Only a few short years ago, movie theaters were dominated by superhero films. The Avengers were the safest box office bet — and their shared universe was the envy of plenty of other studios. That dynamic seems to have shifted somewhat, as the DC Extended Universe went out with four consecutive commercial failures in 2023 and even the Marvel Cinematic Universe seeming to stumble in recent years — taking 2024 almost entirely off.
Maybe that’s why “Red One,” a goofy, superhero-flavored take on a Christmas flick, feels out of time.
Dwayne Johnson stars as Commander Drift, head of security for the North Pole and close confidant of J. K. Simmons’ Santa Claus — who can bench press hundreds of pounds and maybe could be expected to defend himself. When, on Christmas Eve, the big man in red is abducted from his toy factory, Drift is set on a globe-trotting adventure to battle mythical creatures and save the holiday.
Joining Drift on the adventure is Chris Evans in a fun turn as Jack O’Malley, a charismatic bounty hunter and smooth talker. Evans becomes the heart of the film, both because he’s clearly having the most fun of anyone in the production and also because of his character’s emotional arc, struggling to connect to his son.
There’s a lot to enjoy in “Red One.” Its creature design, especially, is impressive. Johnson and Evans are fun leads with good chemistry. Most of the action is well designed. There’s an inventive action sequence where our heroes tangle with snowmen on a toasty Aruba beach, and I certainly popped when Dwayne Johnson leaped into the air and created a snowmachine to ride on before hitting the snow — in what could only be an homage to 2010’s “TRON: Legacy.”
Ultimately, though, the film too often feels wooden. Despite the ticking clock to Christmas night, the threads connecting set pieces are nebulous at best, and the film grinds to a halt every time the villain shows up. Even the score by Henry Jackman, a personal favorite composer, feels generic.
The film explores the morality of the nice and naughty lists, with the film’s villains seeking to punish the naughty in hopes of making the world a better place. Johnson’s Drift contends with his own disillusionment in the North Pole’s central task of giving gifts to children because he, too, has lost sight of the good in the world. These are some interesting ideas that aren’t capitalized on to interesting ends.
This is a film with a bipedal polar bear called Agent Garcia, where Lucy Liu helms a secret government agency that wrangles mythological figures, where Simmons brings a unique take on Santa Claus before getting benched for almost the entirety of the film’s runtime.
“Red One” is an odd, corporate product with interesting ideas made by talented people — there’s a lot to enjoy here as an increasingly rare big-budget holiday film. A half-decade ago I might have been wholly enamored with something like this, but instead I’m left wondering why it happened.
“Red One” will be playing this weekend at the Kenai Cinema and Orca Theater. Check showtimes and purchase tickets at catheaters.com or orcatheater.com.
Reach reporter Jake Dye at jacob.dye@peninsulaclarion.com.
