This $250 Million Netflix Release Is the Biggest Disappointment of the Christmas Season
A streaming action movie that looks like a holiday TV special.
Red One is a family movie that came out just before the December rush. This means that it will combine the incompatible: from a children's adventure movie with talking bears and evil snowmen to a spy buddy movie with two blockbuster stars, Dwayne Johnson and Chris Evans.
The naive plot is meant to remind us of the importance of keeping the spirit of the holidays alive and sharing love with loved ones. The sugary-sweet effect is enhanced by constant references to holiday lore, from the winter hits on the soundtrack to characters like Krampus.
What Is Red One About?
Christmas is almost here, and the wizarding world is already in trouble. For the first time in history, the number of disobedient people, young and old, has exceeded half. Santa's right-hand man, the big guy Callum, wants to resign due to a crisis of faith, but most importantly, someone has kidnapped Claus himself.
A special unit investigates the crime and finds one of the accomplices, a small-time crook named Jack. He had no idea he was helping to steal a magical old man and never believed in Christmas magic, but for a fee he is willing to identify the villains.
Red One Is Too Similar To Other Dwayne Johnson Action Movies
Red One tries to modernize the canon. Santa lives in a high-tech magical city, works out in a personal gym, and pops into a shopping mall to chat with kids. The magical world has its own hierarchy: there is an entire agency that controls the order of society.
Red One looks like a classic Dwayne Johnson action movie dressed up in Christmas decorations. If you replace the snowmen with other faceless monsters, the main villain with a space alien, and one word in the title with another, the movie immediately turns into Red Notice.
Moreover, the similarities are not only on the level of the simple plot, but also in terms of the visual component.
Red One's CGI and Visuals Look Dull and Cheap
A budget of $250 million should not surprise anyone, especially when it is clear that most of it went to pay Hollywood stars. But even taking into account the huge contracts, Red One looks too dull.
Most of the locations are drawn caves and dungeons. The action is also disappointing: the characters fight against CGI monsters without even a hint of inventive choreography.
The saddest thing is that this movie leaves no emotions. Memories of watching it will melt away like the first winter snow. It seems that this is not the effect the authors wanted: instead of an exciting adventure movie, they got a flick that illustrates the tiredness we all feel at the end of the year.