I'm still publishing some of the movies I saw on last Saturday, some of them with my wife and when I first saw the trailers for Red One I was expecting another one of those generic Christmas movies with The Rock doing his usual thing, you know the drill, same expressions same attitude but let me tell you that what I saw was unexpected, this isn't the typical holiday movie where everything is predictable, mixing action with Christmas magic is not usual and even though are totally different concepts the way that was created doesn't feel forced or stupid like most holiday movies, yeah this one took me a while to watch but its because I knew most likely how low was the bar in this case. The movie start with a family celebrating Christmas and focus on an specific kid, Jack, he has the ability to find everything and that night wasn't the exception because he found some gifts but wasn't the Christmas gift so he decided to wait all night for Santa because he really doesn't believe in him, after that start the movie take us to the present when we met the main character of this story Callum Drift, he is a bodyguard but not a normal one because he has the security of Santa Claus. The Rock plays Callum Drift, this season he is going to experience the most difficult task on his career and will joined forces with Jack plays by Chris Evans but is going to be nothing but easy. I really believed that this will be just a stupid movie, with the same things for christmas, you know the snow, the fat Santa, the reindeer but holy shit this movie actually surprised me.
- IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt14948432/
- Platform: Amazon Prime Video
Rottentomatoes Rating
After watching Red One I can tell I was impressed and the reason is because this isn't a typical holiday movie where everything is predictable and cheesy, this thing actually has some serious bite to it and manages to mix action with Christmas magic, even though are two different topics, the movie knows how to present it and match in a way that doesn't feel forced or stupid like most holiday movies tend to do these days. The whole premise sounds ridiculous when you think about it, Santa gets kidnapped and The Rock has to team up with Chris Evans to save Christmas, in some way the director knows how to balance the silly stuff with genuine heart and that's not easy to pull off. Something way different in this movie is how Santa Claus is presented is not the typical fat old man instead is a buff dude played by JK Simmons who runs his operation like a well oiled machine was brilliant and unexpected, also the North Pole is not only this magical place where elves work in Santa's workshop, it is a magical world with technology, magical creatures and more and at the moment that is known that Santa was kidnapped it is treated as a military mission. Here is where Callum Drift, the head of security and Santa bodyguard must save Santa and Christmas but he is in a moment where is getting tired of the job because adults are losing their Christmas spirit, with all this information we got The Rock trying to do his job but a Chris Evans that dont car about Christmas but is forced to save it.
The action sequences in this movie are absolutely insane and way more creative than I expected, the persecution scene when Callum is trying desperately to rescue Santa is insane, is not the typical car chase because here there's snow so you see futuristic sleds, another memorable scene is the moment when Callum and Jack arrived in Krampus Castle but more than a castle it looks like a tavern, when they visit him it's not just a quick scene to get information, it turns into this whole adventure where Jack and Callum have to survive Krampus's hospitality which includes drinking contests and slapping matches, the practical effects during these scenes are top notch and you can tell they put real money into making everything look believable instead of just relying on cheap CGI like most movies do nowadays. The mythology they build around Christmas and these holiday figures is actually pretty fascinating, it seems that the understanding and importance that is given to all these creatures is because they are real and deserve all the care and respect but keeping that world hidden from the regular people, it's similar to Men in Black but with Christmas characters instead of aliens and honestly it works better than it should. Lucy Liu shows up as this government agent who knows about this secret world and she brings this no nonsense attitude that helps ground some of the more ridiculous elements, in this point the movie give us that twist that instead the North Pole been hidden for everyone they work side by side with a government for their protection and Lucy Liu as the special agent must coordinate with Callum vital information to recover Santa.
The company behind the creation of this movie is Amazon and it seems that they really wanted to deliver a unique Christmas movie with a huge budget, starting in the way that the North Pole looks like, making memory to many movies about Christmas and the way how is revealed the North Pole here in Read One the North Pole is a massive high tech operation with flying reindeer and advanced security systems but it still feels magical and Christmas like rather than just cold and corporate, indeed it looks nothing as other movies with a classic North Pole where you can only see happiness, not on this movie. The costume design is very solid too, everyone looks like they belong to this world no matter the character that where playing, it was well done, nothing feels out of place or like it was rushed in post production. The Rock and Chris Evans create a great environment, each one with their particular role deliver what was needed to understand their positions, The Rock didn't need to use his well known signature the eyebrow raising thing, in this movie his humor comes from how seriously he takes his job as Santa bodyguard and Chris Evans gives the funny part with his character as a selfish hacker, even thought that Callum gets frustrated for the attitude of Jack at end it seems that both understand that needs to fight alongside to save Christmas and the way they do it make you believe that these tow have become real partners. Everything was planed in a very good way.
The movie isn't perfect though, there are definitely some pacing issues in the middle where things slow down a bit too much and some of the exposition about how this secret Christmas world works gets a little unknown but these are minor complaints in what's overall a really entertaining experience. The production of Red One give us a hint of the budget used in the movie but if you have seen it you can see where the money went, good actions scenes really comparable with superhero movies. It does feel a bit too long at over two hours but I never felt bored on the contrary I feel that the time used in the movie was necessary to first for Santa's kidnap, then the rescue plan, later known the kidnapper and the real motivations behind her actions and the resolution, there was some good character building, the way Callum and Jack open their hearts, understand their feelings and grow to accept what can't be changed and what can give us a better life. Read One match action, Christmas and emotions making a great combination for a cool movie, with good practical effects and CGI but I should mention that even thought the theme is Christmas the true is that this is not a movie for kids, there's some violence and adult humor, so is better for families with teenagers or only adults that want to enjoy something fun. I give Red One a solid 7/10 but not more than that, I might be a bit bias here, Im tired of The Rock doing movies honestly, and dont get me wrong but its just one of those movies that is a good one time watch but nothing crazy or revolutionary, in fact I would recommend it to anyone who wants to see something different from Christmas season.
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