First, I'm going to say it. "Red One" is more of a Christmas movie than "Die Hard." Christmas plays an integral part of the plot in "Red One" than it does in "Die Hard." I'm still on the fence about the whole "Die Hard is a Christmas movie" thing. I honestly think it depends on how "Christmas movie" is defined.
Anyways, I'd like to think that Jolly Ol' St. Nicholas as depicted in this movie works to preserve whatever innocence and goodness the youth of the world still possess as they grow up among greedy, self-centered, materialist, entitled adults. I think that sentiment is looked at in this movie, but it doesn't really go anywhere.
Drift has O'Malley right his wrong having him help look for Santa. They even seek help from Santa's evil brother, Krampus (Kristofer Hivju). Of course, Mrs. Claus (Bonnie Hunt) is hiding in the NorthPole, worrying about her husband.
The action-packed storyline is so cookie cutter basic.
Like so many other mega-huge security breach movies involving the CIA or FBI, or something that involves kidnapping the president of the United States, the only thing different this movie offers is that it's Santa Claus (J. K. Simmons) who gets kidnapped by super stealthy bad guys.
Santa's dependable and dedicated number one guy, Callum Drift (Dwayne Johnson), is the commander of Santa's Enforcement Logistics and Fortification, or E.L.F. He's turned in his notice just before Christmas as he doesn't see the Christmas spirit or kindness in adults anymore, or something like that. In other words, he has lost his faith in the adults of the world. Just then, Santa is kidnapped by a Christmas Witch named Grýla (Kiernan Shipka). Grýla actually stems from Icelandic Christmas folklore. She demands charity from those she meets and seeks out bad children.
So, Drift is one her tail to find him. Time is of the essence. Christmas is on the line.
Drift seeks the help of Zoe Harlow (Lucy Liu) who directs a secret force of mythical creatures known as MORA (Mythological Oversight and Restoration Authority).
Drift seeks the help of Zoe Harlow (Lucy Liu) who directs a secret force of mythical creatures known as MORA (Mythological Oversight and Restoration Authority).
She and her team figure out that the secret location of Santa's workshop was compromised by a mercenary hacker named Jack O'Malley (Chris Evans) who was working for an anonymous buyer. O'Malley claims he had no idea that the coordinates he obtained and sold was Santa's workshop location in the North Pole.
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| Dwayne Johnson and J.K. Simmons in "Red One." |
The novelty of this ultimate "someone saves Christmas" Christmas movie is all that's entertaining about it. Other than that, it certainly won't find a place among cherished Christmas films any time soon.
It has the same formulaic action storyline used over and over again. I appreciate the movie tying two completely opposite genres together. It takes the standard action film formula and replaces characters with figures of Christmas legends and lore. Producers clearly expect that to be enough to make "Red One" a new and memorable Christmas movie.
If they just used their imagination and writing skills (if any) to make it something really worthwhile maybe it would be such a Christmas movie. I enjoyed it only because of it's all-too-familiar formula. It's not enough, though.
J.K. Simmons as Santa is a weird casting call. He doesn't make a convincing Santa Claus, though he can impersonate Santa well enough. And Chris Evans's performance is lackluster. It's tantamount to a disgruntled worker pretending to be busy so he can grab his paycheck at the end of his shift.
"Red One" is entertaining enough thanks to its satirical undertones. Still, it needs originality. or more of it. Much more!
There's not enough substance. Gimmicky movies are all over the place. Anyone can staple two genres together and show it off like a child's art project. The writers failed to do something worthy of the audience's time with what they started, but didn't get far enough.
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