Starring Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Chris Evans, Red One is a story about a kidnapped Santa Claus and the journey to rescue him. Essentially, it’s an action Christmas movie. Red One reportedly had a Production Budget of $250 million and an estimated Advertising Budget of $100 million. As of this writing, it’s International Box Office Gross stands at $184,863,705 [3] which means that Red One is currently a massive loser. It was made by Amazon and it’s currently streaming on Amazon Prime Video so there’s no way to tell what kind of financial impact it has on getting people to sign up for subscriptions. The financial situation of movies has changed dramatically since streaming has become so popular. It’s clear that filmmakers are going to have to find a way to make great movies much much cheaper than they used to for investors to recoup their money and make a bit of a profit. If filmmakers refuse to do that, we’ll be kissing Hollywood goodbye within the next decade or so because investors won’t want to keep getting burned.
Before we get to the review, I’m sure you have a few questions.
The origins of Sinterklaas can be found in the stories of St Nicholas, a 4th-century Greek bishop from Myra, now in modern-day Turkey.
St Nicholas was credited with a wide variety of miracles. According to one story, he resurrected three youths after they’d been murdered and pickled in a barrel by an innkeeper.
In another tale, he met a poor man who was on the brink of selling his own daughters into slavery. Under the cover of darkness, the saint anonymously threw three bags of gold down the chimney to provide dowries for the girls. The gold landed in their stockings, which were drying by the fire.
St Nicholas’s fame spread throughout medieval Europe after his relics were ‘rescued’ from Myra and taken to Italy in 1087. Over time, tales of his gold-giving exploits gave rise to a tradition of leaving gifts for children on the night before December 6th—which was St Nicholas’s Day. In the Netherlands, special markets sprang up to sell toys and treats for the occasion, and St Nicholas, or ‘Sinterklaas’ impersonators dressed in red bishops’ costumes to delight the crowds. Tradition had it that, in his quest to deliver presents, St Nicholas would enter houses by passing through locked doors or descending down chimneys to leave gifts in shoes and stockings.
Much like the English Father Christmas, Sinterklaas came under attack during and after the Reformation, with Protestants keen to move away from veneration of the saints. The baby Jesus was promoted as a more appropriate giver of gifts—known in Germany as das Christkindl, later Anglicized as ‘Kris Kringle.’ St Nicholas markets were banned—as were biscuits baked in the shape of the bishop.
But it’s clear that popular traditions survived. One famous depiction is Jan Steen’s 17th-century painting of The Feast of St Nicholas, which shows a chaotic domestic Dutch scene of gift-giving and feasting.
It’s not entirely clear how Sinterklaas made his way across the Atlantic to North America to become Santa Claus. It’s possible that his story made its way to the Dutch colony of New Amsterdam, which later became New York.
In 1773 the Rivington’s Gazetteer in New York reported that the anniversary of St Nicholas, ‘otherwise called St a Claus,’ had recently been marked by ‘a great number of Sons of that ancient Saint.’
In 1809, Washington Irvine’s history of New York claimed that old Dutch families still told tales of Sinterklaas on St Nicholas’s Day. He was said to fly over the city in a wagon and climb down chimneys to deliver presents. Whether or not Irvine was using poetic license is unclear, but the idea stuck, and the legend grew, with a poem featuring ‘Sancte Claus’ published in the New York Spectator a year later.
Some historians think that Irving and other New Yorkers were inventing new traditions to create a gentler, family-oriented kind of Christmas tradition in the city, which had begun to suffer from unpleasant bouts of drunken mob violence in the days around December 25th
In 1821, an anonymous illustrated poem called ‘Old Santeclaus with Much Delight’ introduced Santa’s red coat, reindeer and sleigh, and put his arrival on Christmas Eve rather than St Nicholas’s Day. Two years later, Clement Clark Moore, a professor of Hebrew in the city, embellished the legend in his poem ‘A Visit from St Nicholas’ (better known to us as ‘The Night Before Christmas’.)
In it, ‘St Nick’ got his bushy beard and a whole herd of magical flying reindeer. His appearance was decidedly not that of a Dutch bishop—instead he was ‘a right jolly old elf’ with ‘clothes all tarnished with ashes and soot,’ twinkling eyes, merry dimples and a beard ‘as white as snow.’
