Red One movie review: Jake Kasdan's Holiday cheer gone sour

In pic: Stills from the film

Cast: Dwayne Johnson, Chris Evans, Lucy Liu, J.K. Simmons, Bonnie Hunt, Kristofer Hivju, Kiernan Shipka, Mary Elizabeth Ellis
Director: Jake Kasdan
Rating: 2.5/5
Runtime: 124 min.

This ambitious $250 million adventure with the Christmas myth has a sprawling scale but there's very little to cheer about.

Amazon MGM's action-adventure Christmas film is a modern take on the Jolly ole St Nick myth but the re-imagined version and modern tech on display is not the kind of entertainment that tradition loving cine goers are likely to cotton on to. The scale is bigger but not better even though the narrative spreads itself all around the globe, has A-list stars, and reindeer with the ability to hyperspace travel.

Santa Claus is a sculpted, bench-pressing, cookie loving mythological being that exists and he is under the watchful eye of the Mythological Oversight and Restoration Authority (MORA) - obviously an expansive build-up for a cinematic universe of its own.

This Santa is decidedly different. He's a Santa we've never seen before. He and his reindeer even get escorted out of Philadelphia back to the North Pole by fighter jets. He even has a military-industrial complex to call his own alongwith protectors aided by the latest tech - the kind we've never seen before. Saint Nick believes delivering presents is a matter of physical skill and prowess. So gift delivery is rehearsed and choreographed, for 364 days a year. The North Pole is a domed super-city with advanced technological capabilities, staffed with elves. Santa even has a Mrs. Claus (Bonnie Hunt) to greet him before diving into his regular routine.There are talking penguins and a burly polar bear and Morgan's screenplay incorporates the Icelandic legend of Christmas Witch Grýla (Kiernan Shipka), a 900-year-old shapeshifter who transforms from a hideous ogress into a diabolical villainess.

The head of North Pole security, Callum Drift (Dwayne Johnson), confides to Santa that he'd like to retire after this year's Christmas run, having lost faith in their mission. But soon after that, Santa is kidnapped and renowned hacker Jack O'Malley (Chris Evans) appears to be involved. The winter witch, Grýla (Kiernan Shipka), thinks Kris Kringle has gone soft, decides to take matters into her own hands and punish everyone on his Naughty List. So Callum and Jack have to reluctantly team up to find Santa and stop Grýla as the world faces the possibility of Christmas getting obliterated altogether. Lucy Liu, who plays the director of MORA, is mostly seen barking orders and doing the occasional fight scene. It's a real pity that she has nothing much to do in this film.

Santa's Christmas Eve run, presented in detail, a delightful mix magic and sci-fi elements is great fun. But the rest of the film is just chaotic. Chris Evans, plays his role with surprising flair. Dwayne Johnson, on the other hand, seems to be in routine bodyguard mode. The message that kindness will overcome the "naughty" forces of the world doesn't hit home strongly enough. "Red One" has some interesting ideas but it lacks the narrative depth or an expansive script to fully explore that aspect. Too much money has been wasted on adventure like thrills that just don't generate much adrenaline. The action is picturised in sloppy fashion. There's not much thrill to be had here.