“For guys like me, there are worse ways to go out than trying to save Santa Claus.”
While not a fan of Christmas movies per se, I’m not opposed to the genre when it doesn’t take itself too seriously. That fits for Red One, directed by Jake Kasdan. It has all the usual tropes, but they are put together in such a way to making it into a fantasy/action film as well.
Here is the story of Jack O’Malley (Chris Evans) who is the Grinch/Scrooge of the story. We first see him as a child, spoiling the idea of Santa for his cousins on Christmas Eve. As an adult, he’ll steal food off people’s plates just because he can. His relationship to his son is non-existent. Even when they connect briefly, he’s teaching his son all the wrong things. Jack’s gift is that he can find anyone and anything. That comes into play once Santa is kidnapped just before Christmas Eve.
To start with, Jack is the one who found the way into the North Pole security area. But when Santa’s head of security, Callum Drift (Dwayne Johnson), tracks Jack down, Jack is brought in to start tracking down who took Santa and where to find him.
What we need to know about Callum is that he’s lost the vision of Christmas. He sees that the world is becoming less kind. Cynicism abounds and Callum is going to resign because he just can’t see the point anymore. He’s seen too many like Jack, who is rated Level Four Naughty. For the two of them to have to work together goes against Cal’s grain.
So, there are lots of things to be saved here: Cal’s loss of faith, Jack’s misanthropy, the relationship between Jack and his son, and (most obviously) Santa Claus and Christmas.
Along the way, the film introduces us to other mythological figures of the Christmas season, notably Krampus (a German folk legend) who is Santa’s estranged, adopted brother, and Gryla (a witch in Icelandic lore) who feels that it’s incumbent on her to punish all those who have ever been on the naughty list. (Of course, as scripture tells us, “All have sinned….” So you know she’s coming after you, too.)
Through the fight scenes and chases, Cal and Jack quip and bring enough levity into the story to make it enjoyable, even if it doesn’t raise the bar of holiday films.
The theme of Christmas spirit in the film really comes out early on as Cal and Santa (J.K. Simmons) talk about Cal’s wanting to retire. Their discussion revolved around the way adults have ruined Christmas with the self-centeredness that Cal sees as filling the world now. He is doing it “for the kids.” Santa agrees that they do it for the kids, but he continues, “We know somewhere inside every lost grownup is the child they once were.”
This is not just a warm fuzzy (although it certainly qualifies as one). This is a statement of grace. Santa (and Cal before he lost his faith) sees who people really are. And for him it is that innocent child that is buried under the cynicism and consumerism that engulfs us all. This is akin to how God sees us—not by the worst that we do, but as the child (God’s child) that we all are.
Red One in in wide release and streaming on Prime Video
Photos courtesy of Prime Video.