Other writers and artists added new layers to the legend, and gradually ‘Santa Claus’ took over from ‘St Nicholas.’ For several decades of the 19th century, he took a variety of forms—tall and short, fat and thin, his robes a rainbow of colors. In 1863 a cartoonist, Thomas Nast, depicted him dressed in the stars and stripes, speaking to Union troops during the American Civil War.
Nast eventually did more than any other artist to set the standard for Santa’s classic look. By 1881 Nast had perfected his vision of Santa, as seen in his ‘Merry Old Santa Claus.’ His illustrations for ‘A Visit from St Nicholas’ were hugely popular, and he introduced the world to Santa’s workshop, as well as the notion that his base of operations could be found at the North Pole.
It’s interesting to see how the tradition of Santa Claus was mixed with celebrating Jesus Christ and how it has morphed over the centuries to become what it is today.
Krampus, in central European popular legend, is a half-goat, half-demon monster that punishes misbehaving children at Christmastime. He is the devilish companion of St. Nicholas. Krampus is believed to have originated in Germany, and his name derives from the German word Krampen, which means “claw.”
Krampus was thought to have been part of pagan rituals for the winter solstice. According to legend, he is the son of Hel, the Norse god of the underworld. With the spread of Christianity, Krampus became associated with Christmas—despite efforts by the Catholic church to ban him. The creature and St. Nicholas are said to arrive on the evening of December 5 (Krampusnacht; “Krampus Night”). While St. Nicholas rewards nice children by leaving presents, Krampus beats those who are naughty with branches and sticks. In some cases, he is said to eat them or take them to hell. On December 6, St. Nicholas Day, children awaken to find their gifts or nurse their injuries.
Festivities involving Krampus include the Krampuslauf (“Krampus run”). In this activity, which often involves alcohol, people dressed as the creature parade through streets, scaring spectators and sometimes chasing them. Beginning in the late 20th century, amid efforts to preserve cultural heritage, Krampus runs became increasingly popular in Austria and Germany. During this time, Krampus began to be celebrated internationally, and the monster’s growing appeal was evidenced by numerous horror films. Some claimed that the expanding popularity of Krampus was a reaction to the commercialization of Christmas.
Christmas in Iceland is a time for bright lights, festivities, delicious food, and . . . fear. Perhaps fear may be a bit of an exaggeration, but Iceland has some very unique Christmas folklore that has been with the locals for centuries!
Instead of the loving Santa Claus many Western cultures are familiar with, the 13 Yule Lads of Iceland are known for their mischief. Their mother, Gryla, is a monstrous ogre that kidnaps and eats naughty children, and if you don’t get a new piece of clothing before the holidays, you can expect a visit from the Yule Cat, who shares her appetite!
Throughout the majority of the year, the 13 Santas of Iceland are thought by many to hide in the lava formations of Dimmuborgir, located in the Myvatn area of north Iceland. Others believe they simply live in an unidentified mountainous area. From the 11th of December to the 24th, however, they depart one by one to engage in thirteen days of mischief. Each has different antics, ranging from mischievous to horrifying, which they indulge in across the country until the end of the Christmas Season.
Today, their image has largely been sanitized. Rather than being depicted as trolls defined by misdeeds, they now often wear traditional red and white clothes, fluffy beards, and wide smiles. Rather than pulling pranks, they simply leave presents in the shoes that children place on their windowsills, a bit like the stockings on fireplaces in other cultures. In place of a piece of coal, naughty Icelandic children will simply find a potato in their shoe in the morning.
Even though they’ve undergone somewhat of a transformation since the 19th century, the Yule Lads’ original looks and behavior tell a wealth of information about Icelandic history, culture, and folklore, and they are a great example of how festive traditions differ around the world.
It’s fun to learn where our tradition of Christmas comes from and how it differs around the world!
Now it’s time to get to the analysis of the movie.
