My expectation was that this movie would rely on some well-trodden tropes to give the story a little scaffolding and then lean on antics between Chris Evans and Dwayne Johnson to make it work. Surprisingly, the story ends up about where you would expect, but it takes some unexpected routes to get there. Bonus, it delivers a really nice Christmas message without feeling preachy. That is a rare accomplishment these days when it feels like bad writing is the norm. I don’t think this will become a Christmas favorite, but you could do worse.
Star Power
There’s no question that Dwayne Johnson and Chris Evans bring star power. They had a few nice scenes together. Nothing award winning, but good. But my favorite was JK Simmons. He was exactly what was needed for St. Nick. And as impressive as Dwayne Johnson’s physique is, JK Simmons, for his age, might have him beat. For the record, Dwayne Johnson is currently 52, and JK Simmons is 69.
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Evil for Evil’s sake
If there’s a weak point, it’s the villain. There’s not much there as a character or motivation. But it’s forgivable in this movie because it’s not about the villain. And since the story has mythic elements, it’s easy to lean on those to create a villain that isn’t much more than a prop so that the story can happen.
Grade: B
About The Peetimes: The first Peetime is all action and easy to summarize.
If you can hold it, the second Peetime is much better. It’s an infiltration scene with no action or story development.
There are no extra scenes during, or after, the end credits of Red One.
Rated: | (PG-13) Language | Action | Some Violence |
Genres: | Action, Adventure, Comedy |
USA release date: | 2024-11-15 |
Movie length: | |
Starring: | Dwayne Johnson, Chris Evans, Lucy Liu |
Director: | Jake Kasdan |
Writer(s): | Chris Morgan, Hiram Garcia |
Language: | English |
Country: | United States |
Plot
After Santa Claus (code name: Red One) is kidnapped, the North Pole’s Head of Security (Dwayne Johnson) must team up with the world’s most infamous bounty hunter (Chris Evans) in a globe-trotting, action-packed mission to save Chr…
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