Movie Review: Red One

Michael's Movie Grade: B

Corny Christmas fun. 

This movie may not be a great work of cinematic art, but it doesn't try to be. It simply wants to be a fun Christmas themed action/comedy about two polar opposites (pun intended) working together to save a kidnapped Santa Claus. In this respect the movie works very well. The film never takes itself too seriously and never asks us to do so either. Because of this, it is easy to enjoy the silly comedy that is often quite funny. This is especially true with how well Chris Evans and The Rock play against each other here. The buddy cop dynamic between them allows for some very good comedy moments and even makes some jokes that would have otherwise fallen flat kind of work. Also great is the wonderfully oddball casting of J.K. Simmons as Santa Claus. This is not a casting choice any of us would have expected and the movie has fun with this. At the same time, he is a very good actor and plays the part very well, capturing the warm heart we all associate with Santa. It is a shame he couldn't have gotten more screentime. This movie also is surprisingly not afraid to lean towards the darker side when it turns its focus to the villain. Because of this the villain feels surprisingly creepy and gives this movie a real sense of suspense. Yet this is never taken too far to lose the film's lighthearted Christmas charm. 

This film does have its flaws though. The subplot between Chris Evans' character and his young son, feels much too rushed and underdeveloped. Because of this there is no real emotional connection to this part of the story. Either more time had to be given to this subplot, or it needed to be dropped. As it is, the subplot simply feels like it is there because most movies of this type have similar subplots. There is a lot of CGI throughout this movie and very little of it is very good. I often found myself too aware that I was looking at CGI that it took me out of the fantasy. 

This may not be a new Christmas classic, but it is a really fun holiday watch.