Dwayne Johnson and Chris Evans join forces for a mythological mission to save Saint Nicholas in the new Christmas-themed action comedy film “Red One.”

Director Jake Kasdan, who directed Johnson in the 2017 fantasy-adventure film Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle and its 2019 sequel, Jumanji: The Next Level, told Entertainment Weekly the film was the brainchild of Johnson’s producing partner Hiram Garcia. He had the idea for a “wild Christmas action movie that takes place partly in the world as we know it, and then partly in this mythological realm.”

At first glance, the marketing campaign for the film reminds you of the Tommy Wirkola-directed 2022 action comedy “Violent Night” where Santa kills a bunch of mercenaries holding a family hostage on Christmas Eve but “Red One” is definitely PG-13. This film feels appropriate to watch with your mom, dad, siblings, grandparents, and nieces and nephews.

A lot of holiday films often feel inundated with cliches and moral lessons and understanding the true meaning of Christmas, however, this is not that. This film doesn’t necessarily tread new territory either. Instead, The Rock does what The Rock does best which is to play a stoic special ops badass who happens to be on Santa’s protection team. 

His character, Callum Drift, calls the shots as the head of an organization called ELF which stands for Enforcement, Logistics, and Fortification. However, it’s quite clear he’s not like the traditional elves who reside in the North Pole. Think of ELF as Santa’s Secret Service. 

Callum is good at his job but has grown tired of the adults who have fully embraced the commercialization of Christmas, not caring about the values that make the holiday special. He plans on making this Christmas his last Christmas, handing in his resignation letter to Santa or “Red One” as they call in the film. 

Also, J. K. Simmons’ Santa is ripped! His North Pole headquarters includes a decked-out gym where he puts in reps and the cookies are for carbs.

Then, there’s Lucy Liu’s character, Zoe Harlow, who heads a top-secret government organization tasked with monitoring the mythological world. She’s just as concerned about Nick’s whereabouts as Callum. After all, he’s the only one who could bring forth Christmas! 

However, it’s unclear how much the rest of the government knows about this. Does the president know Santa, Sasquatch and the Headless Horseman exist? 

You can shut your brain off for this one!

Zoe tracks down Evans’ character Jack O’Malley, a hacker, bounty hunter, and absentee father who only looks out for himself, to help the gang find the old man. He’s quite reluctant at first but is forced into agreeing after some nudging from Callum. 

Jack is absolutely shocked that the mythological world exists and finds the entire pursuit to find Santa quite trivial and not worth his time but his adventure with the Christmas agent Callum helps him realize how the emotional walls he has built affect his son. 

Something I wish the film went into greater detail about is Jack’s backstory. At the start of the film, we see his character as a child showing the other kids where the Christmas gifts are hidden but the film doesn’t quite explain why he’s so selfish. 

However, I do like how the film pokes fun at the corny nature of Christmas films and I am glad I saw it thanks to New York Association of Black Journalists’ paid member perks. The strength of this film lies in the fact that it leans into the action without relying too much on the traditional images of Santa and the North Pole.

“Red One” starts playing in theaters nationwide on Friday, Nov. 15.