Regardless of whether you call him Santa Claus or Santa Claus: the chubby cheeks, the white bushy beard and the red coat also mean a rounded belly. However, the combination of traditional symbolic figure, contemporary myth, advertising mascot and pop culture figure is now so often brushed against the grain that counter-proposals are hardly seen as the exception that confirms the rule. For example, the animated film “The Guardians of the Light” depicted Santa as a tattooed thug with a heart of gold – and in “Fatman” he was embodied by Mel Gibson in the way you imagine Mel Gibson to be, gruff and hooligan-like.
After already voicing a shy Santa Claus in the enchanting Netflix animated film “Klaus”, JK Simmons, who won an Oscar for “Whiplash” and became world famous as “Spider-Man” publisher, is now also mixing things up with his appearance in “Red One – Christmas alert“ in the Santa arms race: Given his fitness, even the well-trained and action-tested superstars Dwayne Johnson and Chris Evans have to work hard in order not to lose out in the muscle competition. MGM Studios, which was recently acquired by Amazon, would like to start a new franchise with the festive $250 million action blockbuster from “Jumanji” director Jake Kasdan. But after the terribly unfunny first part, the prospect of a Red Two doesn't sound like something we'd put on our wish list.
Callum Drift (Dwayne Johnson) would do anything for Santa Claus (JK Simmons) – and on the last day before his retirement, that is suddenly urgently necessary.
At the North Pole, the annual pre-Christmas hustle and bustle takes on unexpected proportions when Santa Claus (JK Simmons) aka “Red One” is kidnapped. So North Pole security chief Callum Drift (Dwayne Johnson), who is one day away from retirement, has to intervene! Gritting his teeth, he teams up with Jack O'Malley (Chris Evans), the world's most notorious tracker, for the urgent rescue mission. While the cunning Jack reacts with appropriate confusion to the magical creatures he encounters from now on, Callum has to pull himself together to keep his composure from Jack's constant naughtiness…
The plan to turn “Red One” into an entire franchise is quite obvious: the film, which is based on an idea from Dwayne Johnson’s production partner Hiram Garcia and written by “Fast & Furious 7” author Chris Morgan, ultimately contains enough exciting approaches, which are literally crying out to be further explored in other projects. However, the film also lacks a unique selling point: the clash of old-fashioned magic and modern high-tech gadgets set at the North Pole was already extensively followed in “Arthur Santa Claus”. And the fact that there are numerous other mythological creatures roaming around in the world of “Red One” is known, among other things, from “The Nightmare Before Christmas” or the already mentioned “The Guardians of the Light” – from the usual fantasy suspects like “Percy Jackson “ & Co. not to mention.
Lots of budget, little new
Of course, the Christmas film genre is not exactly famous for constantly offering innovations. However, it is rare to find $250 million productions that claim to have as many sequels as possible. What's more, “Red One” falls into a frustrating franchise trap: Morgan and Kasdan push the more appealing aspects of the film to the sidelines (and thus possibly into future films), while the essence of their fantasy action comedy is idle, idle and more idle consists. A trip to a Gothic-looking castle, where Krampus (“Game Of Thrones” mime Kristofer Hivju) celebrates exuberantly with grotesque mythical creatures who love to be painfully punished, seems like a teaser for a spin-off aimed at an older audience.
In “Red One”, the creature, brought to life with an impressive mix of elaborate special effects make-up and seamless CG tricks, is only allowed to babble around the bush for a very long time and in a boring way and distribute a few painfully long-delayed bells. “Chilling Adventures Of Sabrina” star Kiernan Shipka, as the merciless Christmas witch Grýla, also awakens the desire for a completely different film: Shipka visibly enjoys playing a stylishly dressed, overpowering villain who wants to punish all naughty people with the same severity – no matter Whether these naughty people just showed up late for an appointment or even committed murder.
The appearances of Krampus (Kristofer Hivju) are among the rare highlights of “Red One”.
But it's not just that the threatening monologues and sadistic dialogues that Shipka has to utter as Grýla lack any esprit – they are also repeated several times. At least she's doing a little better than “Charlie's Angels” heroine Lucy Liu, who, as a mythical creature agent, isn't even allowed to wear a cool costume while she rattles off (mostly unnecessary) information. In many passages, “Red One” doesn’t necessarily seem like a major Christmas cinema event, but is more reminiscent of streaming series where those in charge expect the audience to be glued to their cell phones half the time anyway.
This slow narrative flow also robs the core element of “Red One” of any fun factor: Johnson as the stoic, grumpy Santa Claus bodyguard and Evans as the bustling, deceitful mere mortal are clearly designed as unequal buddies based on the “Lethal Weapon” model. However, Johnson's “I'm looking at you sternly” trick seems old after just a few minutes of the film. And Evans, who struggles as an irresponsible liar with potential for improvement, is not allowed to stand up to Johnson often enough – and when he does, his punchlines stay in the air until their effect is lost again. It is a mystery where the light-footed balance of irony, adventurousness and honest emotion has gone with which Kasdan made his two “Jumanji” films global successes.
“Red One” is a Christmas film, but Callum and his not entirely voluntary companion Jack O'Malley (Chris Evans) end up in warmer climes.
In terms of action, “Red One” is also a huge step backwards from the jungle adventures: hand-to-hand combat skirmishes are usually filmed completely blurry and confusing (and here, of all places, the editing suddenly picks up far too much speed). Larger set pieces such as sled and drone battles suffer from a blurry image and muddy computer effects. Not that the North Pole or the exterior of Krampus Castle look better in quieter scenes: the hideous long shots of the fantasy locations clearly underline that a good chunk of the film's budget was obviously spent on the fees and not necessarily on the effects.
It's a shame that Shipka, Hivju and the routinely endearing and gruff Simmons, three cast members who are much further down the payroll, deliver so much more than the stars at the top. So we can only hope that in the now unlikely event of a sequel, “Red One” will put its core message that you can always improve yourself into practice. Despite all the criticism expressed, the author of this text would still immediately look at at least one Krampus Grýla spin-off.
Conclusion: The Christmas fantasy action comedy “Red One” is lame, looks bad and doesn't work in terms of dialogue humor or riot scenes.