When Red One was first announced, I was intrigued. Three big stars like Dwayne Johnson, Chris Evans and J.K. Simmons, and with an arsenal of visual effects at their disposal? Count me in. Now that I’ve finally seen it, I have to say, it's definitely not what I expected.
Out of the avalanche of Christmas content in 2024, Red One took the lead. Not only was it the first, it was surely the biggest and most ambitious of everything that was coming. In this case, Amazon provided more than enough resources to showcase a wide array of visual effects, and the ambition behind this project is evident because of the presence of two stars as powerful as Dwayne Johnson and Chris Evans leading the cast. The problem is that the story—confusing and overly complicated—wastes every opportunity it has over 123 minutes that start to feel endless, as the narrative constantly loses focus.
Red One is a Christmas-themed action comedy where two unlikely allies must work together to save Santa Claus. The film strays a bit from traditional Christmas movies to appeal to teenagers, focusing around action-packed chase and fight sequences, weapons, and terrifying, menacing monsters.
Everything feels confusing and arbitrary right from the beginning in the script by Chris Morgan, the writer behind most of the Fast & Furious franchise. The film’s title is associated with the United States presidential plane, with Santa Claus (played by J.K. Simmons) traveling the world to achieve his mission in a massive, reindeer-powered sleigh. Several fighter jets escort him from a secret airport, and this bearded Santa—who has his own personal gym to stay in shape for his massive task—also has a bodyguard and a head of security (Dwayne Johnson).
In the middle of all this, we get the parallel story of Jack O'Malley (Chris Evans), who as a child was skeptical of Christmas magic and, as an adult, lives detached from the world, selling his hacking skills to the highest bidder. One of these operations leads to Santa Claus being kidnapped, triggering a large-scale rescue mission. As expected, this also serves as a path to redemption for Jack, a character full of imperfections—starting with his irresponsibility as a father.
This moralizing aspect is inserted far too forcefully into an action comedy that lacks direction, mixing conspiracies, visits to mythical places such as the castle of the fearsome Krampus (a classic Christmas horror figure in Nordic mythology), and a few self-referential superhero movie jokes. The villain (played by Kiernan Shipka), a punk witch with a permanently menacing expression, doesn’t add much to the story either.
Like Santa’s sleigh during the kidnapping, the movie quickly loses its way. Director Jake Kasdan—who has a solid track record in comedy—seems to be in charge of a project he doesn’t fully believe in, and he never quite manages to steer it back on course. Everything is overshadowed by an overwhelming digital spectacle and the wasted presence of Johnson (whose role ends up being less relevant than expected, aside from his usual on-screen charisma) and Evans, who still hasn’t found his place since leaving the Captain America suit behind.
The only real saving grace comes from J.K. Simmons, who delivers a few solid and charming scenes at the beginning and the end, because he’s an actor who never disappoints. Red One is like the biggest and most eye-catching gift under the Christmas tree, only for you to open it and find almost nothing inside. Sure, what we see is dressed up in the flashiest packaging—probably the most expensive one of all.
It’s not a complete waste of time, maybe because I really enjoy Christmas movies, and it has a nice message, related to how every day offers a new opportunity to be good. But I expected much more, especially because of the actors in the lineup.
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