Red One review

RED ONE: 

DWAYNE JOHNSON AND CHRIS EVANS HOLIDAY ACTION-COMEDY IS A HO-HO-HUMBUG! 

By Nico Beland

Movie Review: ** out of 4

MGM

Lucy Liu, Dwayne Johnson, Chris Evans, and J.K. Simmons in Red One

 

            Dwayne Johnson (The Scorpion King, Fast & Furious franchise, Jumanji 2 and 3) and Chris Evans (Marvel Cinematic Universe, Snowpiercer, Knives Out) set off on a mission to rescue Santa Claus (J.K. Simmons-Spider-Mantrilogy, Whiplash, Juror #2) in Red One, the new Christmas action-comedy from director Jake Kasdan (Orange County, Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story, Jumanji 2 and 3). I remembered seeing the trailer and thinking “Sure, this could be fun and I’m usually down for a good holiday-themed action movie”, Die Hard is unironically one of my Christmas movies and while this movie didn’t look anything spectacular, it could be entertaining in its own right given the names attached to it. 

            A Christmas buddy action-comedy with The Scorpion King and Captain America saving Santa Claus who’s played by J. Jonah Jameson from the Spider-Man movies from the director of Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, how could go wrong? Unfortunately, quite a bit. 

            I’m not calling it an awful Christmas movie, but for a film with this many talented and funny people in front of and behind the camera, I was expecting something far better. Honestly, a dumpster fire filled with coal would have been more interesting, instead this movie is simply mediocre. 

            The film follows Callum Drift (Johnson) who is the head commander of Santa’s ELF (Enforcement of Logistics and Fortification) security that protects Santa Claus during the Christmas season. But when Santa is kidnapped on Christmas Eve, Callum is forced to team up with infamous mercenary white-hat hacker (and Level 4 Naughty Lister), Jack O’Malley (Evans) in order to find him and save Christmas. 

            The film also stars Lucy Liu (Charlie’s Angels 1 and 2, Chicago, Kill Bill: Vol. 1) as Zoe Harlow, Kiernan Shipka (Mad Men, Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, Twisters) as Grýla, Bonnie Hunt (Rain Man, Jumanji, The Green Mile) as Mrs. Claus, Kristofer Hivju (Game of Thrones, The Fate of the Furious, Cocaine Bear) as Krampus, Nick Kroll (Get Him to the Greek, Kroll Show, Sausage Party) as Ted, Mary Elizabeth Ellis (It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, The Grinder, Licorice Pizza) as Olivia, and Marc Evan Jackson (Parks and Recreation, 22 Jump Street,DuckTales (2017)) as Uncle Rick. 

            Overall, Red One has some fun moments and occasionally there’s a funny line or inventive scene, unfortunately it’s a manufactured, overbudgeted, and surprisingly soulless holiday action-comedy that desperately needed more Christmas magic. Apparently, this was originally set to be a streaming movie on Amazon Prime Video, but they switched it to a theatrical release and it REALLY feels like a streaming movie that somehow made its way onto theater screens at times. 

            This movie has a budget of approximately $250 million ($13 million more than the first Avatar’s budget) and the majority of its effects look remarkably fake and cheap. Most of the action is so CGI heavy, it feels like you’re watching a video game with no real weight to anything onscreen and on top of that, there are times where you can clearly see the actors’ stunt doubles during certain action scenes, what happened to this movie? 

It had to be because of Dwayne Johnson’s involvement but look at films like The Creator or District 9 which had incredible special effects created on shoestring budgets compared to mainstream Hollywood blockbusters. The only time where the movie actually has some decent effects are when Dwayne Johnson and Chris Evans are in Krampus’ lair and they’re surrounded by tons of freaky monsters and demons, many of which were created practically and with makeup. 

They certainly aren’t on the same level as Stan Winston or Rick Baker’s work, but compared to the digital CGI shlock the rest of the movie is covered in, I have to give this scene a lot of credit for at least having things in front of the camera during it. That’s twice now Krampus saved movies with practical effects, you sure he’s not the hero of the story? 

Dwayne Johnson and Chris Evans are a fine buddy duo for a movie like this and a lot of their banter can be entertaining. Dwayne Johnson plays his typical muscle man-type character who’s tough but also has a heart while Chris Evans is this smartass bounty hunter with a history of unlawful deeds who gets shoehorned into helping Johnson save Santa. 

