Christmas might be “for the kids” but Red One is the most magical action-packed heartwarming Christmas film ever! This mythical, magical Christmas film is definitely for adults!
Red One Review
No matter the culture, the Santa Claus variant spends Christmas Eve delivering presents to girls and boys across the globe. In this version, Santa Claus, code name RED ONE (J.K. Simmons) is kidnapped, and the North Pole’s head of security, Cal (Dwayne Johnson) must work with the Director of MORA (Lucy Liu) to get him back in time to save Christmas.
Red One, while full of laughs and some adult humor, is also full of holiday cheer and a new, contemporary story about the magic of Christmas while delivering all the critical holiday behavior messages tied to modern Santa Claus mythology.
Jack O’Malley (Chris Evans) plays the Level 4 Naughty Lister immediately responsible for Red One’s disappearance. O’Malley—or “The Wolf”—as he is known in the hacking world, sold the classified location of the North Pole to the highest bidder, also known as the story’s villain Gryla the Winter Witch (Kiernan Shipka).
Naughty or Nice? Nick certainly knows which list you are on, but so does Gryla—and do NOT say her name out loud. Johnson and Evans / Cal and O’Malley as an unlikely buddy-cop duo race against the clock to hunt down the Winter Witch and find Nick to save Christmas, despite O’Malley’s disinterest in helping and in saving Christmas for reasons the audience will later see.
The North Pole is a modern mythological design filled with creatures from myriad holiday cultural traditions. The audience sees the inner workings of the North Pole unveiled in Red One much the way they do when they meet the Wizard in The Wizard of Oz, but this time it’s even more grand.
Tying in holiday traditions around the globe, Red One is heavily a fun action-packed comedy for the holidays while hitting the main holiday messages of hope and generosity.
The Verdict
Red One is bound to be a Christmas movie classic, donning all the fun of a holiday comedy-action film. Evans and Johnson made a great buddy-cop duo for the ages. Red One is your new magical action-packed heartwarming Christmas film for the holiday season!
About Red One
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 Christmas.
Rating: PG-13
Runtime: 122 mins.
Director: Jake Kasdan
Story by: Hiram Garcia
Screenplay by: Chris Morgan
Producers: Hiram Garcia, Dwayne Johnson, Dany Garcia, Chris Morgan, Jake Kasdan, Melvin Mar
Cast: Dwayne Johnson, Chris Evans, Lucy Liu, Kiernan Shipka, Bonnie Hunt, Kristofer Hivju, Nick Kroll, Wesley Kimmel, J.K. Simmons
- SEND HELP is a Campy, Wild, Dark Ride - January 29, 2026
- Mental Health Treatment Is Getting More Personal and That Is a Good Thing - January 29, 2026
- The New Language of Addiction Care, Where Design, Dignity, and Depth Matter - January 24, 2026
Leave a Reply