By Kai Curry
NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY
Recently, I watched a video on social media which was complaining that Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson was not a nice person and that he was faking it. First of all, what? Second of all, whatever! Team “The Rock” here all the way, every day. This guy has still not been unseated off his throne in my view—and he’s not afraid to wear pink (very tight fitting, ab-splitting pink). “The Rock” rocks all the time and his new holiday movie, “Red One,” is no exception. It is “Rock” solid.
If there’s any question about him being nice, just watch him in this movie. His character, Cal, is a holiday hero trying to save Christmas, and Johnson brings genuine heart to the part.“Red One” is fun and it’s the perfect update to the “what would the North Pole be like in modern times?” trope. It’s also, finally, a welcome addition to the “oh no, Santa Claus has been kidnapped” trope, meaning it’s actually entertaining and fresh, rather than tired and clichéd. There are a host of winter mythologies given new frosty life, with either fantastic creature creation or good acting. You will not find an overworked Jack Frost here. Instead, you will find Krampus and the Winter Witch.
“Red One” is a blast from the get-go. We start by meeting a young “Jack” (Wyatt Hunt). Jack is all about “cold, hard truth” and thinks that Christmas is b/s. Jack grows into a cynical, pragmatic thief and mercenary, played by Chris Evans. What I like is that the movie doesn’t beat you over the head with Jack’s lack of magical thinking. It’s never mentioned again, verbally. Instead, we witness his life as he’s made it and then, we witness as he learns there’s an entire alternate mythological life he didn’t know about. None of us know about it. Santa Claus is real. The North Pole is real. Christmas is real. As I write this, I realize that a bunch of you are saying, “of course, Christmas is real. You know, baby Jesus?” To be clear, I’m talking about the Santa Claus version, which is also associated with peace on earth and goodwill towards men—with a bonus of rampant consumerism.
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson as “Cal,” left, and Chris Evans as “Jack,” have to learn to work together to save Santa Claus. (Courtesy of Amazon MGM Studios.)
Jack’s journey towards getting off The Naughty List (btw, pretty much everyone is on The Naughty List; we’ve all done something) begins when he meets Cal. Cal is working his last Christmas as the Commander of E.L.F. (Enforcement Logistics and Fortification)—sort of like Santa Claus’ Secret Service. Santa is the president of the mythological world (he flies “Red One”—get it? Like Air Force One?), and the North Pole is now a flourishing city hiding under a giant ice dome. Santa, played by J.K. Simmons, is buff now. There’s no jelly belly here. It takes a fit bod to carry off what he does in one night. Ahem. Anyway! The entire place is protected by Santa’s defense mechanism, called MORA, which owns a lot of wild gadgets, and is headed by “Zoë,” or Lucy Liu.
In “Red One,” Lucy Liu plays the Director of Santa Claus’ defense force. (Courtesy of Amazon MGM Studios.)
Santa is missing. Jack is a suspect (so is the Headless Horseman). And we’re off.
This movie is so fun. Both The Rock and Evans excel at humor, and work off of each other well. The world-building is topnotch and pulls you in. It’s gorgeous and creepy—not all mythological characters are pleasant! Many who have been long neglected by Hollywood are given their due at last. The Winter Witch, played by Kiernan Shipka, is akin (when in human form) to the witch from the Narnia series. While there are several renditions around the world, in this case, the Winter Witch is based on a Scandinavian version, and “Red One” sticks pretty closely to it. We also hang out for a bit with Krampus (played by Kristofer Hivju), who the Heavy Metal world already knew about and who has had a bit of a revival. Krampusnacht is still celebrated in some places on Dec. 5 every year. Krampus’ exact origins are a bit muddy—eastern or central Europe. He was thought to have accompanied St. Nicholas in the early days, and was in charge of the punishment part of Christmas (he gave out the coal). “Red One” more or less keeps this version, and incorporates it nicely into the story as a whole. No fantasy world is effective without a convincing element of evil. You have to feel a little scared for yourself and worried for the good parts—the good creatures, the good people—and in “Red One” we do feel both.
But back to Johnson. His character, Cal, is fed up with what Christmas has become, and what people have become. He’s tired of the bad behavior and the lack of accountability that he sees everywhere. He no longer feels fit to work so closely with St. Nick, who reminds him that “we do it for the kids, including those who aren’t kids anymore” (adults, he means adults). Cal’s feelings are totally relatable these days (this is the part where Johnson shows real emotion), and while the sections of the movie that talk about this are highlighted with intense close ups, you don’t feel like they are preaching to you and there is no whiny, complaining feeling. Just a tired feeling. “Red One” expresses a wish not so much for people to be good but for those of us who are worn out to be able to see the good in others again. To believe that the child inside is there, pretending they don’t care about a magical Christmas, when they do. They really, really do.
Kai can be reached at newstips@nwasianweekly.com.