To put it plainly, Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson has had a lackluster career. Most of his recent films are just versions of himself in different costumes, punching villains across rooms as his frame takes up 70% of the screen. This is still the case in 2024 with his most recent film, Red One (2024), dialing it up to the highest degree. You’d think the general public would have clocked that Johnson was a fading star after Black Adam’s (2022) massive failure; clearly, studio executives did not.

Red One follows Santa’s top security detail (The Rock) and a deadbeat bounty hunter (Chris Evans) who must retrieve a kidnapped Claus. At first glance, this film sounds like an intriguing genre blend and refreshing holiday film. On the contrary, Red One feels like a shell of a Christmas movie, borrowing ideas from different (and better) films that result in an incohesive failure. Even though the film oozes with festive set design and costumes the thematic execution falls flat. 

When Red One is a Christmas movie, there are semblances of good ideas, notably that Santa would have FBI-style security. Unfortunately, these are drowned out by unnecessary plotlines, confusing lore, and sequences with absolutely no payoff. It seems as though producers smashed three different drafts of the script together. 

I will note that there is one singular fight sequence with Evans that held my attention, but it only lasted a couple of minutes. This film echoes 2022’s Violent Night, which utilizes some of the same thematic devices as Red One, but the latter comes off as a cheap copy with little to no nuance. The two films try to mesh action with Christmas themes of joy and imagination, but Violent Night succeeds even if it is not perfect. Red One, on the other hand, is like a failed genetic experiment.

My favorite part of this film was undoubtedly Evans as deadbeat father and criminal Jack ‘The Wolf’ O’Malley. It is refreshing to see him not beefed up and carrying around a massive shield; for once, he was able to flex his acting ability a bit more. His performance reminded me significantly of Vince Vaughn in Fred Claus (2007), a stronger adult-oriented Christmas film. 

Evans’s O’Malley has hidden depth, which is unexpected after the misleading trailers. Despite his character’s potential, he hinders the experience with a confusing accent along with some awful line deliveries. Besides Evans, JK Simmons and Bonnie Hunt as Mr. and Mrs. Claus offer a glimmer of hope in this poorly performed film. I only wish they had scenes together. 

The biggest flaw is that the film lacks cohesion, switching between playful and deadly serious in a matter of seconds. This is largely evident in the sequence involving Krampus (Kristofer Hivju), Santa’s brother, with a more punitive view of “Naughty Listers” and Gryla (the excellent Kiernan Shipka), a “Christmas Witch” (which I had no clue was a real thing). It seems interesting to include so many mythological characters, but it, unfortunately, comes off as a way to set up some kind of universe rather than comment on their mythos. 

Additionally, this film is not funny. The brief appearance by Nick Kroll (before being frozen solid by snowmen) and The Rock making himself smaller in fights offer sparse moments of genuine laughter. The rest of the film seems like a studio-driven cash grab attempting relentlessly to do something different with Christmas theming.

Red One should have gone to streaming (as was originally intended). Evans and Simmons make a good effort, but the saturation of Johnson sucks whatever soul this film had. There are problems one would not expect from a multimillion-dollar budget: sloppiness, underperformance, and lack of cohesion…A sad but expected outcome considering our recent state of blockbusters.

On paper, Red One sounds like a fun idea with a subversive take on a Christmas film, but in execution, this does nothing new and fails to capture any sort of joy or good tidings. Parts of the cast do their best but are drowned out by the sheer power The Rock clearly has over the entire production. The Rock and Jake Kasdan are Level 4 Naughty Listers.

Review Courtesy of Nadia Arain

Feature Image Credit to Amazon MGM Studios via Deadline