The holiday movie season is off to an ambitious start with Amazon MGM Studios' Red One, an action-adventure yarn starring Dwayne Johnson and Chris Evans as an unlikely pair out looking for Santa (a beefed-up J.K. Simmons) after he is kidnapped from the North Pole just two days before Christmas. Director Jake Kasdan injects a lot of scale and promise into this holiday hijinks flick. Still, unfortunately, some too many narrative pitfalls and contrivances render Red One a forgettable experience. 

 

Johnson plays Callum, an associate of Santa Claus, acting essentially as Chief of Staff for all of Santa's operations, scheduling, security, and fantastical functioning. Early on, Callum has a crisis of faith, pointing out to Santa that there are more people on the naughty list than on the good list for the first time ever. Chris Evans, doing his comfortable non-Captain America Boston smart-aleck cynic approach, is Jack O'Malley, a black market cyber intelligence criminal tracker. After unknowingly selling Santa's location, Jack is kidnapped by the Mythological Oversight and Restoration Authority (MORA), headed by an anxious director, played by Lucy Liu, to track down and retrieve Santa. Also, Jack is a terrible parent, choosing to be a lazy and absent parent to his son, who wants nothing more than to connect with his father. 

 

Callum and Jack traverse the globe, tracking down signals and whatnots, using a portal network of toy store storage closets to move wherever the plot needs them to go next. Callum and Jack discover that Grýla (Kiernan Shipka), the wizard witch, is behind the kidnapping plot. She aims to course-correct the world order by using Santa's deity-esque energy to capture anyone who has ever been on the naughty list inside millions of snow globes. Her rationale is that Santa, gone soft and always seeing the best in people, has foolishly let that close his eyes to the terrible nature of most people. 

 

The shades of cynicism of Callum, a man who needs to believe again, and Jack, someone who never truly believed, work for their journeys but make for tedious work in the context of a buddy-cop dynamic. There are lots of gags that generate sincere laughs, but mostly, Johnson and Evans are phoning it in for a film that was destined to premiere on streaming. And honestly, it should have stayed there. 

 

However, not all is bad here in Red One. The world-building showing the vast expanse of the North Pole is interesting and refreshing. MORA rolls out some other mythological creatures, such as the Headless Horseman, and hints at the existence of others (Bigfoot), suggesting there's potential for a new universe of films lying somewhere in this story. Additionally, the smart blend of CGI and practical effects that are on display are worthy of praise. Make no mistake, there are some sour CGI choices here and there in Red One, especially in the snowmen scene. However, the best effects showcased exist in the sequence of Krampus' castle. This middle act is set mainly in a large dining room with Krampus (Kristofer Hivju) and Callum playing a spicy game of Krampusschlap and proceeding to slap each other across the face till one of them is knocked out, delivering some of the best laughs in the whole film. The majority of the sincere reactions to this scene are partly due to Johnson's charm and the incredible effect of make-up on Hivju. 

 

Recommending Red One is tricky because while it is not a good film, it is not entirely forgettable. This film will never compete for best Christmas movies and will not creep into your rotation of requisite Christmas-time viewing. Red One was made for one purpose: to be streamed and left on while you do something else like baking cookies, wrapping presents, or scrolling your phone. Johnson has carved a niche for himself with his film choices, and instead of breaking the mold, Red One shines up the Christmas cookie cutter splendidly. Red One is a cute, inoffensive way to get into the Christmas spirit, but a better film will keep the spirit going.