From Jonathan Klotz
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Dwayne Johnson was once the king of blockbusters and could seemingly turn any concept into a hit. Those days are behind him as the power hierarchy in Hollywood has changed and his films are now just okay.
Black Adamconsidered a major flop, in retrospect it’s a solid hit, and time will do just as well for his latest film. Red. The Christmas action hit is now available on Amazon Prime, where it was always meant to be, after a disappointing box office performance that saw it fail to recoup its budget, not to mention the additional marketing costs, but the sad thing is that it it really isn’t even a bad movie.
The cast understood the brief
I was at the theater on opening weekend to see it Red with a friend of mine who wanted to laugh at the movie and instead we had fun thanks to the sheer power of Johnson and Chris Evans. It’s not like the film is a secret masterpiece or anything, but it does feature a cheeky Santa Claus, played by him JK SimmonsLucy Liu as the film’s Nick Fury, Kiernan Shipka chewing up the scenery, and Kristofer Hivju, who you would recognize him as “Game of Thrones” Torsmund Giantsbane as Krampus in a breathtaking performance. The sum is not greater than the parts, but everyone involved understood the task.
Red starts with Chris Evans as Jack O’Malley, a hacker, a thief, a tracker, and an overall not very nice guy who literally steals candy from a baby. Dwayne Johnson is Callum Drift, a name on par with Max Power when it comes to “completely fake names that someone thought was cool”, who happens to be the commander of ELF (Enforcement, Logistics, and Fortification) and is capable of facial expressions throughout the entire film. The two’s paths cross after Santa Claus is kidnapped and Christmas is threatened with being canceled, spurring MORA (Mythological Oversight and Restoration Authority) into action.
From ironic laughter to rooting for Santa Claus
The plot of Red is incredibly predictable and simple, but also kind of fun. Nobody takes the film seriously, and that gives it an absurd energy that is missing from most $250 million blockbusters, which is the budget for this film, and no, you can’t see it on screen due to most of the special effects They look like they came from a SyFy original series. I have to say that the evil snowmen actually look better in the movie than in the trailer, but what was hidden is that Johnson is shrinking and growing Ant-man in fight scenes, an effect that looks horrific every time it occurs.
Despite his shortcomings, Red is fun because it’s a throwback to the Christmas movies of the ’80s and ’90s that weren’t afraid to take aim a younger audience. Compared to some modern Christmas classics, such as the inexplicably popular Polar ExpressIt’s a breath of fresh air when you at least try to do something different. It’s also fun to watch Evans continue his career as a scumbag after Captain America.
…most of the special effects look like they came from a SyFy original series
Red is now available on Amazon Prime, where it was always supposed to be until the Writer’s Strike delayed its release last year and Amazon decided to fill a gap in its film lineup. I predict that this film will become a cult classic Christmas movie now that it is available to watch at home. At first it will be an ironic favorite, but over time, laughing at the film will slowly turn into laughing at the film’s stupid gags, and you will try to be cool and distant on the outside, but on the inside you are itself I can’t wait to see Santa Claus in all his glory. I know because it happened to me.
