Review of 'Red One'
When Santa, aka “Red One” (J.K. Simmons), is kidnapped from his North Pole base on Christmas Eve it is up to his commander of ELF (Enforcement Logistics and Fortification) and head of security Callum Drift (Dwayne Johnson) to rescue him. It is soon clear that the secret location of Santa's base was leaked by an unsuspecting Jack O'Malley (Chris Evans), a hacker-for-hire and Christmas cynic. M.O.R.A (Mythological Oversight and Restoration Authority) director Zoe Harlow (Lucy Liu) forces the polar opposites Drift and O'Malley to work together to find Santa and save Christmas starting first with his disgruntled brother Krampus (Kristofer Hivju)…
This is a fun Christmas film with a good story, lots of action and great looking special effects. Johnson plays his role dead straight as the heavy which works well against the sneaky and cynical Jack O'Malley (played by Evans). Will the cast win any acting awards? Probably not, but they are all perfectly cast and work well together (yes, Lucy Liu is able to demonstrate some martial arts…). The special effects look great, technology and CGI heavy, as audiences these days come to expect. The story is entertaining and holds together well with twists and turns that keep you guessing throughout with a number of surprises along the way. Of course, there is the requisite holiday schmaltz in the form of O'Malley struggling to engage with his estranged son and the lighter note of Drift struggling to find his role in a world that is becoming increasingly “naughty” – But this is all par for the course and fits in quite well as a silly holiday film.
Turn off the cynic, sit back and enjoy the ride with this well-made and great looking Christmas film.
Rating: “Nearly perfect, but not quite”
Review Date: 2024-12-16
Directed by: Jake Kasdan
Studio: Amazon MGM Studios
Year: 2024
Length: 123 minutes
Genre: Action/Adventure
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt14948432/
Other reviewed films by Jake Kasdan:
- Jumanji: The Next Level (2019)