Red One (2024)

Red One (2024) 124-minute comedy / action / fantasy. After Santa is kidnapped, the head of security at the North Pole must team up with the world’s most famous bounty hunter on an action-packed mission across the globe to save Christmas. Director: Jake Kasdan. The film appeared over Christmas 2024 on Amazon Prime. I’m in no way surprised that the press and most people didn’t like this film. Especially as I loved it ;-P

Let’s face it: I’m a good audience, and sometimes I’m just in the right frame of mind to see this kind of film and even welcome it with open arms.

It’s a good comedy that makes for a really good time, and it’s a change from the usual Christmas stories. And what a cast! Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Mr. Black Adam, Chris Evans, Mr. Captain America, Lucy Liu, our official Asian, who has appeared in dozens of films, including Charlie’s Angels.

Last but not least, J.K. Simmons, who has appeared in a huge number of films, but more in supporting roles. He must have left his mark on more than one in Whiplash (2014) as the horrible Terence Fletcher or in the first Spider-Man trilogy as J. Jonah Jameson, in the Spider-Man trilogy (2002-2007) as the editor-in-chief of the Daily Bugle. If you’re not familiar with this team, come out of your cave! Unless you don’t give a damn about American cinema, of course… But in that case, you don’t belong here, in this review!

The mixture of Christmas film and action film is initially unsettling. There are some good special effects in this film, which also mixes myth and modernity, as well as adventure, magic and emotion. Of course, there’s a superhero element and the characters are more likeable than they appear. It’s a lot of fun, it’s not heady stuff and it’s got great values. That’s all I was asking for.

Dwayne Johnson is still very charismatic and relatively likeable. A special mention goes to Chris Evans, who I adore, no matter what he does. I’d go so far as to say that he’s one of the film’s greatest assets. As for Lucy Liu, I really would have liked to have seen her in a bit more action, because that’s really not what she’s here for. And J.K. Simmons in a rather sympathetic role, in this case that of Father Christmas, and that suits him rather well too. As someone who doesn’t love end-of-year films, I find that there’s a perfect balance between thrilling action and heart-warming moments, ideal for the whole family to enjoy. An almost total success (because it’s not perfect) that brings the magic of Christmas back to life.