by Shane Conto, Staff Writer
Who doesn’t love some Yuletide cinematic cheer? Amazon is certainly prepared to deliver one of the largest, if not the largest, budgets for a Christmas movie, ever. The studio has brought together some of the biggest names in Hollywood, like Dwayne Johnson and Chris Evans, to deliver an epic scale Christmas adventure for the greatest good of all… saving Santa. With Jake Kasdan, the director of the Jumanji movies, with the sleigh reigns, Red One tells the tale of a kidnapped beefy Saint Nick, and only the mountainous head of North Pole security and the world’s greatest hacker can save the day.
To start, for a film with a huge budget and big set pieces, the action is underwhelming. There is a big chase through a CGI North Pole metropolis, and it just looks like little people and vehicles on a blob of computer effects. Most of the smaller scale fight sequences are filled with choppy editing, and it is hard to figure out exactly what is going on. So, the action… not great.
On top of that, tonally, the film is scattered. There are a few moments that get reasonably dark and probably not the best for a film that feels like it has the logic for children. But there are some solid moments of heart including a tender beat towards the end that channels finding Christmas cheer again. At least the film moves as well for being around the two-hour mark.
With that, one of the biggest strengths of the film is the world building. The advancements in the North Pole and for Santa are interesting, making for an intriguing new approach to the classic Christmas setting. There’s a bigger context of mythological beings existing, and it’s full of potential to expand into all types of crazy adventures. Unfortunately, this adventure is quite bland and overly convenient. Some fun set pieces and ideas are sprinkled throughout, but much of the film is a tad uninspired.
One of the best parts of the film is Krampus (Game of Thrones alum Kristofer Hivju, who gives a charismatic and confident performance). The makeup and prosthetics are perfect for allowing him to shine through, but he is more of a side character. As such, the biggest letdown is the bland and uninteresting the antagonist (no matter how talented Kiernan Shipka is). Shipka is given little to work with, and she brings less, with a flat and bland performance.
A key piece to the story is the father/son dynamic of Evans’ character and his estranged son. It is overly familiar and underdeveloped, but it still has a bit of warmth to it. The dynamic between Santa and Johnson’s Callum Drift is the film’s real emotional center, and certainly has its moments. Johnson is doing the stern, stoic version of his persona, which fits fine for playing the straight man in this duo, and Evans’ performance is big with some fine moments of earnestness, but the two stars don’t have a lot of chemistry.
As for the remaining characters, J.K. Simmons takes Santa in a new direction, and he brings warmth in his limited time on screen. Actors like Lucy Liu and Bonnie Hunt are completely, disappointingly wasted.
Red One is a big and relatively dumb film that lacks depth and narrative creativity. The strong world building, flashes of heart, and serviceable cast are mostly squandered in what is overall a big-budgeted and clunky film.
Rating: Disliked It
Red One is currently playing in theaters
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