'Moana 2' (2024) Review : A Mediocre Christmas Movie
At this time of year, many are likely gearing up for the familiar past time of watching Christmas movies. Red One has emerged as a contender for holiday entertainment that audiences can add to their lists before they check them twice. This time, it’s a hyper militarised operation at the north pole, led by the world’s largest elf played by Dwayne The Rock Johnson, whose only mission is to protect Santa Claus, and Santa just went missing.
The movie begins with a large amount of set up. Red One introduces viewers to a north pole that’s run like a well organized army compound, and shows Santa moving at hyper speed to deliver presents all around the world. The methods may be different, but the aesthetics are largely the same. There are elves running around, the sleigh is pulled by reindeer, though Santa Claus swaps his big belly for big arms.

It’s a unique take on a classic story, and its the best part of Red One. It’s when the plot kicks in that things go awry. Santa’s kidnapping kicks off an action sequence that’s conceptually sound, but looks too fake to take seriously. The visual effects are too unpolished to convey any sense of stakes, and end up being an ugly distraction.
Some action scenes fare better than others. A fight against 3 snowmen on a beach is a pretty solid sequence, but it’s held back by an unconvincing climax. To make matters worse, the film goes from being a fairly fresh take on the myth of Santa Claus, to being as derivative as you can get with a mega blockbuster such as this. Every trick and plotline you’ve seen in superhero movies of the last 20 years get brought into Red One only less interesting, and worse to look at.
Red One is a roller coaster of a film with middling highs and depressing lows. The saving grace of the film is its emotional centre. Chris Evans and Dwayne Johnson discover the meaning of Christmas, but the journey to get there is such a dull mess, that by the end, you forget why they lost it in the first place. For the holiday season, you could certainly do worse than Red One, but you could do a lot better too.
Rating: Catch It On Cable