Red One has built up an interesting reputation ahead of its release. Starting production in October of 2022, the film was meant to release during Christmas of 2023, but many problems started to grow. The film delayed production for a multitude of reasons, including rumors of Dwayne Johnson’s constant tardiness and set days missed. Then, the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike delayed the film’s release a whole year, with Amazon MGM choosing to stick with the holiday season release.

After all this time, is Red One able to overcome the controversies and obstacles that came their way? Not really.

The film follows Callum Drift, played by Dwayne Johnson, who recruits Jack O’Malley (Chris Evans) to help him find Santa after being kidnapped from his home. O’Malley is notorious for his hacking and tracking skills, who accidentally stumbles upon Santa’s secret location, causing Santa to be kidnapped. While the film’s plot is simple, it fails to justify its runtime through redundant storytelling and an uninspired narrative. 

Films like this don’t need a dense plot to make it worthwhile, but Red One falls flat due to the constant need for exposition. When it comes to films about magic and fantasy, there is no need to justify why things happen the way they do. Movies in this genre are meant to create a world where anything is possible, but sadly this film tries way too hard to explain why everything operates the way it does, when in reality, we just want to see a bunch of creatures interact with one another.

The film often tries to throw character drama into the mix, delving into ideas of being present and losing touch with life’s purpose. While these ideas can make for a compelling narrative, the movie does very little to flesh them out. Instead of feeling like a fluid evolution, the themes feel scattered, almost like the filmmakers were forcing a message into specific sequences. Every time the film took a dramatic turn, I immediately found myself detached. 

Dwanye Johnson is known in the acting world as a caricature of himself, playing the “big body figure” with a smoldering gaze that made him popular as a WWE wrestler. Although this personality works in a cinematic form, Johnson has drained this type of character with all that it is worth, making his character lifeless and uninteresting. There are moments where his stoic nature brings a good sense of humor, but it mostly feels like a rehash of characters he has played in the past.

Chris Evans parallels Johnson in the sense of playing just another version of himself. Mixing elements of his characters in films like Gifted and Knives Out, there isn’t much that Evans brings to the film that is noteworthy or new. Evans has proven he is a fantastic actor countless of times, but Red One has no interest in utilizing his strengths.

The supporting cast is somehow less memorable than the protagonists. J.K. Simmons literally and figuratively feels like he is sleeping through his role as Santa. With the amount of physical training he did, I was shocked by how little he left an impact. Kiernan Shipka is not only wildly miscast, but genuinely awful in her portrayal as the antagonist. Her character is given little to work with, but her performance feels like it is taken from a completely different movie, failing to balance tension and comedy.

The film is mostly a failure in its screenplay and character development, but I found a lot of enjoyment in the fantastical and humorous moments. Many of the film’s standout sequences play as a joke toward the idea of Santa and his toy-making factory. The film depicts Santa as a president-like figure, with the elves and other creatures acting like the secret service. This element brought a lot of laughs since the film plays these sequences incredibly seriously, bringing satirical and much needed self-awareness to the film.

The production itself had many stellar aspects. The production design and make-up work were specifically top-notch, conveying a liveliness and energy to the filmmaking that is otherwise missing from the script. While the masks and prosthetics didn’t mix well with the visual effects at times, it is still impressive work overall, making the $250 million feel much less wasteful. 

I don’t think anyone is going into Red One thinking it is going to be the next Christmas classic, but I also believe that it isn’t the complete dumpster-fire that early critics are saying it is. Sure, there are countless problems in the screenwriting and themes, but the film’s light-heartedness and twist on the holiday standard made it less horrible of a watch than I anticipated from the production issues. It is far from a great movie, but there are many worse films that 2024 has released.

Red One will be released in theaters nationwide on November 15.

OSCAR POTENTIAL:

• Red One has the chance to show up on the Make-Up and Hairstyling shortlist for the Academy, but the low critic score will likely shut it out of all categories.