Perhaps they don’t make Christmas movies like they used to. When was the last time audiences had a film recreate the slapstick and heart of Home Alone, or tug on the heartstrings in all the right places like Love Actually? Well, if moviegoers were relying on Red One to be the Christmas classic for a new generation, they may have to look elsewhere, at least according to the first reviews to drop on Rotten Tomatoes. The Dwayne Johnson and Chris Evans holiday effort is currently being left with a lump of coal in its Christmas stocking.
Per Rotten Tomatoes, Red One currently holds a 40% rotten rating on the website with 20 reviews counted as of this writing. Some reviews comment on how empty it all feels, despite its big production values. Dan Bayer of Next Big Picture writes, “Not every film has to be art, but it’d be nice if they could make a product that had more life to it than this empty exercise in Christmas franchise starting.” Other critics point to its lack of holiday spirit, with Peter Gray of The Au Review writing, “For a movie centered around the festive season and attempts to drive home the importance of joy, there’s very little on offer when it comes to the unnecessarily long 122 minutes of Red One.” Edward Doughlas of The Weekend Warrior doubles down on this by saying, “Possibly one of the most misguided holiday movies ever made. Instead of putting you into the Xmas spirit, it makes you feel as if you’ve been force-fed a giant lump of coal.”
In the spirit of the upcoming holiday season, let’s not just focus on the negative, because there are some good reviews to be found for Red One. Alonso Duralde of The Film Verdict liked the mix of holiday cheer and action by stating, “The challenge is to balance the mayhem with the holly-holly, to blow stuff up while also allowing troubled characters to find the nice in themselves and in each other, and Red One fulfills both of those wish-list items with a cheeky finesse.” Tim Grierson of Screen International believes it just does enough to please families by writing, “The mixture of laughs, sentiment and action should satisfy undemanding families, and the story’s world-building offers enough novelty to what can otherwise be a predictable package.” Lastly, our very own Julian Roman was enthusiastic about the film by stating:
“Red One offers a surprisingly clever take on Christmas mythology. The big-budget action-comedy delivers the requisite popcorn entertainment with visual splendor, but also succeeds in building its own new universe with memorable characters.”
Red One Needs to Earn Big to Be a Box Office Success
A lot is riding on Red One being a success, given its massive $200 million budget. The movie entered box office tracking with a potential opening of $36 million, which isn’t bad but not nearly robust enough to justify its insane production cost. The movie will also be entering a crowded November market at the box office, with pre-sales for Wicked, Gladiator II and Johnson’s own Moana 2 all being extremely robust. All of these films could get a Thanksgiving holiday bump, and Red One might play well into the holiday season given its Christmas themes. But that bump is going to have to be big for the film and the legs are going to be long and steady if it wants to turn a profit.
Related Red One First Reactions Reveal Whether Dwayne Johnson & Chris Evans Have Been Naughty or Nice
Red One will arrive in theaters on November 15 in the U.S.
Directed by Jake Kasdan from a screenplay by Chris Morgan, which is based on an original story by Johnson’s producing partner Hiram Garcia, Red One finds Santa Claus (J.K. Simmons) being kidnapped, putting in jeopardy Christmas as we know it. On the case is the head of North Pole security, Callum Drift (Johnson), who must team up with bounty hunter Jack O’Malley (Evans) in order to rescue him and save Christmas. The film also stars Lucy Liu, Kiernan Shipka, Bonnie Hunt and Nick Kroll.
Red One
hits screens on Nov. 15.
Source: Rotten Tomatoes
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