Red One

I thought this came to the cinemas about a month early, but it's still an amiable adventure showcase for Dwayne Johnson and Chris Evans. It all starts on Christmas Eve when Santa Clause (J.K. Simmons) is kidnapped from his North Pole home. It's retirement time for his head of security "Cal" (Johnson) so he's not best pleased after hundreds of years - and working with "Zoe" (Lucy Lui) he has to find out just how his boss's security was compromised in the first place - and then get to the rescuing bit. That search leads them to tech whizz "Jack" (Chris Evans) but he hadn't any idea whom his client actually was. After a rocky start, the two men must pull their resources and save Santa before Christmas really does start to deal with all of us on the naughty list. It's got bits of "Elf" in it, mingled with some "Harry Potter" elements and to be fair to all concerned, they all look like they are having some fun amidst a surfeit of CGI and very tightly choreographed action scenes that mix the modern and the mythological entertainingly enough. Simmons and Liu don't really feature so much and the moral of good vs evil isn't lost in the delivery but it isn't laboured either. Perhaps it's not a movie you will ever remember seeing, but as far as it goes it's a fun vehicle for it's stars to cheer us up as the festivities approach without too much sentiment or cheese.

The star-studded cast, featuring J.K. Simmons, Kiernan Shipka, Chris Evans, and Dwayne Johnson, brings a decent level of chemistry to the screen, which is one of the movie's few strengths. While the actors clearly enjoy playing off each other, the story itself is expectedly generic, relying heavily on predictable holiday tropes. The script fails to inject enough fun to offset its cliché formulas, and despite its festive intentions, the film feels stuck in cruise control, never quite capturing the magic or excitement one might hope for from a Christmas blockbuster. Technically, RED ONE falters with its visuals. Almost every scene feels confined to a studio setting, and inconsistent VFX work makes it difficult to stay immersed in the story. The action sequences, though admittedly frequent, are mostly dimly lit, which diminishes any potential impact they might have had. None of these set pieces stand out, leaving viewers with little to savor beyond the familiar faces on screen. While it's not as terrible as some have claimed, Jake Kasdan ultimately delivers just another forgettable holiday flick, weighed down by formulaic storytelling and overshadowed - quite literally - by its murky, dark aesthetic. Rating: C-

Pretty solid festive fare, this. 'Red One' is perhaps slightly overlong and I didn't sense much chemistry between the cast, though those onscreen still give enjoyable performances and the plot is suitably entertaining whilst giving the necessary Xmas vibes. I was quite impressed with the special effects, I personally thought that side of this flick looked pretty neat. Dwayne Johnson and Chris Evans are fun enough in this. Johnson is a bit more serious than usual and I liked that, while Evans' character ends up being the heart of the movie. J. K. Simmons, more than Johnson, plays against type, it's actually unnerving seeing him portray a true good guy - was almost waiting for him to shout down someone's neck, as per. Kiernan Shipka is decent, as is Kristofer Hivju - I rate their characters. Lucy Liu is underused, mind. Bonnie Hunt too, I guess. I can't really fault anyone from the cast though, they all do solid work. If I'm honest, I don't see this film having much of a lifespan in the old memory bank but, nevertheless, I'd still classify it as something worth viewing.