Red One [4K Ultra HD]

Director: Jake Kasdan

Cast: Dwayne Johnson, Chris Evans, Lucy Liu

Release Date: March 4, 2025

A Review By: Kevin Lovell

Film Rating: 5/10
Disc Rating: 6.5/10

Synopsis:

After Santa Claus – Code Name: RED ONE – is kidnapped, the North Pole’s Head of Security (Dwayne Johnson) must team up with the world’s most infamous bounty hunter (Chris Evans) in a globe-trotting, action-packed mission to save Christmas.

‘Red One’ joins Callum Drift, the head of security for Santa Claus (aka Red One) and the North Pole who after many years of serving as Nick’s right hand man has discovered he is losing some of the magic that made him so great at his job. But as it turns out his final days on the job will be anything but easy once Santa is kidnapped and he must join forces with a snarky criminal named Jack O’Malley who may be the only one capable of helping him find Nick before it’s too late. Now these two very different men will have to put their bickering and differences of opinion aside if they hope to track down Nick and bring him back before Christmas is lost.

Directed by Jake Kasdan (Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, Bad Teacher) from a screenplay written by Chris Morgan (Fast Five) and a story by Hiram Garcia, Kasdan does a capable job at the helm of ‘Red One’ guiding along the somewhat uneven, yet still amusing Holiday adventure-comedy. The film’s cast includes Dwayne Johnson (Black Adam), Chris Evans (Knives Out), Lucy Liu (Presence), J.K. Simmons (Saturday Night), Bonnie Hunt (TV’s Escape at Dannemora), Kristofer Hivju (Cocaine Bear), Kiernan Shipka (Totally Killer) and more, with the majority offering fitting and capable performances in each of their respective roles, but the solid cast still isn’t quite able to excel this one beyond average.

‘Red One’ is often amusing, occasionally unique in its approach and frequently entertaining at the very least, but it’s also somewhat jumbled, overly goofy and seemingly unable to figure out just what kind of film it wants to be, instead throwing various notably different ideas, concepts and scenarios together and haphazardly trying to make them click; something that does work here and there but is far from magical in its ability to deliver something special when all is said and done. It keeps the Holiday spirit coming throughout and even has a surprising number of action sequences along the way and a handful of fun surprises that help to keep things from every becoming too dull.

It also offers a very different and admittedly quite clever take on Santa Claus as a far more fit and healthy man who must stay in shape in order to accomplish the nearly impossible task of making every stop in time during Christmas night (although I’m sorry, you’re still not getting it all done in time if we’re being realistic) and also finding some fun ways to insert other notable holiday figures into the story such as a collection of deadly snowmen and a troubled relationship between Santa and his brother Krampus. It has its share of laughs and excitement although a bit too much of it falls flat and the sloppy visual effects frequently detract from the story due to how bad they look which is even more surprising for a bigger film such as this.

Overall, ‘Red One’ has its charms and keeps the fun, excitement and laughs coming fairly consistently, with a solid cast led by Dwayne Johnson and Chris Evans to back it up, but the movie is just never quite able to find itself. ‘Red One’ certainly has its issues and it’s not a great film but it does have its positive elements as well. If you’re looking for a simple, relaxing and amusing Holiday action-comedy that offers something different than the average Christmas movie fare then you could do far worse and I would recommend giving it a chance, especially if you can go in without high expectations. The cast and the unique twists on some beloved Holiday elements and ideas help to keep things fun and it’s worth checking out, although I would encourage renting or streaming it before dropping the money on a blind purchase to be safe.

VIDEO:

The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray release of ‘Red One’ features a full 2160p Ultra High Definition presentation with Dolby Vision and HDR-10, presented in its original 2.39:1 Aspect Ratio. The video presentation looks pretty great as a whole and offers a nicely detailed, clean and sharp presentation that’s vibrantly colored. Detail is solid for nearly everything on display including characters (human and otherwise), the various settings and backgrounds, plus plenty more which is all nicely complemented by the Dolby Vision HDR which fine tunes some of the colors on various elements within and is further enhanced by deep, clean black levels. Overall, this is a solid Ultra High Definition presentation that looks very nice throughout and should please fans and first time viewers alike.

AUDIO:

The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray release features a Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 channel compatible) soundtrack. Please note that this review pertains solely to the Dolby TrueHD 7.1 audio presentation. This multichannel soundtrack is a blast and delivers a clean, crisp and hard hitting audio presentation throughout. It constantly takes advantage of all seven available channels in order to send music, some action and sleigh-related effects, plus crowd noise and plenty more whipping throughout the various speakers, while never allowing any dialogue or other audio elements to become negatively affected or rendered problematic in the process. Overall, this is a stellar Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 compatible) soundtrack that repeatedly complements the goofy fun and excitement throughout and shouldn’t disappoint in the slightest.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray release of ‘Red One’ does not include any bonus content whatsoever.

*Please note: The above images were provided by Amazon MGM Studios and are not reflective of the actual 4K Ultra HD release or its quality. A standard Blu-ray copy of the film was not included in the release that could be used for screenshots therefore the above publicity stills were utilized. They are all the property of MGM, Amazon, Warner Bros and any other respective owners.

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Film Rating: 5/10
Disc Rating: 6.5/10

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‘Red One’ is Now Available to Own on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, DVD & Digital from Amazon MGM Studios & Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment

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You can purchase ‘Red One’ on 4K UHD at Amazon HERE!

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