The holiday cheer of adventure has action. Red One is full of joy, laughter, and cheerfulness. The director is Jake Kasdan. He delivers a unique Christmas flick. It is one of the many essential components of Christmas: Santa Claus, a naughty/nice list, elves, and the North Pole. It brings in much anticipation around its holiday spirit. Despite its efforts, it is an average Christmas ride.

Santa Claus (played by JK Simmons) is an important character. He is on a mission to do his duties for his duties on Christmas Eve. His assistant is Callum Drift (played by Dwayne Johnson). Their world of the North Pole is like a virtual world video game of Christmas grandeur. The tradition of Christmas hits a plateau. There has been a kidnapping of Santa. Callum tracks down a bounty hunter to help him get Santa back. That man is Jack O’Malley (played by Chris Evans). He is a deadbeat dad with many technological skills. With two butting knuckleheads (Johnson and Evans), they must learn to work together to get Santa back before time runs out.

Red One is interactive through the many fictionalized settings of Christmas. The film brings in wonders of the Christmas extravaganza. The film consists of reindeer games, sleigh riding, and lots of quirks. The performances of Johnson and Evans make Red One feel like a mediocre and lighter version of Die-Hard movie. That is because its setup feels like Die-Hard. Its addition is the many Christmas miracles sprinkled on the top. There are also Christmas creatures, magic tricks, and lots of imagination.

Red One is fun for the mindsets of a Christmas in peril expectation. The fact that Santa is missing delivers the expectation that presents may not be under the tree (for its younger audience). Its twist is the presents may come to life. The directing consists of moments of toy transformations to assist in the battles of saving Santa. The definition of context of a “lighter version of Die Hard.” An approach with the festive and pleasant jeopardy of Christmas continues down the rabbit hole of mediocrity.

Johnson and Evans are the main forces of redemption for a miracle. Simmons has a moment of that (later in the film). With Johnson and Evans being labeled as the heroes, it is like watching Johnson on a break from the world of wrestling. Evans is taking a break from playing Captain America. Instead, they are putting forth the effort to get Santa back so Christmas can go on.

I found my experience with Red One captivating because of its moments of suspense in motion. I saw this in 4DX. My seat vibrated vigorously. Water would spray into the audience. I felt I had the rollercoaster ride of Red One for a North Pole movie feeling. That added lots of excitement and vibrations throughout my mind. The film itself was still cheesy. Red One is swell if audiences go in without expecting to take Red One seriously. Red One is average to find its hero tracks for a saved Christmas—two out of four stars for Red One.