#REVIEW: “RED ONE”

Review by Justin Waldman for Mr. Will Wong

‘Tis the holiday season and we’re getting into the Christmas spirit and joy with Director Jake Kasdan’s newest feature, Red One. There is *a lot* happening throughout the Movie, and a lot of that is forgivable, but it is important to note this isn’t your typical Christmas movie -for one, there is an abundance of swearing, so discretion should be used. Despite some overproduced CGI, Red One still manages to be enjoyable even if is a bumpy road getting there.

Red One follows Jack O’Malley (Chris Evans), a real scrooge, humbug kind of guy who puts a damper on Christmas spirit. He’s a man of many talents though, and a mysterious person has hired him to break into a government office, place a tracker on their wiring, and allow them to track seismic activity. On the other side of the story we have Nick (J.K Simmons) getting ready to go on his 364-day globetrotting adventure, and deliver presents to every child on the good list for Christmas. His head of security  Callum Drift (Dwayne Johnson) is ensuring that his final year on the job goes without a hitch. Unfortunately though, something sinister is afoot as Nick gets kidnapped and Zoe (Lucy Liu) tasks Callum to find Nick in time for Christmas. They need to enlist the help of the man who unknowingly set-up the kidnapping, Jack. It’s in the vein of Tim Allen’s The Santa Clause, while being its own thing entirely, Red One is sure to get you in the jolly spirit for Christmas.

While Chris Morgan and Hiram Garcia pen the Script, there is a lot to unpack. There is an entire subplot that is completely dropped about Jack’s upbringing, that the Movie should’ve explored. If they were insistent on making a two-hour Christmas movie, keeping Gryla (Kiernan Shipka) in the Movie as the villain was more than acceptable, but adding Krampus (Kristoger Hivju) instead of focusing on Jack‘s backstory, was certainly a choice. It also eliminated the emotional impact of the storyline with Dylan (Wesley Kimmel) for both Jack and the audience. Red One seems like it wanted to possibly lean into a harsher rating and was cut back to garner the PG-13 and they left the most enjoyable, even if mashed together, storylines.

While Red One features a mishmash of storytelling, overall it’s about saving Nick and restoring Christmas. Thankfully, at the heart of this is Chris Evans who plays the Grinch-esque character. He is charismatic and brings the multitudes of Christmas spirit to the Movie, but on the other hand, we have Dwayne Johnson, who seems to be in a different film from the Cast. Kiernan Shipka is unfortunately underutilized, her villainy could’ve been fleshed out a little more, and given more to work with instead of being the two-dimensional villain. Simmons, with a small amount of screentime, shines when he’s present but Kristofer Hivju’s Krampus performance is the highlight of Red One.

On the other hand from the acting, Script, and direction the special effects in Red One are the most baffling part of the Movie. They’re bold, but also either great or jarring. The spirit and essence of what Kasdan, Morgan and Garcia really shines through, and thanks to Evans and Hivju and the sprinkling of Simmons, Red One is  entertaining Christmas joy, despite feeling uneven.

Warner Bros. Pictures Canada release RED ONE in theaters on Friday November 15, 2024.