Red One (Christian Movie Review)
Beyond the outer wrappings of Red One’s convoluted story and abominable visual effects there’s little Christmas spirit to be found.
About the Film
“Sega does what Nintendon’t.” During the 1990s, something called the “console wars” occurred as companies battled for supremacy in the emerging video game industry. Nintendo already had a reputation for cozy aesthetics and family friendly stories, so Sega (their chief rival) boldly sought to claim the more mature lane by making edgier games for “cool” kids. Before you think you’ve accidentally clicked on the wrong review, here’s the point: Red One is a “Sega-style” Christmas movie. In an increasingly crowded holiday movie genre, Red One attempts to differentiate itself by taking an edgier approach. But as gamers know, Sega ultimately lost the console wars, and the outlook for Red One doesn’t look so holly jolly either. There’s some silly fun to be had, but beyond the outer wrappings of Red One’s convoluted story and abominable visual effects there’s little Christmas spirit to be found.
Red One does not abide by the philosophy that “it’s the thought that counts.” Instead, bigger is always better. Thus, Santa doesn’t live in a quaint workshop; he governs a sprawling futuristic city. Not only does Santa exist in this world, but so do countless other mythological beings. Red One is a fantasy epic wrapped in a Yuletide aesthetic.
The PG-13 tone seems designed to appeal to teen audiences who have outgrown The Polar Express or A Muppet Christmas Carol (PSA: you’re never too old for The Muppets). At the last minute, I decided not to take my 9-year-old boys along for my screening, and I’m glad. With frequent profanity, thong bikinis, a cynical tone, and other edgy content, Red One is not a film aimed at younger viewers.
It may not be the holiday film people asked for, but Red One is not entirely without merit. After all, not all Christmas stories have to be cute, wholesome fairytales. In a crowded genre, Red One at least aspires to offer something fresh. The film is rarely boring (which, to be clear, doesn’t mean it’s always enjoyable). The fast-paced story jumps from one spectacle to the next, rarely pausing long enough for audiences to dwell on how disjointed the events are. There is also some inventive worldbuilding and a star-studded cast, which includes Dwyane “the Rock” Johnson, Chris Evans, J. K. Simmons, and Lucy Liu.
Unfortunately, the positive elements in Red One aren’t enough to keep it off the naughty list. To quote a famous Christmas philosopher, “Maybe Christmas doesn’t come from a store. Maybe Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more!” No hearts are likely to grow 3 sizes after leaving the theater this time. Everything about Red One feels commercial and empty. There’s an abundance of flashy spectacle but little beneath the surface.
Dwane Johnson and Chris Evans have decent chemistry, but their characterizations overlap. They are both cynical characters who have lost the joy of Christmas. Casting J. K. Simmons as Santa Claus is an inspired choice, and he is single-handedly responsible for all the “Christmas spirit” this movie musters. The problem is that he is kidnapped at the start of the film and spends the rest of the runtime unconscious in a magical prison. Thus, the only character in the film who seems to find any joy in Christmas is mostly absent.
Red One employs spectacle for the sake of spectacle, and it doesn’t help that the visuals are unimpressive. Yet the bigger issue is that the plot feels hollow. The story is a convoluted jumble of disjointed scenes, with the flimsy McGuffin-chasing plot used merely to string together various unrelated actions sequences.
Overall, how much viewers enjoy Red One may depend on how high their expectations are this Christmas. The movie drives its magical reindeer-pulled sleigh right along the line between “dumb fun” and “just plain dumb.” Is it humorous at times? Sure. Is it more interested in having “The Rock” fight giant CGI snowmen than in developing characters or themes? Absolutely. For viewers looking for something different than yet another iteration of Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, this film might scratch that itch. But without any emotional heart or deeper meaning, Red One is not a very “Christmas-y” Christmas movie. And without nostalgia and charm, all that’s left is a mostly joyless action flick.
For Consideration
Language: A character begins to say the F-word but is interrupted. There are also frequent minor profanities throughout (“s—” x8, “h—” x8, “d—” x2, “a—” x2). God’s name is used 9-10 times. There is also some crude language referencing male genitalia.
Violence: Harmless fantasy action.
Sexuality: During a beach sequence, several women wear skimpy thong bikinis that leave most of their backsides visible. A man gazes at a woman’s behind. While describing the appearance of a giant witch, a character cups his hands before his chest and says that she has “a giant pair of t…” before finishing with “tails.” A married man is shown flirting with another woman.
Other: The film’s opening scene addresses the “Santa question” directly: a kid discovers a closet full of hidden presents on Christmas Eve, leaving his father to give some bumbling and unconvincing explanations.
Engage The Film
Doing Good is a Choice
The Santa Claus tradition has always had a degree of religious legalism baked into the Christmas cookie. A benevolent supernatural figure has “a list” that sorts each person into categories of “good” and “bad,” and then he rewards or punishes individuals accordingly. Red One attempts to challenge that framework. In the movie, Santa is uncomfortable with this traditional binary appraisal of people. While everyone around him is fixated on “the list,” Santa seems to be the only one that truly sees people as complex individuals. He believes that even within the jaded and cynical hearts of adults, you can still find the innocent child they used to be, if you look hard enough. In contrast, the film’s villain has a pharisaical mindset. She does not care about rewarding the “good” people, only punishing the “bad” people.
As a result of the legalistic approach to Christmas, Santa’s head of security, Callum Drift (Dwyane Johnson), has lost the joy of Christmas. He has become distracted by all the selfishness and greed of people and cannot recognize the good inside people. Initially, when he encounters Jack (Chris Evans), he sees him merely as a “naughty lister,” and thus not worthy of trust or respect.
Santa gives him the sage advice, “We chose every day who we want to be.” It is not simplistic categorizations or our pasts that determine who we are, it is our choices. We cannot undo the “naughty” actions of our past, but we can choose to do the right thing today.
In one sense, from a Christian worldview there is an ultimate binary division between believer and unbeliever, heaven and hell. At the same time, when a man called Jesus “good teacher,” Jesus countered, “Why do you call me good? No one is good—except God alone” (Mark 10:18). In other words, we all belong on the “naughty” list, and no number of good deeds can get our names removed. In that way, Red One echoes biblical truth that the true division is not between a binary of good and bad people, but between bad people who have experienced God’s love and grace and bad people who have not yet embraced that liberating gift.
