Red One

I thought this came to the cinemas about a month early, but it's still an amiable adventure showcase for Dwayne Johnson and Chris Evans. It all starts on Christmas Eve when Santa Clause (J.K. Simmons) is kidnapped from his North Pole home. It's retirement time for his head of security "Cal" (Johnson) so he's not best pleased after hundreds of years - and working with "Zoe" (Lucy Lui) he has to find out just how his boss's security was compromised in the first place - and then get to the rescuing bit. That search leads them to tech whizz "Jack" (Chris Evans) but he hadn't any idea whom his client actually was. After a rocky start, the two men must pull their resources and save Santa before Christmas really does start to deal with all of us o...

The star-studded cast, featuring J.K. Simmons, Kiernan Shipka, Chris Evans, and Dwayne Johnson, brings a decent level of chemistry to the screen, which is one of the movie's few strengths. While the actors clearly enjoy playing off each other, the story itself is expectedly generic, relying heavily on predictable holiday tropes. The script fails to inject enough fun to offset its cliché formulas, and despite its festive intentions, the film feels stuck in cruise control, never quite capturing the magic or excitement one might hope for from a Christmas blockbuster.

Technically, RED ONE falters with its visuals. Almost every scene feels confined to a studio setting, and inconsistent VFX work makes it difficult to stay immersed in the story...

Pretty solid festive fare, this.

'Red One' is perhaps slightly overlong and I didn't sense much chemistry between the cast, though those onscreen still give enjoyable performances and the plot is suitably entertaining whilst giving the necessary Xmas vibes. I was quite impressed with the special effects, I personally thought that side of this flick looked pretty neat.

Dwayne Johnson and Chris Evans are fun enough in this. Johnson is a bit more serious than usual and I liked that, while Evans' character ends up being the heart of the movie. J. K. Simmons, more than Johnson, plays against type, it's actually unnerving seeing him portray a true good guy - was almost waiting for him to shout down someone's neck, as per.

Kiernan Shipka ...

Best Christmas Movie Ever!

After a key figure is kidnapped from the North Pole city of Myra, the commander of security (Dwayne Johnson) teams-up with a mercenary black-hat hacker (Chris Evans) to locate the victim (JK Simmons). They go to sunny Aruba for answers before entering the creepy lair of Krampus, Santas estranged adopted brother. Could the one behind the nefarious plot be the Christmas Witch, Grýla (Kiernan Shipka)?

Red One (2024) mixes the Santa Claus mythos with Marvels Thor movies for a totally kick-axx Christmas flick. For verification, theres something similar to the Bifröst Bridge in Myra; Grýla is akin to Hela; theres the similar technologically advanced flying crafts; trolls, ogres; and so on.

The creativity...

Red One, starring Dwayne Johnson and Chris Evans, had all the ingredients for a holiday blockbuster but missed the mark on nearly every level. Despite its star-studded cast and massive $250 million budget, the movie fails to live up to expectations, leaving both critics and audiences disappointed.

The first act feels rushed, skipping meaningful character introductions, and the story quickly falls into a predictable and uninspired plot. Dialogue lacks wit or charm, with most performances coming across as forced, almost like actors reciting homework. While Chris Evans and Lucy Liu offer the best performances of the bunch, they still don't elevate the movie much. The cinematography, sadly, doesn't help either, with over-reliance on weak CGI...