Red One—Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Chris Evans’ action movie about rescuing a missing Santa Claus to save Christmas—is being bombarded with negative reviews.
Directed by Jumanji helmer Jake Kasdan, Red One opens in theaters on Friday, November 15. The Red One review embargo lifted Wednesday, however, and movie critics aren’t too impressed by the film in early reviews.
The official logline for Red One reads, “After Santa Claus—Code Name: RED ONE—is kidnapped, the North Pole’s Head of Security (Johnson) must team up with the world’s most infamous bounty hunter (Evans) in a globe-trotting, action-packed mission to save Christmas.”
Red One also stars J.K. Simmons as Santa Claus, Bonnie Hunt as Mrs. Claus and Kristofer Hivju as Krampus. The cast of Red One also includes Lucy Liu, Kiernan Shipka and Mary Elizabeth Ellis.
As of Wednesday, Rotten Tomatoes critics have collectively given Red One a 35% “rotten” rating based on 20 reviews.
The rating, of course, could change for the better or worse once more critics see the film and post their reviews before the film opens on November 15.
What Are Individual Critics Saying About ‘Red One’?
Owen Gleiberman of Variety is among the top Rotten Tomatoes critics who panned Red One, writing “Red One could almost be the movie version of Vampire Assassin 4. It’s that busy and bumptious, that overstuffed with cheesy digital effects, that generically derivative a piece of violent kitsch.”
David Rooney of The Hollywood Reporter also gave Red One a “rotten” review, writing, This is a high-concept, CG-saturated bore that lacks heart and infectious humor, even if it huffs and puffs its way to a little poignancy in the end.”
Additionally, New York Magazine/Vulture’s Alison Wilmore’s “rotten” review of the film notes, “If Red One were a disaster, it’d be more interesting. Instead, it’s a technically passable action-comedy transparently stitched together from parts scavenged from other movies.”
Despite the smattering of negative reviews, Red One did manage to impress some of RT’s top critics, if only slightly.
As such, William Bibbiani of The Wrap writes, “It all averages out to slightly above average. For a film like Red One that’s about as good as anyone could hope for.”
Screen International’s Tim Grierson also gave Red One a “fresh” review with some caveats, writing, The mixture of laughs, sentiment and action should satisfy undemanding families, and the story’s world-building offers enough novelty to what can otherwise be a predictable package.”
Rated PG-13, Red One opens in theaters nationwide on November 15.
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