Movie review: ‘Red One,’ my favorite Christmas movie … if I was 12
“Red One” is the most outlandish Christmas movie I have ever seen, and while the charm of Hollywood mega-stars carries a lot of its weight, I enjoyed the wacky world-building more than I anticipated.
This page may contain affiliate links. If you choose to purchase after clicking a link, we may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.
After Santa Claus — Code Name: RED ONE — is kidnapped, the North Pole’s Head of Security (Dwayne Johnson) must team up with the world’s most infamous bounty hunter (Chris Evans) in a globe-trotting, action-packed mission to save Christmas.
Amazon MGM
I think my hype for “Red One” was at its peak when I saw a photo from the set of J.K. Simmons absolutely jacked as Santa. It was random and intrigued me enough to develop a small bit a hype for whatever movie it was for. Cut to a few years later when the first trailer came out for “Red One.” While the wackiness of it intrigued me, I’d be lying if I didn’t expect it to be bad. And yes, it is “bad,” but this film is such an outlandish take on holiday mythology that I couldn’t help to have a good time.
The mythology and world-building of ‘Red One’
Let’s get the easy bits out of the way. Yes, this movie has subpar CGI. Yes, it has a cliché Christmas story that we’ve seen before. And yes, Dwayne Johnson and Chris Evans basically play themselves. Based on the trailers, I didn’t expect any one of those things to be any different.
Where “Red One” really thrives is in its commitment to its mythology and world-building — in the idea that if Santa exists, then obviously other mythical holiday beings would probably exist too. This film barely scratches the surface of what it could’ve done with this premise, and yet I still found all the versions of these famous beings to be a lot of fun. There are even a few surprises.
I’m pretty sure Santa cusses
My biggest gripe of the film is that it never fully decides what its target audience is. Based on how ridiculous the entire film is and how cheesy some of the jokes are, I would have to assume it’s a film aimed toward kids. With that being said, “Red One” toes the line of an “R” rating purely due to its profanity. I’m pretty sure Santa cusses at one point. I didn’t mind, it just confused me a bit.
‘Red One’: fun, but fatiguing
At the end of the day, “Red One” is a massive attempt to seemingly create some kind of holiday cinematic universe. While I had a fun watching it, I think the world is a little fatigued of every other action movie trying to start a franchise. I may see it again, but I don’t think it even comes close to becoming a part of the sacred “Yearly Holiday Rewatch List.”
P.S. My screening was in 4DX. For those that aren’t familiar, 4DX is basically like “Shrek 4-D” at Universal Studios for two hours instead of 15 minutes. My typical rule of thumb is: Don’t go to 4DX unless you’ve already seen the movie before. So when arrived at the movies and realized the screening was in a 4DX theater, my heart dropped. Though I found the movements, water, and lighting effects annoying, I do think they make the movie more fun.
SCORE: 3/5
“Red One” is rated PG-13 and is in theaters Nov. 15, 2024! There is no post-credit scene.
More Attractions Magazine stories:
Follow us:
No matter where you want to go, our trusted partner MEI-Travel will handle the planning so you can focus on the memories. They offer free vacation-planning services and have nearly 20 years of experience creating memorable vacations. Visit MEI-Travel for a fee-free, no-obligation quote today.