Playing the role of Callum Drift, the head of Santa’s security team, The Rock’s character was very serious. It’s honestly kind of strange that The Rock keeps getting/taking roles that require him to be so serious the entire movie. Black Adam was another recent role for The Rock that was super serious. We all love to see The Rock having fun, cracking a joke, but for some strange reason, I guess the writers don’t want that for him. Honestly, the writers should’ve had his character lighten up a bit in this movie and crack a few jokes. Even Chris Evans’ character says at one point, “You’re not much fun are you, Cal?” I mean, the writers are literally saying The Rock’s character is too serious.
My point about how serious his character was is that it makes it difficult for the actor to do much with it. The entire movie he is stern, upset, and angry. It wasn’t exactly one note, but it never allowed The Rock to find emotional arcs in the scenes and throughout the movie.
Interesting Note:
In his New York Times bestselling memoir The Rock Says, Johnson described his first sexual encounters in surprisingly candid detail. “I’ve always been attracted to older women, and they’ve often reciprocated,” he writes in the book. “That’s one of the benefits of being an early bloomer, I guess. I lost my virginity to an eighteen-year-old girl named Maria. Maria was not merely an acquaintance or a conquest. She was, at the time, the love of my life. She was THE ONE.” The full story from the book involves a public park and a cop—really, you should probably just read it yourself.
The Rock eats seven meals a day and once said to Martha Stewart, “I usually have one or two steaks a day.”
Steak is the way to go! Personally, I actually have two steaks a day myself. It’s super healthy. Unfortunately, my arms are not as big as The Rock’s . . . yet. Challenge accepted.
Speaking of his huge upper body, as part of his transition into acting and away from wrestling, The Rock pursued a less bulky look, which included getting plastic surgery to reduce the size of his gargantuan pecs in 2005.
Costume Designers everywhere took a sigh of relief.
The Rock holds two records, or at least he did at one point. After briefly appearing as the Scorpion King in 2001’s The Mummy Returns, The Rock got his own spin-off movie and landed in the Guinness Book of World Records for his $5.5 million price tag, the highest pay day for a first-time leading man. But what’s cooler than having one World Record? Having two. So, the Rock secured his place in history by setting a new record for the most selfies taken in three minutes at the London premiere of San Andreas. What important record will the Rock break next? Pretty much the only thing the guy hasn’t done is solve world poverty.
Well, no one’s perfect.
He was Tim Burton’s second choice to play Willy Wonka. This sounds like a way better movie than the Johnny Depp version we got, right? Just imagine a beefed-up Willy Wonka giving the Rock Bottom to snot-nosed Augustus Gloop.
Many actors are known for getting deep into the characters, but The Rock takes things a step further: he smells like his characters. That’s right, according to the New York Times, The Rock decides what cologne each of his characters would wear. For his comedy Central Intelligence with Kevin Hart, he wore Kenzo. For Furious Seven? “Just baby oil, and the makeup artists were instructed not to remove a drop of sweat,” says the Times. He legitimately wears a different cologne for each character.
We could be here all day if I listed every interesting thing about The Rock. Seriously, he’s probably the real Most Interesting Man in the World.
There’s nothing I would say The Rock did wrong or missed, but his character simply wasn’t super enjoyable. He needs to find better writers who can craft better characters that are really entertaining.
The Rock Performance Grade:
8.2 B+ Very Good
Chris Evans’ character, Jack O’Malley, was a ton of fun in this movie and Chris Evans did an amazing job. Jack O’Malley is a liar and selfish gambler who makes his money by selling info on the black market. Chris really transformed Jack O’Malley into a real person and brought him off the page. My favorite dialogue scene of the movie is when Lucy Liu and The Rock are interrogating Chris Evans. Chris is freaked out by the huge bear, doesn’t like The Rock’s character, confused about what’s happening, upset about being insulted, making fun of The Rock’s character, trying to get Lucy Liu’s character to pay him more, etc. He does so much in that scene and it’s incredibly challenging, but he nailed it.
I also really enjoy some of his reactions in the scene with Krampus and even his reactions when he first learns what MORA is. He really sells it.
We’ve known Chris Evans as Captain America for so long that it’s really fun to see how terrific of an actor he is at playing a character who is totally the opposite of Captain America.
Interesting Note:
In a 2020 interview with Esquire, Chris’ mom, Lisa Evans, shared that she had to convince him to take the role of Captain America.
When Chris turned Marvel down at first, he said it was because he didn’t want to become “can’t-go-outside famous.”
