We’re in the heart of Christmas movie season but Red One takes the cake for most fun Christmas movie this season.
Jack O’Malley (Chris Evans) is a heavily sought-after hacker and bounty hunter who gets hired to help an anonymous source find a discreet location to steal valuable items- or so he thinks. Little does he know, he’s helped Grýla- a centuries-old winter ogre kidnap Santa Claus because she’s angry he doesn’t punish the bad people every Christmas.
Her mission is to steal Santa’s energy to find anyone on Earth who’s ever done anything bad in their life and trap them in a magical snow globe for all of eternity.
The M.O.R.A. (Mythological Oversight and Restoration Authority) kidnaps O’Malley and takes him to the North Pole, where he’s confronted by Callum Drift (Dwayne Johnson) and other members of the ELF (Enforcement Logistics and Fortification) security team to figure out what O’Malley knows about what he’s done.
When they quickly figure out that he doesn’t actually know any specific details about what he’s done, Drift takes O’Malley on a quest to find Santa, which includes transporting through portals located in the back rooms of toy stores, battling giant evil abominable snowmen on a beach, battling Santa’s brother, Krampus in a slap face match at Krampus’ castle.
Through the course of the movie, O’Malley internally battles with the fact that he’s been a failure as a father to his adolescent son and struggles to find a way to become better while Drift has already turned in his resignation to Santa as he’s begun to have trouble seeing the good in people and doesn’t feel like he can continue on for another Christmas season. The story shows both men slowly finding their way to a brighter view on life and changing their ways with the help of each other- even though they begin with hating each others’ presence.
They onscreen dynamic of Evans and Johnson is perfectly balanced and entertaining as hell. You can’t help but laugh at the obliviously tough guy dry humor of Drift mixed with the blatant rebellion and smartassness of O’Malley and they’re a perfect match for each other.
With a cast like Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Chris Evans, JK Simmons, Lucy Liu, Bonnie Hunt, Kiernan Shipka and a plethora of fun support cast members, Red One is an adventure from the very start. While it’s not a family movie per say, Red One is a movie that you can watch with the family and laugh from start to finish.
Rating: A
-Reggie Edwards