Red One: fantasy Christmas movie (trailer).
‘Red One,’ the action fantasy holiday blockbuster that’s about as subtle as a reindeer in a china shop. Directed by Jake Kasdan and featuring a star-studded cast that probably cost more than the GDP of some small nations, this Christmas spectacle promises to blend action, adventure, comedy, and enough festive cheer to fill Santa’s sleigh twice over.
Picture this: Dwayne Johnson, not as the Rock, but as Callum Drift, the no-nonsense security chief of the North Pole, a man who takes his job as seriously as Mrs. Claus takes her cookie recipes. When Santa (played by J.K. Simmons, because why not?) gets nabbed by who-knows-what forces of evil, Drift reluctantly teams up with Chris Evans’ Jack O’Malley, a hacker turned bounty hunter. Because in this cinematic universe, if you need someone to save Christmas, naturally, you call in a former hacker. Makes total sense.
The plot thickens faster than Mrs. Claus’ gravy as they journey through a CGI winter wonderland, dodging perilous traps and facing off against the likes of Lucy Liu (presumably not playing an angel on top of the tree), Nick Kroll, and Kristofer Hivju as the Krampus, because what’s Christmas without a good old mythological villain?
Production, of course, was a rollercoaster of festive chaos. Filming in Atlanta reportedly had to tiptoe around Dwayne Johnson’s schedule, where he arrived fashionably late enough times to make the elves anxious. And let’s not forget the budget—originally set to rival the cost of a small moon, it ballooned even further thanks to delays, reaching the astronomical sum of $250 million. Hope those CGI reindeer can fly, because they just became the most expensive reindeer in cinematic history.
Originally slated for a cozy Prime Video release in 2023, ‘Red One’ got caught in the tinsel of the SAG-AFTRA strike and decided to repackage itself for a grand theatrical release in 2024. Because nothing says “holiday cheer” like seeing Dwayne Johnson and Chris Evans duke it out with mythical creatures on the big screen while munching on popcorn and sipping eggnog. So, as we wait for November 15th, 2024, to unwrap this cinematic gift, remember: ‘Red One’ isn’t just a movie; it’s a festive extravaganza of epic proportions, where Christmas magic meets Hollywood blockbuster, and no amount of CGI snow can hide the twinkle in Dwayne Johnson’s eye as he saves the day, one candy cane swing at a time.