“His biggest fear was losing his anonymity,” Lisa recalled. “He said, ‘I have a career now where I can do work I really like. I can walk my dog. Nobody bothers me. Nobody wants to talk to me. I can go wherever I want. And the idea of losing that is terrifying to me.'”
However, she eventually talked him into taking the role.
“I said to him, ‘Look, you want to do acting work for the rest of your life? If you do this part, you will have the opportunity,'” she said.
According to Entertainment Weekly, it was Evans and Johansson’s idea for the original “Avengers” cast members to get matching tattoos to celebrate the release of “Avengers: Infinity War” (2018).
The tattoo was designed to pay tribute to Iron Man, Thor, Hawkeye, Captain America, Black Widow, and Hulk.
Mark Ruffalo, who played Hulk, opted out, but the rest of the cast got the tattoo and helped ink the design onto the artist who created it.
Chris Evans is spot on all throughout the movie in a very challenging role and makes it very entertaining. He is no doubt one of the best actors in the world.
Chris Evans Performance Grade:
9.8 A+ World-Class
Lucy Liu played the role of Zoe Harlow, Director of MORA. Lucy is a conundrum for me. Sometimes she was doing really well in this movie. Other times, she was way off. I felt the same way with the last movie I saw her in: Shazam! Fury of the Gods. I haven’t watched all of her movies, but when I’m watching her act, I’m wondering how she became so big in Hollywood. She didn’t bring anything that was really all that interesting to the role or make it stand out. It’s almost like she was there to say her lines and collect her paycheck and that’s it.
She’s not a terrible actress, but she’s not a great actress. I guess she doesn’t have to do anything more than she did in this role because she keeps getting cast.
Lucy Liu Performance Grade:
6.3 B- Above Average
J.K. Simmons played the role of Santa Claus. It was interesting to see a fit strong Santa Claus which very much goes against the grain of what we’ve been told about Santa Claus our whole lives. He did pretty good throughout the movie. There were a few times where I felt he let his voice get too high and that took away from his authority and status as Santa Claus. He had a few small misses, but overall, he did a pretty good job.
J.K. Simmons Performance Grade:
7.8 B Very Good
Kristofer Hivju played the role of Krampus. I have never heard of Kristofer Hivju before, but he was a tremendous actor. He really put on a show. He was strong, powerful, intimidating, funny, a party-goer, a womanizer, all throughout the scene he was featured in. That scene was well-written and really allowed him to show off his acting talent. I hope I get to see Kristofer Hivju in more roles like this in the near future.
Kristofer Hivju Performance Grade:
5.8 C+ Slightly Above Average
Kiernan Shipka played the role of the Witch, Gryla. There were some things she did that I absolutely loved and other things she did that almost made me cringe. I thought she was at the top of her game when she possesses The Broker, Ted. That interchange was very creative and really phenomenal. She was fearless, angry, yet purposeful. She played that perfect.
However, the first time she talks to Santa Claus, she just wasn’t able to make it feel real. She was almost a little too over-the-top. The writing during that conversation wasn’t the best, so I’m sure it would’ve helped her to have better writing.
So, overall, she was a mixed bag. Sometimes perfect, and other times far from.
Kiernan Shipka Performance Grade:
7.0 B Good
Even though he’s only in the movie for one short scene, I have to mention Nick Kroll. He played Gryla’s Broker, Ted. The way Nick plays it when Gryla possesses him is really incredible. He is intense, exaggerated to the perfect degree, mysterious, terrifying, etc. I’ve never seen an actor do something like that before. And the way they mixed in what Ted was saying with what Gryla was saying was perfect. That was a definite highlight of the movie.
Nick Kroll Performance Grade:
9.3 A Excellent
Overall, there was some excellent acting from Chris Evans and Kristofer Hivju while getting a strong performance from The Rock and at times from Kiernan Shipka. There are some moments, however, of below average acting that really brings the level of acting in the movie down.
All around, it’s not the best acting you’ll ever see in a movie, but there are certainly some things to enjoy.