Johnson and Evans are really what brings this movie some energy when they’re onscreen together and J.K. Simmons is a great Santa (Though if you’ve seen the animated Netflix movie, Klaus you already knew that). He’s not doing the badass action movie Santa shtick that David Harbour already did a couple years ago in Violent Night, but he is a more in-shape version of him who is seen lifting weights while also being wise and teaching Johnson lessons about how being put on the Nice or Naughty list can be an opportunity and that it’s their job to look after the kids even when they aren’t kids anymore. 

Sadly, despite a great cast and a few funny and imaginative moments, Red One is an overblown lump of coal of a holiday action-comedy that puts cheap-looking special effects over story and characters and is neither funny nor exciting enough to put under your tree. I would recommend skipping this and rewatch Die Hard instead or if you really need to have your Santa action movie, watch Violent Night as it has much better action, David Harbour gives a great performance as Santa, and most importantly, it’s actually funny. 

Heretic review

HERETIC: 

HUGH GRANT KILLS (AND CHARMS) IN LATEST A24 HORROR FILM! 

By Nico Beland

Movie Review: **** out of 4

A24

Hugh Grant in Heretic

 

            Two Mormon missionaries are trapped in a house with an unhinged and dangerous Hugh Grant (Love Actually, The Gentlemen, Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves) in Heretic, the latest horror film from A24 and writer-directors Scott Beck and Bryan Woods (A Quiet Place, Haunt, 65). I have been absolutely loving this new era of Hugh Grant acting in recent years with performances that really showcased his capabilities outside of those rom-coms from the 90s and 2000s such as the cartoonishly evil antagonist in Paddington 2 and his outrageously foul-mouthed performance as Fletcher in Guy Ritchie’s The Gentlemen so him starring in an A24 horror movie had me intrigued from the beginning. 

            After seeing it, I have to admit that not only do I think this is among one of Hugh Grant’s best performances, but it might even be his best ever. He is freaking amazing in this film and perfectly balances between being incredibly charming and creepy, often at the same time…oh, and the movie itself is fantastic too. 

            The film follows Mormon missionaries, Sister Barnes (Sophie Thatcher-Prospect, Yellowjackets, The Boogeyman) and Sister Paxton (Chloe East-Ice, Kevin (Probably) Saves the World, The Fabelmans) arriving at the home of a reclusive Englishman named Mr. Reed (Grant) in hopes of converting him to the Church of Jesus Christ. But it turns out this seemingly charming Englishman is much more dangerous and terrifying than expected as the two sisters are locked in this mouse trap of a house with only one way to escape, debate their religion.  

            The film also stars Topher Grace (That 70s Show, Spider-Man 3, BlacKkKlansman) as Elder Kennedy. 

            Overall, Heretic is a suspenseful and even humorous tour de force for Hugh Grant and a massive step up from 65 for Scott Beck and Bryan Woods. Grant really is what makes this movie work and is essentially like a twisted version of his rom-com persona as he does start off being genuinely charming and likable, but you also know he’s eventually going to do horrible things to these ladies. 

            I also love how even when he’s being creepy in the movie, Hugh Grant still acts like a gentleman which honestly makes the scenes even scarier somehow. It feels like a performance written specifically for him and I hope he gets some awards attention for this because this is Hugh Grant at his best. 

            The movie itself is consistently engaging and keeps your interest with the characters questioning their own religious beliefs and Grant’s Mr. Reed challenging those beliefs in intense and horrific ways. I’m not a very religious person if I’m being honest, but I was invested and captivated by these characters (Even Mr. Reed) and understanding their perspectives on religion. 

            The film gave me very conflicting feelings regarding its themes because I certainly don’t want these two Mormon missionary sisters to endure these horrific experiences by Mr. Reed while at the same time I want Mr. Reed to challenge their religious beliefs, maybe with less hostages but I will gladly accept more comparisons to fast food, board games, and The Phantom Menace in my religious analysis. It also dives into some horrific revelations as to how most if not all religions are created which I found a lot more terrifying than smiling demons and substances that turn people into deformed monsters when misused. 

            It still retains some traditional horror elements (The occasional jump scare, raggedy-looking person that’s been locked up for some time saying/doing something creepy to the protagonists, gory kill, etc.), but it’s mostly a very dialogue-heavy and intellectual kind of horror that’s more subtle with its scares rather than shocking. It may be a turnoff point for those expecting a full-on spook-fest, but I think most people know what they’re getting here so that shouldn’t be an issue. 

            Heretic is one of those indie horror films I absolutely loved, but at the same time I sort of don’t want to discuss it in great detail since it’s a lot more fun for your reactions to be 100% natural and authentic while watching it. I will say that it’s a creepy, brilliantly crafted, and even comical at times entry in A24’s ever growing horror library with a scene-stealing Hugh Grant at the top of his game, just go watch it! 

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