By Jonathan Klotz
| Updated
Dwayne Johnson was once the king of blockbusters, capable of turning any concept into a hit. Those days are behind him because the power hierarchy in Hollywood has changed, and now his films are just okay.
Black Adamconsidered a huge fiasco, is, in retrospect, a solid success, and time will be just as kind to his last film, Red. The Christmas-themed action film is now available on Amazon Prime, where it was supposed to be, after a disappointing box office where it failed to recoup its budget, not to mention additional marketing costs, but the saddest thing is that it’s really not even a bad film.
The casting understood the mission
I went to the theater’s opening weekend to watch Red with a friend of mine, intending to laugh at the movie, and instead, thanks to the power of Johnson and Chris Evans, we ended up having fun. It’s not that the film is a secret masterpiece or anything, but it features a bloated Santa played by JK SimmonsLucy Liu as the film’s Nick Fury, scenery-chewing Kiernan Shipka, and Kristofer Hivju, who you’ll recognize as Game of Thrones’ Torsmund Giantsbane, as Krampus in a breathtaking performance. The sum is not greater than the parts, but everyone involved understood the mission.
Red starts with Chris Evans as Jack O’Malley, a hacker, thief, tracker and overall not-so-nice guy who literally steals candy from a baby. Dwayne Johnson is Callum Drift, a name that matches Max Power when it comes to “completely fake names that someone thought was cool”, who happens to be the commander of the ELF (Enforcement, Logistics, and Fortification), and is capable of a facial expression throughout the film. The two cross paths after Santa is kidnapped and Christmas risks being canceled, prompting MORA (Mythological Oversight and Restoration Authority) to take action.
From ironic laughter to rooting for Santa
The plot of Red is incredibly predictable and simple, but it’s also kind of fun. Nobody takes the movie seriously, which gives it an absurd energy that’s missing from most $250 million blockbusters, which, yes, is this movie’s budget, and no, you can’t see it at the screen because of most special effects. They look like they came from a SyFy original series. I will say that the evil snowmen do indeed look better in the movie than in the trailer, but what has been hidden is that Johnson shrinks and grows as Ant Man during fight scenes, an effect that seems excruciating every time it occurs.
Despite its faults, Red is fun because it’s a throwback to the Christmas movies of the 80s and 90s, which weren’t afraid to target a younger audience. Compared to some modern Christmas classics, like the inexplicably popular Polar Expressit’s a breath of fresh air to at least try to do something a little different. It’s also fun to see Evans continue his scumbag career after Captain America.
…most of the special effects look like they came from a SyFy original series
Red is now available on Amazon Prime, where it was always supposed to be until last year’s writers’ strike delayed its release and Amazon decided to fill a hole in the movie schedule. I predict that now that it is available for home viewing, this film will become a Christmas cult classic. At first it will be a tongue-in-cheek favorite, but over time, laughing at the movie will slowly turn into laughing at the movie’s stupid gags, and you will try to be cool and detached on the outside, but inside , you can’t wait to see inflated Santa in all his glory. I know this because it happened to me.
