Reinventing the Christmas movie as a studio tentpole with a hefty price tag upwards of $300 million, Jumanji duo Jake Kasdan and Dwayne Johnson give the genre a muscular makeover in Red One — a film that infuses Marvel-esque action and mythology into the holiday season.
When professional thief Jack O'Malley (Chris Evans) unwittingly helps steal coordinates that lead to the capture of Santa, or code name ‘Red' (J.K Simmons), he has to reluctantly team up with the head of Santa's security detail Callum (Johnson) to mount a global rescue operation to save Christmas. It's a fun conceit for a Christmas comedy but Chris Morgan's script is wasted potential, recycling a lot of narrative tropes and ideas without any hint of reinvention or innovation.
Callum is at the end of his tether, days away from retiring from Santa's team with the increase of ‘naughty listers' shaking his unwavering faith in the human spirit; meanwhile, O'Malley has had a tough go at it from childhood and is an estranged father with a gambling addiction later in life. They're an archetypal, mismatched duo — one cynic, one optimist, ‘nice' and ‘naughty' personified — with predictable arcs from the off but Johnson and Evans turn in committed work and the pair's veritable chemistry keeps their dynamic bubbling and fun.
There's some cool mythology on show too, if never properly explored, but the blockbuster-ification of the holiday movie means that most of the festive spirit is lost to overdone CGI and messy storytelling solely intent on setting up various sequels and spin-offs. Kasdan throws a smorgasbord of big-budget action beats into a melting pot as characters traverse the globe—and the realms of fantasy—without much rhyme or reason, chasing down various MacGuffin devices that can help in their pursuit of Santa. A fight scene involving some snowmen and one later with Krampus are particular highlights but most of it is forgettable, murky, and overproduced.
The rest of the ensemble is rounded out by Lucy Liu, Kiernan Shipka, and Bonnie Hunt who are all but wasted. Simmons is a particular highlight, however, committing to the schmaltzy dialogue as a juiced-up Santa Clause. The casting was so perfect in Klaus that it's no wonder Kasdan was so keen to get Simmons donning the red gown in live-action. For the most part, everyone does commit to the bit and it's enjoyable watching them do so.
There's a reel of funny jokes and visual gags (giant, 50-feet reindeer being one) with some semblance of heartfelt moments and if taken at face value, as just a silly time at the movies, there is fun to be had with Red One. It's all just been done before and better. Christmas classics are built on sincerity and minimalism. Somewhere along the way, that has been lost. And for all the talent and money thrown on the screen here, this film struggles to live up to its promise of saving Christmas.
Red One is now out in cinemas.