Red One

Red One (2024) – We got to see a sneak peek of this on Sunday. It was fine, good even. Not as good as I hoped, though. I mean, Dwayne Johnson, Chris Evans, JK Simmons, and Lucy Liu. Come on! But as a movie in general – and a Christmas movie in particular – it was missing a couple of things. As crazy as it sounds, I feel that it was actually taken a bit too seriously. I mean, I understand that there is only so seriously you can take a movie with this premise (Santa has been kidnapped, and they hire a lifelong “naughty lister” to help find him), but it wasn’t very… fun? As my husband put it, Dwayne Johnson thought his character was a very serious person, so he played him completely straight (which is fine). Chris Evans also felt his character was, well, maybe not serious, but “dramatic” (vs silly), so there wasn’t much fun coming from his side either. They needed some “plucky comic relief” or some fun banter or maybe a *little* silliness (but not too much!) or something. I also didn’t feel much regarding the main bad guy. I mean, I should have liked her or hated her or understood her or felt sorry for her or *something,* but instead I mostly felt… nothing, which is not a good thing for this type of film. I will say that Krampus was probably my favorite character, and the effects used for him were both largely practical and nearly perfect. It was evident that Kristofer Hivju *clearly* relished the part, and he pretty much steals the show.

But the worst part, to me, is that this is a Christmas movie that is missing that “Christmas magic” that all good Christmas movies have. It’s something that can’t really be articulated, but you know what I mean: those “warm and fuzzy” happy sigh moments just were not there, even when they were clearly intended.

Parents, please keep in mind that the movie IS rated PG-13; there is language and honestly, some of the action moments and even imagery are a bit intense in places. I would NOT take a 5 year old to see this movie! Age 10 or so would be about my minimum, but every child is different. I don’t think it needs to be on IMAX; we did that because it was the only theater showing advanced screening at the Mall of Georgia. No stingers or anything, so once the credits start rolling, you’re clear. Again, Red One not bad at all, and I’m sure it will be watched and enjoyed by many for years to come. But if you were *really* looking forward to it (like some of us), you might enjoy it more if you lower your expectations a bit.