The Freaking Film Fanatic with Nate Unck
Red One Rated:PG-13 for violence, language and sensuality
'Tis the season.....well, the holiday season isn't 'Tis quite yet, but this early November, we get a Christmas film, and while it seems odd to see a Christmas movie a full month and a half until Christmas, we must remember that Red One was filmed by the new buyout studio, Amazon MGM. The plan is for Amazon MGM to have people go see the film in theaters, and then when it's actually a lot closer to Christmas, they can then stream Red One on Amazon Prime. Now that we have that out of the way and it's understood, here is my spoiler free review of Red One.
When I first saw tailers for Red One, it looked really fun and silly, and I would say seeing the whole film that it was marketed right. It is fun and silly. However, there are some jokes that land flat, and there are great ideas that don't reach their full potential. It doesn't mean that the movie is terrible, but it's not without its problems.
We were allowed to bring our families to the critic screening of Red One, and so I took my wife, and two of my kids, one a 16-year-old, and the other a 12-year-old. My wife really enjoyed it, our 12-year-old really liked it, and our 16-year-old felt kind of lukewarm. This is a film that most film critics won't like, but I like to think that I review films as if I were the voice of the people. I quite enjoyed the movie, but as I said, it has its problems.
There were two issues I had. The film is an action comedy, but it has a hard time doing both at the same time, so there are scenes that are funny, and then it gets serious for the action sequences, but each of the sequences are a little long, so it kind of has a double personality. Is it a comedy, or an action movie with a little comedy? It's both, but it feels out of balance. Some of the jokes are really funny, but there are some that are not funny at all. There are ideas where you can see what the filmmakers were aiming for, that don't quite pan out.
I think my biggest complaint about the film is its PG-13 rating. This is a movie that kids of all ages will want to see, but there is a good amount of language, violence, (although the violence isn't PG-13 rated violence, it's more in the PG rated range.), as well as a scene on a beach where there are women in string bikinis, which exposes their whole backside. These are things that they could have easily taken out, but didn't, so I can't completely recommend this one for everyone in the family, unless you have older kids. It's still enjoyable for the most part, but I was disappointed that they didn't make this film for the whole family, no matter the age.
The actors do their best with what they were given. Chris Evans did a good job with being a big jerk who is a level four naughty lister, which is pretty bad. He even literally steals candy from a baby. Dwayne Johnson is his usual tough guy who is Santa's lead security bodyguard who wants to resign, feeling like he doesn't see the joy and magic of Christmas while seeing people fighting over presents in a store. I love J.K. Simmons, and he is a pretty cool Santa Claus. He isn't fat, he is in really good shape, and the new take on his suit makes him look a little like a superhero. (I really dug his Santa Costume.). He is great when he is in scenes where he is awake. The people who kidnap Santa keep him sedated, so there isn't a lot of him in the film, but he's great when he is. Bonnie Hunt is also a cute Mrs. Claus.
The special effects are impressive enough. I love the reindeer are huge and adorable. The elves aren't little people, but more like the house elves in Harry Potter. The sleigh flying through the sky looks really cool. I really enjoyed the fact that some of the characters in the movie who were monsters or minions of Krampus weren't done in CGI, but physical paint and prosthetics. The costume department really did a good job for this film.
Red One may not be an Oscar contender, but it's a fun Christmas movie, even if there are some flaws and content that keep it from being great. It's a fun time at the movies. However, It opens early because Amazon, who recently acquired MGM Studios, now as Amazon MGM Studios, is planning on having this film stream on Amazon Prime Video come the week of Christmas. If you aren't in the mood to watch a Christmas film a month and a half before Christmas, I would wait and just stream it around Christmas time.
So, there it is. My review for Red One. It's not perfect, and I am sure there will be people who won't like it, but if you are looking for a fun Christmas movie for the family, minus the little ones, Red One is a pretty good one to watch.
Red One is rated PG-13 for Language, Violence, and some Sensually.
