I Saw Red One, And The Critics Calling It A ‘Lump Of Coal’ Are Missing The Whole Point
This weekend I saw Red One in a large theater with fans of all ages. It was packed. People clapped at the end of my screening. Now, I’m going to the Internet and feeling like I live in a different universe.
I’ve read reviews calling out Red One for being a knockoff Marvel movie. I’ve read honestly so many reviews referring to the film as a “lump of coal.” (Who’s got something fresh to say now?) It’s giving me a lot of flashbacks to every time a Transformers movie came out and people went out in droves to see it but critics hated it.
I’m not here to tell you that Red One is the perfect Christmas blockbuster or that it’s a huge career-turning moment for The Rock, Chris Evans, Lucy Liu or J.K. Simmons. (Insofar as The Rock goes, I think he’s hoping to do that with his upcoming movie The Smashing Machine, in which he literally looks unrecognizable.)
The truth? Red One is a holiday crowd pleaser with a ton of world building. It’s sort of like Jumanji, but with Santa Claus involved. The Rock plays the straight man. Chris Evans plays the comedic relief. Tiny cars get zapped into life-size ones. The North Pole has insane technology that allows Santa to hit up billions of homes all in one night (thus the Marvel Wakanda comparisons). Krampus makes an appearance! We all go home happy.
Will Red One change your life? No. Does it deserve some of the more mean-spirited review headlines I’ve read in recent days? Also no. Should it be dealing with such a poor Rotten Tomatoes score? Absolutely not.
Why You Should Give Red One A Chance
I’m right here with CinemaBlend’s own Mike Reyes’ Red One review when I say if you are looking for an entertaining, sometimes silly, and very spirited holiday-themed movie you could do worse than a film with lots of jokes, A-listers having a blast, and Christmas-themed world-building.
The Rock and Chris Evans are a good fit onscreen together. The movie reportedly cost hundreds of millions to make and is cinematic fare – and the whole point of this film is that it’s a perfect level for families. There’s some minor language and jokes intended for adults, most of which will fly over kids’ heads. There are other jokes and action sequences crafted for all ages. This movie, in my mind, was made so that families could see it together in theaters, and I’m so stoked Amazon is giving it that opportunity to hit the 2024 theatrical schedule before we get the chance to rewatch with an Amazon Prime subscription.
Of course, Red One is not perfect and I’m not trying to say it’s perfect. A couple of people sitting around me mentioned being bored early on, though younger teens next to me were bouncing in their seats during the later action scenes. Its mythology is kind of pointless outside of the fact that we get to see Krampus and Santa Claus interact. And its plot is nothing to write home about, though I liked the film setting up Santa’s workshop like it’s Wakanda and I liked how this movie really took time to explain how Santa gets so many presents around the world one day a year. The concept is charming and fresh, even when the script isn’t.
Look, I guess what I’m saying is we spend a lot of time complaining about how no one is trying anything new at the movies anymore. Then, comes along a big, dumb, fun, live-action blockbuster that’s probably going to be perfect to take the family to and all we can do is complain.
Yeah, it would be great if every cinema experience could be Dune. But you know what? I couldn’t get an 11-year-old kid to care about Dune. Leg up, Red One.
