Review: Red One
The Mission To Save Christmas Is On
INTRODUCTION
This is a quick review of the newly released film Red One. Keep in mind this is but one of the many movies I watch every year, and that whatever initial grade I come up for this film could change for better or worse with time. To better keep up to date with both my thoughts on other movies and if my feelings on this film changed, follow me on Letterboxd.
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THE PLOT
Via Letterboxd: After Santa Claus (code name: Red One) is kidnapped, the North Pole’s Head of Security must team up with the world’s most infamous bounty hunter in a globe-trotting, action-packed mission to save Christmas.
QUICK REVIEW
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is no stranger to accusations of having a big ego. Earlier this year, he nearly sent the wrestling world into a frenzy with his attempts to muscle himself into the planned WrestleMania main event. The conversation reignited recently when a clip of him comparing the experience of watching his latest film, Red One, on IMAX to watching Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer in the same format went viral. The irony of such a claim being Red One’s reviews have been so dismal that its review embargo literally lifted in the middle of election night.
Despite the noise, I approached my screening of Red One with an open mind. However, I couldn’t completely ignore the avalanche of low scores flooding my Letterboxd’s home page feed. Admittedly, this may have lowered my expectations to the point where even a passable film was gonna’ feel like a win for the movie.
Let me be clear, Red One has its fair share of issues. The cinematography is mediocre at best, the script is predictable, the score is utterly forgettable, and the visual effect (particularly the green screen work) feel clunky and unpolished. From a technical standpoint, it’s easy to understand the backlash from critics. This is a formulaic studio Christmas adventure through and through.
And yet… I found myself entertained enough to stick with it for its two-hour runtime. A few jokes landed well enough to make me chuckle, and I was somewhat intrigued by the lore the film attempted to establish in regards to Santa and Krampus’ relationship. Johnson’s character’s struggle with embracing the Christmas spirit because of his reflecting on recent human nature felt timely given the election results that were being revealed exactly at the same time the film’s embargo broke. There was just enough substance there to keep me curious about how it would all end.
Had I seen this movie earlier in the week when my area had its press screening, I might have been harsher in my critique. But after bracing myself for the worst, Red One struck me as more middling-to-okay rather than a disaster. It’s certainly no future Christmas classic, and I doubt I’ll remember many details from it a year from now, but I can’t say I was outright bored either.
For that reason, I’d give Red One a middling B-. Families looking for a bit of lighthearted entertainment this weekend might enjoy it, but it’s neither a film that will become a staple of holiday rewatches in the years to come.
INITIAL GRADING
