Shadows on the Wall

Red One

dir Jake Kasdan
scr Chris Morgan
prd Hiram Garcia, Dwayne Johnson, Jake Kasdan, Dany Garcia, Melvin Mar, Chris Morgan
with Dwayne Johnson, Chris Evans, Lucy Liu, JK Simmons, Kiernan Shipka, Bonnie Hunt, Kristofer Hivju, Mary Elizabeth Ellis, Wesley Kimmel, Nick Kroll, Wyatt Hunt, Marc Evan Jackson
release UK 6.Nov.24,
US 15.Nov.24
24/US MGM 2h03

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While there's plenty to enjoy in this amusing holiday action romp, the plot that holds it together couldn't be much thinner if it tried. It's essentially the same save-Christmas premise we've seen countless times before, with visual effects that only rarely surprise us. What sets this apart is the odd couple pairing of Dwayne Johnson and Chris Evans. Even if it's undercooked, their banter provides entertaining festive cheer.

When Santa (Simmons) goes missing, his security chief Drift (Johnson) traces the abduction to Jack (Evans), a con artist who has been on the naughty list since he was a child (Hunt in a prologue). But Jack insists he only acquired some information for a client (Kroll), who they discover was working with evil witch Gryla (Shipka). And of course she has a nefarious Christmas Eve plan. Working with intelligence agency chief Zoe (Liu), Drift and Jack take on Gryla's snowmen thugs and travel to the North Pole with only hours to save the holiday.

Almost everything about this film feels familiar, from the way it depicts the bustle of activity at the North Pole to Zoe's Men in Black style spy organisation to the sentimentality that surges into slushiness in the final act. Yes, alongside the contrived central plot, there's also Jack's attempt to re-connect with his teen son Dylan (Kimmel), who is being raised by his ex (Elis). And family angst also emerges for Santa to deal with, as his brother Krampus (Hivju) becomes enmeshed in the chaos.

Pretty much everything is designed to create action shenanigans for Johnson and Evans, including nutty chases and fights that are peppered with enjoyably deranged touches. A bit more of this might have made the characters more distinctive, but at least the actors can bring their own star power to the show. While Simmons has some fun when he's on-screen, Shipka dives into some outrageous scene-chomping, Liu gets into the action, and Hunt (as Mrs Claus) has a few diverting moments of her own.

All of this plays out pretty much exactly as it does in every other movie like this, with the main pleasure coming from the casting. The digital work is fine, but never impressive. Thankfully, the humour is largely dry and caustic rather than merely silly slapstick. This helps us go along with the movie, even if nothing particularly memorable is happening. But as some forgettable holiday fluff, it will probably do the trick.

themes, language, violence 5.No.24

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