked as Santa’s right-hand man for over 500 years, but he grows disillusioned and hands in his resignation to Santa when he discovers that the naughty list has more names than the nice list for the first time in history.
After Santa (J.K. Simmons) is kidnapped by the group that hired O’Malley, he and Drift are forced to work together by the Director of Mythological Oversight and Restoration Authority (M.O.R.A.) to recover Santa within 24 hours. The Director, Zoe (Lucy Liu), stresses that they will only be able to get Santa back in time for Christmas Eve by working together.
The plot is a little stereotypical, but the movie really surprised me. It had good insight into how to stay hopeful in the world we live in today.
Toward the beginning of the movie, Santa tells Drift that we choose who we are and have an option to be good in every moment and every decision. This sentiment is echoed throughout the movie, showing all of the characters that it is possible to still be good in this world where more than half the population is on the naughty list.
As a huge fan of “Knives Out,” I loved seeing Chris Evans return to a villain role. After his long stint as Captain America, it is refreshing to see him play a more roguish character without strict patriotic morals. I can’t help but root for this criminal deadbeat dad who realizes that staying out of his son’s (Wesley Kimmel) life is worse for him and tries to turn it around.
On the other hand, Johnson seems to always be playing selfish characters that only look out for themselves, making his role as a morally uptight, stoic bodyguard really compelling. I love seeing actors break their type casts, and both were deeply committed to their roles, really making the movie feel authentic. Even in moments where it should have felt ridiculous, the commitment of every actor in this movie to their role made it feel real.
Krampus (Kristofer Hivju) was a huge highlight of this movie, with incredible acting that really sold the performance of Krampus, Santa’s brother, as an intimidating and comedic force. Grylla (Kiernan Shipka) also made for a compelling villain, a Christmas witch keen on punishing those who were on the naughty list. My least favorite performance was by Mrs. Claus (Bonnie Hunt), whose scenes always fell flat.
The world-building was well done, with multiple impressive sets of portals in the storage closet of toy shops worldwide, allowing the characters to quickly travel around the world and use toy-based tech that allowed them to win each fight. The North Pole was incredibly impressive, showing an almost idyllic technological city.
The costumes reflected the movie’s creativity and commitment to Christmas tradition. Santa’s multiple suits (including a workout set) were just unique enough to put a fun spin on the iconic suit without losing what makes it special. Grylla’s costume changes showcased her growing power as she seemed to come out on top over our protagonists as the movie progressed.
The fight scenes were a highlight of the movie. Forget watching Chris Evans fight Thanos as Captain America, I only want to see Chris Evans desperately try to win a fight against an overly buff snowman as just some regular guy.
O’Malley was a creative fighter, using his resources and wit to gain the upper hand, while Drift was able to use his North Pole technology to his advantage to brute force every fight. The two even held their own against Krampus.
Christmas movies do not need to be revolutionary. All I want is for the movie to use a somewhat unique spin to instill a sense of hope and Christmas spirit in me by the end. As someone who loves Christmas movies, this was really fun to watch and will definitely be making it into my yearly rotation. Kids will enjoy it in theaters — my younger sister loved it.
Photo courtesy of CBR.