“Red One” Is a Cool Christmas Caper

Red One (Jake Kasdan, 2024) 3 out of 5 stars

An intriguing trend in the past few years has been the Christmas action movie. While there are several films that take place during Christmastime that are full of fights and fury (Die Hard, anyone?), there is a much more recent push to involve popular Christmas characters in a thrilling spectacle. 2022’s Violent Night comes to mind here, where Santa himself has to fend off mercenaries.

Following on this modern wave but turning it more kid-friendly is director Jake Kasdan (Jumanji: The Next Level) with Red One. Reminiscent of a crossover between Thor and The Santa Clause, the holiday film has just enough creative, fresh concepts to stand out while also borrowing, mostly successfully, from other material. It’s all good family fun and a unique holiday adventure, though not without its faults.

In the film, Santa Claus (J.K. Simmons, Spider-Man: No Way Home)—or Nick as his close friends call him—is gearing up for another heavy-duty Christmas delivery. His loyal bodyguard, Callum (Dwayne Johnson, Fast X) is the best at what he does, staying faithfully at Santa’s side for hundreds of years. However, Callum plans to give Nick his resignation notice, as he doesn’t quite experience the magic of Christmas anymore. Nick is saddened by this news, but respects his decision.

Before Callum is off the job, however, Nick is mysteriously kidnapped by an unseen force. Despite Callum’s best efforts to locate “Red One,” Nick vanishes from the North Pole, as do the culprits. Now, Callum must team up with a down-on-his-luck bounty hunter named Jack (Chris Evans, Deadpool & Wolverine) to find jolly old Saint Nick and save Christmas.

While the words “save Christmas” are used in just about every holiday film these days, it rings differently here. So many Christmas films blend together and are sometimes indistinguishable from each other, but Red One thankfully sets itself apart. While it still borrows from other films (and even Norse mythology), Kasdan’s movie presents fresh, unique iterations of much of the classic fare.

The creativity on display in Red One is one of my favorite aspects of it. The plot is pretty ordinary, as we’ve seen plenty of films with a similar premise. It is the small, unique concepts present throughout that make the difference, however. From the way Santa delivers presents, to the hierarchy at the North Pole, to some of the technology used by Callum, there is an abundance of unique ideas featured. Assisting in this creativity is excellent cinematography and quality effects, putting this in contention for one of the most visually appealing Christmas movies out there.

There are a bunch of different characters in Red One, so the casting department likely had their hands full. Remarkably, they hit the nail on the head with almost every choice. J.K. Simmons as Santa Claus is something I didn’t think I’d ever see, but he performs exceptionally well in the role and is a refreshing, more athletic take on the classic character. Johnson excels in his typical “tough guy” role as Callum, though he is more grounded in this performance and not as over-the-top as he usually is, which helps a lot. There are a few surprises, too, with characters introduced later on that are perfectly cast, as well.

The only casting choice that I think could be better is Chris Evans as Jack the bounty hunter. Evans is a talented actor, and he’s proven that time and again. Nevertheless, I don’t think the actor fit the role in this case. Evans can’t quite pull off the wise-cracking, dead-beat dad criminal with a New York accent. This accent, by the way, comes and goes throughout the film and is quite jarring once it resurfaces. While Johnson and Simmons’ chemistry when they are on screen is impressive, Johnson and Evans don’t quite work together.

The film also falls victim to typical Christmas movie tropes and some occasionally forced, cringey dialogue. As with many of these stories, there are some themes and messaging around “the Christmas spirit” and while some intrigue, others seem a bit out of the blue. There are also a ton of conveniences that take place to get our characters where they need to go without so much of a single second of planning. I can go on and on and nitpick little things that don’t quite make sense, but this is, at its core, a kid-friendly Christmas adventure film, and it succeeds at being just that.

Overall, Red One is fun for the whole family. Children will surely love the wide array of mythical creatures and characters, older children and young adults will enjoy the combat scenes and futuristic tech, and older adults will likely have a great time with some of the humor and messaging. If you’re looking for a perfect, quintessential Christmas movie, you won’t find it here. However, if you want a jolly good time and something a bit different to watch this holiday season while still getting in the spirit, Red One is the one.

Matt Patti

Matt Patti has enjoyed voicing his opinions on films from a young age. He has lived in the Baltimore, Maryland, area since 2015 and is a graduate of Stevenson University’s Film & Moving Image program. Matt is currently back at Stevenson University, working as the School of Design, Arts, and Communication's Studio Manager.