Santa Claus is kidnapped in this action packed, highly original and super fun Christmas movie. When Santa (J. K. Simmons) is captured by the evil witch, Grýla (Kiernan Shipka) his top security guard, Callum Drift (Dwayne “the Rock” Johnson) goes on a mission to find him. Callum meets Jack O'Malley (Chris Evans) who helps track down Santa, with assistance from Zoe Harlow (Lucy Liu) and the department of M.O.R.A (Mythological Oversight and Restoration Authority) which is an organization that helps keep mythological beings from the public eye.
This is a very different take on Santa, a lot of unique ideas, I don’t want to give spoilers but there was a lot of originality that I haven’t seen in a lot of Christmas movies lately. A lot of action and fighting sequences, something that I think is expected from a movie that stars and is produced by The Rock. It wasn’t like watching fast and the furious but there was a good balance throughout the film. There is also humor which I would say is one thing I wanted more of. Chris Evans provided most of the comedic relief and had perfect delivery, I didn’t realize he was that funny.
My absolute favorite part was seeing Krampus, (Kristofer Hivju) which I was not expecting to see! He only in a few scenes which was disappointing, I definitely would have liked to see more. I really enjoyed his character and thought the scenes were some of the best in the movie. I think the relationship and dynamic of him and Santa and also Grýla, added depth and gave a lot of backstory to the characters relationships.
If you go into this movie with an open mind that this is a fun, exciting film that is both action and fantasy, I think you will really enjoy it. I think M.O.R.A. leaves open the possibility to do more films using this organization, I just hope people can see the potential there.
This is rated PG-13, which if you have kids you might be wondering if it’s appropriate. There is violence with fighting, some scenes on a beach as well as adult language very sparsely used throughout the film. So just keep those things in mind if you are on the fence.
I really had a great time watching this movie, I didn’t know what to expect and had such a fun time, I think you will have a blast.
RED ONE opens nationwide on November 15th, 2024.
Rating: 3.5 out of 5
Ashley Kethley (Contributing Editor) is a frequent traveler currently living in San Diego. She's a super nerd who enjoys all kinds of movies and doesn't always think the book was better. Click Here to check out Ashley's Articles.