It's not been a great few years for Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. From Young Rock's cancellation to a failed attempt to take over the DCEU with Black Adam and even the way pro wrestling fans rejected him in favour of Cody Rhodes, he's in desperate need of a win.
Unfortunately, if the first wave of Red One reviews are any indication, his pricey new Amazon movie isn't going to be it. Yes, early social media reactions were somewhat positive but these verdicts seem to tell a very different story.
As per usual, we'll kick things off with the trades; according to The Hollywood Reporter, "This holiday entry, which could almost have been called A Fast & Furious Christmas, is so ugly, artificial and overlong that it should cure kids of any belief in magic...Red One is the equivalent of a lump of coal in your Christmas stocking."
Variety was also left wanting, concluding its review by stating, "The villains are shape-shifters, but the key thing about 'Red One' is that the whole movie is a shape-shifter: arduous action jape, low-kitsch Christmas fairy tale, buddy movie, family-reconciliation movie -- every quadrant and demo must be served."
Deadline was a little kinder and explains, "Yes, it's cheesy, but this movie is best when it leans heavily into the cheese. If that makes your eyes roll, keep in mind this is a Christmas movie ultimately intended for kids who've made it all the way through the MCU on Disney+ twice and their parents now need a reprieve."
The Guardian has little love for Red One and goes so far as to say, "There's nothing wrong with a big-hearted film for Christmas, but this commercial and formulaic slice of content is a toy destined to be forgotten, not by Boxing Day, but mid-November."
Empire Online shares a similar sentiment - "There's a little bit of heart here, in the story of two people who have lost faith in Christmas for very different reasons, but more often this feels engineered in a lab to provide seasonal spectacle" while Digital Spy declares, "Chris Evans and Dwayne Johnson can't save [this] festive flop."
"This film would have worked if it leaned more into the humor, but it doesn't muster up more than the occasional chuckle, mainly with Evans responding to the insanity surrounding him. Beyond that, Red One won't be the Christmas classic it hopes to be," reads Coming Soon's review. IndieWire, a site which rarely approves of blockbuster fare, ponders, "Red One will make you not only bummed about the holidays ahead, but about cinema's future as well...Make it a Christmas miracle, and cross this 'Red One' off your list."
There's some holiday cheer courtesy of MovieWeb who calls the movie "a surprisingly clever Christmas action-comedy" in an otherwise middling review.
In the movie, after Santa Claus - Code Name: RED ONE - is kidnapped, the North Pole's Head of Security (Dwayne Johnson) must team up with the world's most infamous bounty hunter (Chris Evans) in a globe-trotting, action-packed mission to save Christmas.