Overall Acting Grade:
7.2 B Good
The plot had the feel of an adventure movie. It’s not that there’s a lot of twists and turns, it’s just that you simply don’t know what’s going to happen next. So, in that regard, the plot was quite satisfying. It’s not the best plot you’ll ever see, but it’s enjoyable.
Plot Grade:
6.8 B- Above Average
There is some really terrific dialogue in this movie at times. As I mentioned before, my favorite dialogue scene was when Jack O’Malley is talking to Callum Drift and Zoe Harlow for the first time. It is a lot of fun. There are other fun dialogue scenes between Chris Evans and The Rock. There are jokes sprinkled throughout the movie that keep it entertaining. There are a few times when the dialogue could be improved, but overall, it’s pretty good.
Dialogue Grade:
7.1 B Good
Overall, the writing is pretty good. It’s not the greatest writing of all time, but the movie is fun, moves at a good pace, and you don’t really know what is coming next.
Writing Grade:
7.0 B Good
The very first action scene is the best scene of the movie and it feels like that’s when the movie begins. The Rock is chasing after some kind of fast snow vehicle. He’s running across rooftops, sliding down a huge slide, grabbing onto a drone as it flies through the air, and driving a snowmobile up a mountain that causes an avalanche. I mean, now that’s an action scene! It was truly terrific.
That first action scene made you think that even better action scenes were to come. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case. Although, the next action scene was pretty entertaining as Jack O’Malley had to take down a lot of guys.
The third action scene was mostly a lot of punching and kicking which gets boring real fast, although it did have a nice explosion that was cool.
The last action scene was pretty good. They were fighting on the sleigh while going very fast. But it was nowhere as cool as the first action scene.
Some of the action scenes were very enjoyable, while others could have been much better.
Action Grade:
6.8 B- Above Average
The music was pretty good throughout the movie. My favorite part of music is when The Rock and his staff can’t find Santa near the beginning of the movie. It has a really cool beat and sound. Other than that, the music isn’t going to blow you away, but it’s certainly not terrible.
Music Grade:
6.5 B- Above Average
Much of the Cinematography in this movie is pretty standard. There’s only one shot that I really like. It’s a CGI shot of when Santa’s taking off. The camera starts at a 90-degree tilt and gradually spins to being straight up-and-down just as Santa’s sleigh whooshes past it. It’s a really terrific shot, but like I said, all CGI. There are some other good shots throughout the movie, but nothing else that’s going to blow your mind.
Cinematography Grade:
6.5 B- Above Average
Jake Kasdan was the Director for the movie. Honestly, I would’ve liked to see a bit better acting overall. I also would’ve liked to see more creative yet purposeful shots. I don’t think he did anything terribly wrong, but he didn’t bring a ton of creativity to the movie that you would like to see from a great Director.
Director Grade:
6.5 B- Above Average
There were a lot of cuss words in this movie, particularly the S word. There are no sex scenes.
Overall, Red One was an enjoyable movie to watch. It had a great performance from Chris Evans and a strong performance from The Rock. It has some pretty good writing with an above average plot and good dialogue at times with fun jokes sprinkled throughout. It also had a great action scene with a few other action scenes that were somewhat enjoyable.
Red One Overall Grade:
6.2 B- Above Average
Since Red One is a fantasy action movie, if you’re not into fantasy or action, this isn’t the movie for you.
For everyone else:
Adrian Harris is a writer, author, and business owner. He hopes to soon open his own movie studio and become a movie producer, director, and actor. Read Adrian’s Bio.
Adrian Harris is a writer, author, and business owner. He hopes to soon open his own movie studio and become a movie producer, director, and actor. Read Adrian’s Bio.
*Comedy Short Story
Adrian parked the car in the driveway as he and his beautiful wife, Hannah, arrived at home. As they got out of the car, Hannah looked at the blooming flowers in their garden then at their two-story house, “It’s good to be home.”
Denis (I believe it’s pronounced Deni. The s is silent. Denis is French and French words and names are never pronounced how they’re spelled. The same can be said for a lot of English words) Villeneuve’s Dune Part 2 was probably the most anticipated release of the year.
About six years ago, I received the worst possible revelation from the Holy Ghost you can possibly receive. The Holy Ghost told me to study the Book of Job. The moment he told me that, I immediately put my head down. I knew what God was saying.
