Back in 2015, one of the sketches from Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s time hosting saturday night live is a reimagined parody trailer Bambi As a gun-toting bad guy. The sketch teased Disney’s live-action remake and Johnson’s role in the film. fast and Furious Franchise. However, that parody trailer has more life than the entire trailer red number oneA Christmas action comedy so generic I wouldn’t be surprised if it was made by an algorithm.
The titular “Red One” is the code name of the big shot Santa Claus (J.K. Simmons). Johnson plays Callum Drift, Santa’s main bodyguard and leader of the Arctic security team ELF (abbreviation for Law Enforcement, Logistics and Defense). Callum, frustrated with the number of people on the naughty list, is about to send his resignation papers to Saint Nick when Santa is suddenly attacked by a group of attackers led by the Christmas witch Gryla (Kiernan Shipka) kidnapping.
Callum and savvy surveillance expert Zoe Harlow (Lucy Liu) embark on a mission to find Jack O’Malley, a mischievous Level 4 lister and struggling father (Chris Evans). Unbeknownst to Jack, he had inadvertently revealed the location of Santa’s Secret Village to Grylla’s crew. From then on, Callum and Jack were forced to join forces to find Santa Claus and save Christmas.
“Red One is a very average Christmas action comedy and I wouldn’t be surprised if it was made by an algorithm.”
Over the years, there have been many jokes and memes floating around the internet about the interchangeability of Dwayne Johnson’s movies, often even the identical costumes. red number one Not interested in changing things up and is another average buddy comedy. Johnson plays another stoic but snarky bad guy who is focused on getting the job done but still loves the kids, showing that he has a heart. Callum Drift is essentially a reimagined version of Luke Hobbs quickly franchise, only featuring a vibrant red and green color scheme.
The only difference is that Callum has a special glove that allows him to change the size of the toy to real-life proportions. It also allows him to change his size, with each mundane action sequence repeating the same formula: Callum shrinks, then returns to size when he delivers an uppercut to knock someone out – unless the opponent is bigger than him.
We already have two complete Ant-Man Play sized movies in a similar manner, and red number one takes the mediocre route of doing the same thing that other movies have done better. Even the toy aspect is reduced to an excuse for product placement, as each new location means Johnson has another Hot Wheels toy that he can turn into a Corvette or Ford F-150.
“Red One tries to build its own cinematic universe, but it doesn’t have much to do and is completely uninteresting.”
Of course, the film wouldn’t be a buddy comedy without the support of Dwayne Johnson’s diminutive, equally snarky sidekick. In this case, Chris Evans plays a character that feels like it was written for Ryan Reynolds. Evans has been going through a rough patch lately, with his last few major roles including gray man, spooky and pain liar) are all terrifying to varying degrees.
Things don’t change much here, with Evans doing his best to bring some charisma to Snake, but aside from reacting to whatever fantasy creature appears (like a giant killer snowman or a headless horseman), he’s almost There is nothing to do. red number one Also trying to build its own cinematic universe, Lucy Liu’s character leads a mythical oversight and restoration agency similar to S.H.I.E.L.D. However, like her character, the institution doesn’t have much to do, and the brief moments it appears in are completely uninteresting.
The closest thing to the pulse of the movie is when Callum and Jack visit Santa’s brother Krampus (Christopher Helvey), who is depicted as a shirtless alpha brother and spends most of the time with him Friends play Power Slap (or Krampus Slap). The whole CG is ugly red number onewhich makes the impressive makeup effects on Krampus and his compatriots all the more noticeable, and Shivjou’s portrayal is as entertaining as he’s ever been in Star Wars. game of Thrones. Additionally, J.K. Simmons brings warmth and kindness to his surprising Santa Claus, but he’s barely in the movie, and after the movie’s opening scene, he’s in a coma for much of the movie.
red number one Not the worst movie of the year, but it’s certainly one of the blandest. Unsurprisingly, it was originally intended to stream directly on Prime Video until delays caused by the SAG-AFTRA strike last year forced Amazon to release it theatrically. This is a movie that exudes “straight-to-stream” energy.
It’s frustrating that an actor as naturally charismatic as The Rock is content to make the same generic blockbusters he’s been making for years, with diminishing returns each time. red number one It’s a completely forgettable and uninspired experience that aims to be a Christmas classic, but may end up being that unsold bar of chocolate languishing on the shelf months after Christmas is over.
